Christine Clarke

Biography

 Christine Clarke is Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Sydney and a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Principal Research Fellow, based at the Westmead Institute, Westmead Hospital. She graduated in Science with BSc Honours (First Class), from the University of New South Wales in 1977 and went on to complete a PhD in Biochemistry at the same university in 1982. She embarked on postdoctoral studies overseas, spending time in France at INSERM, Paris, France (1982-1983) and in the United States (Pennsylvania State University, Hershey, Pennsylvania, 1983-1987). She returned to Australia as a Research Fellow at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney (1987-1990), and was appointed as a NHMRC RD Wright Fellow in 1991. She moved to the University of Sydney in 1992 and was appointed as an NHMRC Research Fellow in 1993.

Research Interest

A major goal of the Breast Cancer Research Group is to understand the the mechanisms of action of the female hormone progesterone in the normal breast and in breast cancer, with the eventual aim of understanding the role of steroid hormones in cancer development and progression. Research projects include basic studies on mechanisms of transcriptional regulation of progesterone receptor, and definition of pathways of progesterone action in models of normal human breast. The research team manitains a commitment to translation and to emphasis on findings in human tissues to guide its research directions. Professor Clarke works with a small team of postdoctoral researchers, postgraduate students and research staff. The group is supported by state and national peer-reviewed grants. Professor Clarke also leads the Australian Breast Cancer Tissue Bank, a NSW-wide initiative funded by the NHMRC, the National Breast Cancer Foundation and the Cancer Institute NSW, to collect breast cancer tissues and clinical information and make these available to researchers around the country.