Dr Dale Garsed is a Senior Member of Professor David Bowtell’s laboratory, where he leads a program of research studying exceptional responders and long-term survivors of ovarian cancer. After graduating with a BSc (Hons I) in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from The University of Melbourne, Dale was awarded an Australian Postgraduate Award, which he used to complete his PhD at Peter Mac and The University of Melbourne. His PhD research discovered the genomic structure, evolution and mutational signatures of extrachromosomal circular DNA, which are commonly found in sarcomas. In 2014, he co-led the first whole-genome sequence analysis of high-grade serous ovarian cancer as part of the International Cancer Genome Consortium, and discovered multiple mechanisms that enable the survival of therapy resistant cancer cells. In recognition of this work, the team was awarded the 2015 Columbia Hospital Research Foundation Annual Award for Research Excellence in Breast, Obstetrical and Gynaecologic Disorders, and the 2017 Joseph F. Sambrook Prize for Research Excellence.

Dale is an Honorary Fellow at The University of Melbourne, and the inaugural Victorian Cancer Agency / Ovarian Cancer Australia Low-Survival Cancer Mid-Career Research Fellow (2023-2026). His work is also supported by two U.S. DoD Ovarian Cancer Research Program grants and a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Ideas Grant. Dale’s team, along with international collaborators, are currently using multi-omic technologies to characterise molecular alterations and the tumour-immune microenvironment in ovarian cancer patients who experienced exceptional responses to treatment and/or long-term survival, to understand their unique features that may assist in designing more effective treatment strategies.