NSW Fellows' Forum 2025
"It's wonderful to come together with all the fantastic early and mid-career researchers funded by the Cancer Institute NSW. There's such brilliant work being done and coming together allows us to foster new ideas, spark innovation and make new connections. It's inspiring to hear from some world-leading cancer researchers and all the amazing things they've done and are currently doing."
- 2022 Career Development Fellow Associate Professor Julia Steinberg
The Cancer Institute NSW welcomed about 40 of the state’s emerging leaders in cancer research at the 2025 Fellows’ Forum on Friday, 23 May.
The annual Fellows’ Forum brings together Cancer Institute NSW funded fellows, providing an opportunity to share knowledge, network with peers and build research capacity.
The theme of the day was ‘Building Partnerships’ – an essential driver of research progress and breakthroughs that shape the future of cancer control in NSW and beyond. The program included an interactive workshop, a keynote address, presentations and a panel discussion.
The Program
| Program | Start | Presenter |
|---|---|---|
Arrival | 9:30 am | |
Acknowledgement of Country & Opening Welcome | 10:00 am | Professor Tracey O'Brien AM
NSW Chief Cancer Officer and CEO Cancer Institute NSW |
Workshop: Mastering Grant Writing | 10:15am | Dr Tamika Heiden |
Morning tea | 11:30 am | |
Workshop: Mastering Grant Writing | 11:50 am | Dr Tamika Heiden |
Lunch | 1:00 pm |
|
| Introduction | 1:50 pm | Professor Tracey O'Brien AM
NSW Chief Cancer Officer and CEO Cancer Institute NSW |
Keynote address: Partnering as a researcher | 1:55 pm | Professor David Thomas Chief Strategy and Science Officer, Omico |
Presentation: Partnering in the clinical trials and commercialisation space | 2:35 pm | Anne O’Neill
Director, Commercialisation and Strategic Partnerships, Ministry of Health |
Presentation: Partnering with the system | 2:55 pm | Kimberley Williamson Patient Experience and System Redesign, Cancer Institute NSW |
| Break | 3:10 pm | |
| Panel | 3:20pm | Melissa Montiero
Michelle Moeskops
Kimberley Williamson
Murray McLachlan |
| Event close | 4:00 pm |
Our speakers
Professor David Thomas
Professor David Thomas is the inaugural Director of the Centre for Molecular Oncology at the University of New South Wales and Chief Strategy and Science Officer at Omico. As a clinician-scientist, his focus is on the application of genomic technologies to the understanding and management of cancer, particularly sarcoma.
He established the not-for-profit company, Australian Genomic Cancer Medicine Centre, trading as Omico, to lead a national precision medicine program for patients with rare and early onset cancers. He has over 200 research publications, including lead or senior author papers in Science, Cancer Cell, Journal of Clinical Investigation and Lancet Oncology.
Dr Tamika Heiden
Dr Tamika Heiden founded Knowledge Translation Australia in 2014. It has since transformed to become the Research Impact Academy (2019). Tamika has a background in health research and research coordination where she was focused for more than 15 years. Tamika is passionate about making impact easier for researchers and research organisations.
Tamika’s education in knowledge translation and research impact, along with her dedication to improving social outcomes from research, led her to develop Knowledge Translation Australia. Tamika’s goal, and purpose as the Principal of the Research Impact Academy, is to ensure that research is relevant and accessible to the people who need it. Tamika has well developed networks, both nationally and internationally, and has trained widely in the field of research impact.
Anne O’Neill
Anne has more than 25 years’ experience in the health, medical research, and policy sectors. She is responsible for leading the development and implementation of major policies and programs to enhance medical research capacity in NSW, and raise the profile of NSW research and development nationally and internationally.
She is responsible for the NSW Medical Device Fund and NSW Commercialisation Training Program – both have been critical to accelerating the development of NSW intellectual property and the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs in NSW. She holds a Bachelor of Science (Physiology and Pharmacology) (Hons) and an Executive Masters of Public Administration. Anne was made a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering in 2024.
Kimberley Williamson
Kimberley has, among other programs, led the development and implementation of the Cancer Institute NSW's electronic Patient Reported Measures system - ensuring the program is adaptable to the changing needs of cancer services. Kimberley is an experienced program and project management professional with nearly 10 years’ experience of leading cross-functional teams to deliver strategic initiatives across NSW public cancer services.
Her expertise spans across leadership, quality improvement, change management and program management. She has a strong interest in ensuring health care systems and service design focuses on improving the patient experience and supports clinicians to deliver supportive care.