Pancreatic cancer researcher is NSW Woman of the Year

Pancreatic cancer researcher Professor Minoti Apte has been announced 2015 NSW Woman of the Year by Premier Mike Baird and Minister for Women Pru Goward. This is not the first significant honour for Professor Apte, who was last year awarded the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for her services to medical research, tertiary education and the Indian community.

A professor at UNSW’s South Western Sydney Clinical School and research group leader at the Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, Professor Apte is investigating pancreatic cancer at a cellular level to find out how and why the deadly cancer is so aggressive and spreads so quickly. She was the first in the world to develop a method to isolate pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs), providing a much-needed research tool for studying the path that pancreatic fibrosis (scarring of the pancreas) takes.

Her group established that PSCs were responsible for producing the prominent scar tissue in pancreatic cancer and that there was a close communication between PSCs and cancer cells. This proved that cancer cells ‘recruit’ normal pancreatic cells to help the cancer grow and spread to distant parts of the body.

The next phase of Professor Apte’s work is to stop PSCs working with normal cells. She is currently leading preclinical studies that are anticipated to create a new combination therapy to help improve treatment outcomes for pancreatic cancer patients.

Accepting the award, Professor Apte called on state and federal governments to make increased funding in medical research a higher priority. She also called for better support for women seeking to balance family and career, praising UNSW for providing “family-friendly workplace arrangements and supporting women who want to balance family with pursuing a career in science, academia or medical research”.

Professor Apte plays an active role in research training through her supervision and mentorship of PhD, masters and honours students. She is the editor-in-chief of the journal Pancreatology and is also an active member of the Marathi Association of Sydney, a community organisation that serves a large section of Sydney’s Indian diaspora.

Professor Apte was described by the Premier as “a highly respected researcher and member of the community [whose] achievements inspire other women to follow in her footsteps”.