Dr Justin Wong is currently a Senior Lecturer and Researcher at the University of Sydney. His expertise is in understanding novel gene regulation mechanisms in normal physiology and human disease.

“I am particularly interested in the control of key biological processes – epigenetics and RNA modifications – and how abnormal changes in these lead to diseases particularly in cancer,” he explained.

The Fellowship years

Dr Wong received an early career fellowship in 2014, which he credits as kickstarting his journey to becoming an independent researcher. He discovered that mistakes in RNA processing, known as intron retention, may play a role in the onset and development of an aggressive blood cancer – acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). He hypothesised that mistakes in this process may reduce levels of proteins that protect against AML or that producing abnormal proteins may promote the development of AML.

Securing three NHMRC project grants in one year in 2016 gave Dr Wong momentum to further understand intron retention’s role in AML. During his career development fellowship – awarded in 2018 – he and his team unexpectedly found intron retention disturbs the growth of cancer cells and improves sensitivity to chemotherapy. That is, a factor previously thought to drive cancer could be exploited to better manage and treat AML. He and his team tested this finding in pre-clinical models.

Dr Wong’s profile grew during his fellowships. In 2014, he participated in the Federation of Asia and Oceania Biochemist and Molecular Biologist Young Scientist Program. He was selected as one of 16 delegates from Australia to attend the Australia China Young Scientist Exchange Program. In 2018, during his career development fellowship, he was selected to revisit China to foster collaboration between the two countries. As a promising early-mid career research leader, he was recruited to the Sydney Research Accelerator Program in 2019.

Professional growth

Dr Wong is in no doubt that the two Cancer Institute NSW fellowships bolstered his career, making him more competitive and boosting his national and international standings. At the Centenary Institute, he was promoted to Associate Faculty and Head of the Gene Regulation in Cancer Laboratory in 2015 and then to Head of the Epigenetics and RNA Biology Program in 2018. In 2023, he was recruited to join the School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney. Dr Wong also credits the fellowships with nurturing professional skills such as establishing and managing his own laboratory and research team. “A career high point was being awarded the Ruth Stephens Gani Medal in 2019 from the Australian Academy of Science,” he said. That award recognises an outstanding contribution to the field of human genetics by early career researchers.

Current focus and future ambitions

Dr Wong’s passion is understanding how our RNAs are processed and epigenetically-modified to maintain the normal development and functions of cells in our bodies. In addition, he has been focusing on understanding how abnormal RNA modifications can lead to the development of cancer and finding ways to reverse these abnormal events. Since 2021, he has been awarded two NHMRC Ideas Grant to investigate how RNA processing and modifications could be targeted to improve outcomes in AML and other human cancers. And with a growing interest on RNA modifications in other diseases, he is applying his knowledge and expertise to other areas, including inflammation and cardiovascular disease.

Advice to Early Career Researchers

“Know what you are good at. Apply for smaller grants but don’t try and go for independence too early. Give yourself time to develop your niche. And finally, be clear on what you can do independently, plan your strategy and give it a bit of time.”