Professor Kum Kum Khanna is a Professorial Research Fellow at Mater Research and The University of Queensland. Prof Khanna’s research focuses on mechanisms that safeguard the integrity of our DNA, emphasising DNA damage response (DDR) pathways that fix the lesions in DNA. These pathways provide fundamental knowledge as to how a living cell functions and have implications for tissue development/aging, to understand cancer initiation/progression and to clinically predict novel therapeutic opportunities for cancer patients. Her groundbreaking discoveries have included identifying novel regulators of DDR, cell division cycle and uncovering connections between ATM and other cancer-related genes, such as BRCA1 and p53.

Prof Khanna’s research has not only expanded the understanding of cancer biology but has also paved the way for innovative treatment strategies. By exploiting DNA repair deficiencies in cancer cells, she has spearheaded efforts to develop targeted therapies that hold immense promise for improving patient outcomes in aggressive forms of breast and ovarian cancers.

Prof Khanna began her research career in parasitology, however witnessing her mother’s battle with metastatic urinary bladder cancer sparked curiosity to understand the underlying mechanisms of cancer. This ultimately led her to pivot her research focus to pursue a career dedicated to women’s cancers.

Prof Khanna has published over 250 papers in journals including Nature Genetics, Cancer Cell, Nature and Oncogene. Her most cited article has received more than 3,200 citations since its publication in 2001.

Her research has been funded by national and international funding bodies, including NHMRC-funded Program and Project Grants, Australian Research Council, US Department of Defense Novel Concept Award, Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation USA, Queensland Cancer Fund/Cancer Council Queensland, National Institutes of Health (USA), National Breast Cancer Foundation Infrastructure and Novel Concept grants and Australian Cancer Research Foundation Infrastructure grant.

Prof Khanna works closely with fellow researchers at Mater, using tumour specimens from Mater’s Gynaecological and Breast Cancer Biobank to help further understand mechanisms of development of therapy resistance and to develop novel combinations of treatment strategies for advanced disease.

"I've always been curious, and have wanted to be a scientist since I was a child. I like to understand why things—like cancer—happen. If we catch diseases like breast cancer early, there is a 92 per cent survival rate, however this drops to 23 per cent if it metastasises. My work is looking at whether we can pivot metastasized cancer into eventually being a less harmful disease to improve survival rates. This would allow women to live long and healthy lives despite the disease.”