About our research program
Westmead BCI has a strong track record in research and research is a core part of our work.
We believe strong collaboration between researchers, clinicians and other health care partners leads to better research outcomes and faster translation into clinical practice. The research at Westmead BCI is patient centred and focussed on improving outcomes for patients and providing accessible personalised care.
BCI works closely with:
- Westmead Institute for Medical Research (WIMR)
- The Crown Princess Mary Cancer Centre
- Western Sydney Local Health District Research and Education Network
- University of Sydney.
Together, we aim to improve community health care and advance medical research.
The BCI research program includes several research streams including breast surgery,
exercise after breast cancer, management of the axilla, neoadjuvant systemic therapy
response, prognostic factors/biomarkers in breast cancer, ductal carcinoma in situ and
radiotherapy. Most projects are investigator-initiated.
We also take part in industry-sponsored clinical trials. These trials may give patients access to treatments that are not otherwise available. They also help improve understanding of breast cancer and support future treatment advances.
The Westmead Breast Cancer Research team comprises of the following members:
- Chair, BCI Service Director: Associate Professor Nirmala Pathmanathan
- Clinical Research Lead: Professor Elisabeth Elder
- Translational Research Lead: Dr Dinny Graham
- Strategic Operations Director: Masrura Kabir
- Research Operations Director: Shashi Prasad
- Research nurses: Vasumathy Varadarajan and Jobelle Ruiz
- Study coordinators: Surabhi Bhargava, Chelsea Hendy and Shobha Salehi
- Clinical psychologist: Geaty Hamid
- Radiation oncology representatives: Associate Professor Kirsty Stuart and Associate Professor Tim Wang
- Medical oncology representatives: Dr Anuradha Vasista.
- Dr Dinny Graham
Dr Dinny Graham is BCI’s Senior Research Fellow, leading the Translational Breast Cancer Genomics Research Group and Deputy Director of the Centre for Cancer Research at the Westmead Institute for Medical Research. Her doctoral research at the University of Sydney, investigated progesterone action in breast cancer. This was followed by postdoctoral work at the University of Colorado, with internationally recognized researcher Professor Kathryn Horwitz, who is known for her pioneering work bringing assessment of progesterone receptor expression in breast cancer into routine clinical management. There, she studied transcriptional coregulators and endocrine resistance mechanisms, with the aim of better predicting treatment response in hormone receptor positive breast cancer.
Her current research is focused on understanding key drivers of breast cancer development and the discovery of novel characteristics that are predictive of treatment response and outcome in a range of breast cancer subtypes. The goal of Dr Graham’s research is to develop novel methods for predicting response and guiding treatment selection, ultimately delivering new affordable testing for patients receiving treatment for breast cancer, not only at Westmead Hospital but worldwide.
- Prof Elisabeth Elder
Prof Elder’s research has been focussed on breast surgical techniques including randomised clinical trials which have included publications in high impact journals including Lancet Oncology and Journal of Clinical Oncology (impact factor >40). Her primary interest is in modern day surgical management of breast cancer with a focus on oncoplastic reconstructive techniques that have been pioneered in Australia.
Other areas of her research include patient reported outcomes, patient education and the psychological impact of breast cancer with numerous publications in this area. She continues to be active in the clinical trials space and is currently the principal investigator in a number on ongoing clinical trials.
- A/Prof Nirmala Pathmanathan
A/Prof Nirmala Pathmanathan’s research interests are focussed on the identification of biomarkers to assist in the optimisation and personalisation of breast cancer systemic treatments, with a focus on universal access. Her current research projects are based on enhanced pathological assessment of breast cancers and development of low-cost, non-commercial diagnostic panels as an approach to improving systemic treatment selection.
This strategy maximises the clinical impact of precision oncology by embedding biological insight within existing diagnostic infrastructure, rather than creating parallel systems accessible only to a subset of patients.
Research governance
Research governance at the Westmead Breast Cancer Institute (BCI) ensures all research is ethical, safe, high quality and well managed.
All research projects are reviewed and approved by the Westmead Breast Cancer Research Collaborative (WBCRC) which conducts a clinical review of each proposal, ensures alignment with good clinical practice guidelines and monitors progress against agreed milestones.
After WBCRC approval, researchers must obtain ethics approval from a lead Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC). Most projects use the Western Sydney Local Health District HREC, although another lead HREC may be used.
Before a project can start, site-specific assessment (SSA) approval is required from the Western Sydney Local Health District Research Governance Office (RGO). SSA approval must be obtained for each research site.
Together, these processes ensure research at BCI is conducted responsibly, meets regulatory requirements and supports high-quality patient care and research outcomes.
All research at BCI is governed by the Westmead Breast Cancer Research Collaborative (WBCRC).
The WBCRC:
- reviews all proposed research projects
- conducts a clinical review before projects begin
- oversees the conduct of approved studies
- ensures studies follow good clinical practice guidelines
- monitors progress against agreed milestones within each specialty area.
After WBCRC approval, you must:
- Obtain ethics approval from a lead Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC).
- Most BCI projects are submitted to the Western Sydney Local Health District HREC.
- Researchers may choose a different lead HREC if appropriate.
- Obtain site-specific assessment (SSA) approval.
- SSA approval is required from the Western Sydney Local Health District Research Governance Office (RGO).
- SSA approval must be in place before the project starts.
- Each site involved in the research requires separate SSA approval.