Prof Jeanne Tie is the lower gastrointestinal medical oncology and trials lead at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, and senior research fellow at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, Australia. She completed her medical training from the University of Otago (New Zealand) with several awards/first class honours, including the University of Otago Award in Medicine. After completing her final year of medical oncology training at the Royal Melbourne Hospital as the clinical trial research fellow, she embarked on her postgraduate research study in “prognostic and predictive biomarkers in colorectal cancer” at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, where her work on BRAFV600E mutation in colorectal cancer won the ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology) Bradley Stuart Beller Merit Award for the highest ranked abstract submitted by a fellow.
Following the completion of her higher research degree in 2012, Jeanne continued her career as a colorectal cancer clinician researcher, focussing on personalising treatment for patients with colorectal cancer with prognostic and predictive biomarkers, in particular the clinical applications of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA). In collaboration with the Ludwig Center at Johns Hopkins, a critical impact of her clinical research program is demonstrating that ctDNA detection after surgical removal of early-stage colorectal cancer is a highly accurate marker of molecular residual disease (MRD) and subsequent recurrence, and importantly, can be used to identify those at risk of recurrence for additional chemotherapy after surgery. She leads several ctDNA-based randomized clinical trials in colorectal cancer which aim to assess the clinical utility of ctDNA as a minimal residual disease marker to guide adjuvant treatment decision, including the landmark DYNAMIC study in stage II colon cancer which represents the world’s first prospective randomised controlled trial in any solid tumour to directly compare a ctDNA-guided approach to standard of care (NEJM, June 2022). Her research was recognised by national and international awards/prizes such the ASCO Cancer Foundation Young Investigator’s Award and the AACR Team Science Award (The International Liquid Biopsy Initiative Team). She has published extensively in the field of ctDNA and colorectal cancer and serves as the chair on the AGITG (Australasian Gastrointestinal Trials Group) Lower GI working party, member of AGITG’s Scientific Advisory Committee and Research Operation Committee, ESMO Colorectal Tumour Faculty, and the Cancer Adjudication Committee for the ASPREE (Aspirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly) International study.