Dr Josh Tobin receives 2019 Celgene Award

17/Dec/2019     HealthResearch

Dr Joshua Tobin a haematologist-in-training at Mater has been awarded the prestigious 2019 Celgene Future Leaders in Hematology Award in Orlando, Florida on Saturday 7 December.

Dr Tobin’s research in immuno-oncology has been recognised for its significant contribution to the international haematology field where he has been acknowledged by his peers and the wider international medical community.

“It’s an honour for the entire lab to have our work acknowledged this way and to have Australian laboratories recognised on the global stage. It demonstrates what we are doing at Mater is competing with top ranking institutions around the world,” Dr Tobin said.

“It’s often tough for an early career researcher to seek out long term funding. Awards like this are invaluable at this stage of a research career, they are able to fund pilot studies to show that your ideas are viable and establish yourself as a contender for more substantial grants in the future.”

Dr Tobin undertook a two-year fellowship position shared between the Princess Alexandra Hospital and The University of Queensland where he focused on translational research in B-cell lymphomas.

To supplement his fellowship, Dr Tobin also embarked on his PhD in immuno-oncology at The University of Queensland which he has continued part-time since 2016 and he currently studies in the Blood Cancer Research Group at Mater Research— University of Queensland under Professor Maher Gandhi.

“As a clinician, Dr Tobin is a young but well-established haematologist-in-training, he also holds a position at The University of Queensland where he lectures on malignant and non-malignant haematology,” Professor Gandhi said.

“Dr Tobin’s area of research interest is in the role of the tumour microenvironment in B-cell lymphoproliferative diseases, particularly indolent malignancies like follicular lymphoma (FL).

“He has demonstrated that FL biopsies can be dichotomised into immunologically “hot” (inflamed) or “cold” (inert) subtypes which was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology this year.”  

The goal of Dr Tobin’s work is the development of translational tools which can be used to select patients for trials to improve patient survival and limit the toxicity from conventional chemotherapy-containing therapies.

This project provides valuable insights to the pathobiology of FL where Dr Tobin presented internationally at the American Society of Haematology Annual Meeting and has been awarded the joint ASH and HSANZ Abstract Achievement Award in 2017.

Joshua has also been able to build strong collaborations with research groups internationally including the German Low Grade Study Group (GLSG) and the British Columbia Cancer Agency (BCCA).

“Despite beginning his haematology journey in only 2016, Joshua has made exceptional strides and achievements. He clearly has the hallmarks of an outstanding clinical and research leader of international stature,” Professor Gandhi said.

Public relations contacts

07 3163 6142