Dr Jessica Holien’s 2020 grant was funded by Cure Cancer through the Cancer Australia Priority-driven Cancer Support Scheme. She is based at RMIT University.

Mucinous ovarian cancer (MOC) is an understudied form of the disease with typically terrible outcomes when detected late, or when it recurs. The standard chemotherapy drug combination used to treat it, cisplatin-taxane, most often fails.

“Clinicians have no guidelines for selecting the next drug to try,” explains Dr Jessica Holien, a team leader at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Victoria. “Novel therapies are urgently needed.”

Dr Jessica Holien's research

With her grant Jessica will use computers to help create a cutting-edge map of what scientists refer to as the proteins, or “machinery” that makes mucinous ovarian cancer cells grow. By understanding how this cancer cell production line is formed, and how it differs to the one used by normal cells, she aims to discover new, selective drug targets.

“Once we biologically confirm that these targets are important, I’ll then use computers to design the drugs,” she says.

Dr Jessica Holien's inspiration

Jessica has always loved science, in particular medical science. In 2001 she enrolled at the University of Melbourne to become a vet. After a year of veterinary science, she decided it wasn’t for her, so continued in a straight science course, eventually gaining her PhD at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences in 2010.

“The rest is history,” says Jessica. “Today the people who inspire me aren’t other researchers, but the patients and supporters I speak to. Their faith in my ability is what pushes me to do all I can to find new treatments for disease.”

On a personal level, Jessica does a great deal of outreach work. “From this I’ve had young girls tell me they now want to be a scientist, have had patients crying with happiness as they’re hopeful for new treatments, and have obtained personal funding for my work.”

She believes that resilience, stubbornness and a drive to succeed are essential qualities for a researcher. For cancer patients, she has a message of optimism. “New treatments are being found all the time for all types of cancer. Survival rates are good, so don’t give up hope.”

“The people who inspire me are not other researchers, but the patients and supporters I speak to.”

The importance of funding

Jessica already has an impressive track record as a researcher. She has been involved in a number of commercial drug discovery projects that have been licensed to pharmaceutical companies and entered clinical trials. She currently consults with a variety of drug companies, including MecRx and Pathios Therapeutics.

From 2017 to 2019 Jessica was on the board of the Australian Society for Medical Research, and in 2018 was chosen to be a participant in the Inspiring Woman STEM “sidebyside” program, an initiative to support women in the science, technology, engineering and maths industries. This is her third of her Cure Cancer grants, which have been used to focus on three types of cancer.

“The best part of these grants is that Cure Cancer get their researchers together for the symposium,” she says. “This allows you to present your work to a room of people who are all in a similar career stage to you. For me, this led to two active collaborations in different cancers.”

Jessica appreciates that Cure Cancer is “unique,” because it funds the “wild ideas” of young researchers which can lead to breakthroughs. And unlike most other grant bodies, it funds researchers past the three- to five-year early career stage. “There aren’t many grants for this group who are competing for funds with senior researchers with extensive track records.”

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