Professor Janni Petersen

Matthew Flinders Professor in Cancer Cell Biology

College of Medicine and Public Health

place Flinders Medical Centre Building (4L:120)
GPO Box 2100, Adelaide 5001, South Australia

Research in my laboratory focuses on Cancer Cell Metabolism and Cell Biology. I am particularly interested in understanding how tumour cells differentiate from the body's normal cells in terms of nutrient metabolism. To this end we investigate two major nutrient-sensing signalling networks that play major roles in tumorigenesis in humans.

I am a biochemist (obtained a BSc in Biochemistry 1989-1992), a Geneticist (obtained a MSc in Molecular Genetics 1992-1994) and a Cell Biologist (obtained a PhD in cell biology (1995-1998 ) all from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. In 1998, I joined the laboratory of Professor Iain Hagan at The University of Manchester and Cancer Research UK Manchester institute as a postdoctoral Research Fellow to study the role of protein kinases in regulating cell cycle progression in fission yeast. I then worked as a Research Associate with Nobel laureate Sir Paul Nurse at the Rockefeller University in New York, USA, and continued my studies of the role of protein kinases in regulating cell cycle progression in fission yeast. In 2005, I became a Lecturer within the Faculty of Life Sciences at The University of Manchester, UK. In December 2009, I was awarded a Cancer Research UK Senior Research Fellowship. My appointment to Flinders University as an Associate Professor along with a Faculty appointment at SAHMRI (South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute) as part of the Nutrition and Metabolism theme commenced 2015. At Flinders University my group is a member of the Centre for innovation in Cancer.

Qualifications

1998 PhD in Genetics, The University of Copenhagen, Denmark
1994 MSc in Genetics , The University of Copenhagen, Denmark
1992 BSc in Biochemistry, The University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Honours, awards and grants

2024-2026, CIA, ARC Discovery Project

2022-2024, CIA, NHMRC Ideas Grant

2022-2024, CIA, ARC Discovery Project

2021, Matthew Flinders Professor

2019-2021: CIA, NHMRC project Grant

2018-2020: CIA, ARC Discovery Project

2017: CIA, Cancer Council Award

2015-2019: CIA, Worldwide Cancer Research Award

2009-2015: Cancer Research UK (CRUK) Senior Fellowship.

2006: Royal Society award

2000-2001: Wellcome Trust travelling fellowship

1999-2000: Carlsberg- Wellcome Trust Stipend

1998: Short Term EMBO fellowship

Key responsibilities

Head, Cancer Cell Metabolism Group.

Supervisory interests
Cancer
Cancer biology
Cell biology
Cell growth
Cell proliferation
Cell signalling
Cell signalling mechanisms
Medical biochemistry
Metabolism
Microbiology
Molecular biology
Higher degree by research supervision
Current
Principal supervisor: Metabolism (1)
Associate supervisor: metabolism (2)
Completion
Principal supervisor: Cell Biology, Genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry (5)