Delphine Merino

Laboratory Head, Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute

Professor Merino is the head of the Tumour Progression and Heterogeneity laboratory at the ONJCRI/LTU. She is a VCA fellow and president of the Australasian Metastasis Research Society.

After receiving her PhD from the University of Burgundy (France) in 2008, Prof Merino did a first post-doc in the lab of Dr Bouillet (WEHI), to study the function of the intrinsic survival pathway in immune homeostasis and leukaemia progression. Her work was extended to the study of BH3 mimetics, small molecules inhibiting pro-survival proteins. In 2012, she did a second post-doc in the lab of Profs Visvader and Lindeman (WEHI) to study breast cancer progression and the effect of BH3 mimetics on breast cancer subtypes.

In 2017, she joined the ONJCRI as laboratory Head. The objective of her team is to identify the biological features of the cells that are most likely to form lethal metastases in vital organs, including the brain.