The Royal Society of NSW is delighted that one of its Fellows and leading childhood cancer researcher, Professor Maria Kavallaris AM FRSN, has been named NSW Woman of the Year for 2020 by the NSW Premier, Ms Gladys Berejiklian.

Maria’s pathway to cancer research, and the development of less toxic treatments for childhood cancers, had a very personal beginning, with her diagnosis of cancer at the age of 21. Speaking with the Sydney Morning Herald, she referred to “getting high doses of chemotherapy, which had many-side-effects” and decided that “if she got through the aggressive treatment, she would do something to improve therapies.” Professor Kavallaris is Head of the Tumour Biology and Targeting Program at the Children’s Cancer Institute and is Director of the Australian Centre for NanoMedicine at UNSW.

The Society warmly congratulates Maria Kavallaris on this recognition of her outstanding, internationally-recognised, 35-year research career.