Professor Belinda Parker co-Heads the Cancer Evolution and Metastasis Program and leads the Microenvironmental Crosstalk and Therapeutics laboratory at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne. She has held recent fellowships from ARC (FF), VCA and NHMRC Investigator (current). After postdoctoral training in the Department of Oncology at Johns Hopkins University, USA in 2002 and at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Dr Parker moved to La Trobe University as a group leader in 2013 where she was Leader of the Cancer Theme until her return to Senior Faculty at Peter Mac in 2019. Dr Parker’s team focuses on tumour cell crosstalk with the microenvironment, with a particular interest in stromal biomarkers that predict risk of early breast cancer recurrence and tumour markers and targets for precision immunotherapeutic strategies in breast and prostate cancer. 

A specific area of interest for her laboratory are the tumour cell inherent immunoregulatory cytokines that dictate metastatic spread and therapeutic response. Based on her expertise in this field, Dr Parker has secured commercial collaborations to lead investigator-initiated trials of IFN-inducing agents in breast and prostate cancer and is currently driving biomarker development for precision therapeutic strategies in early breast cancer and late-stage breast and prostate cancer.