Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Daniela has a joint appointment across the Faculties of Engineering and Medicine at Monash University. She has Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees and a PhD in Natural Sciences (Dr rer nat) from the Faculty of Chemistry, Technical University of Munich, Germany. She has over 17 years of academic experience, working as a research scientist and group leader in 5 countries (Germany, Australia, Switzerland, USA, UK). She was Deputy Director in the Centre for Regenerative Medicine at Queensland University of Technology, before she joined the Barts Cancer Institute at Queen Mary University of London as a Reader in Bioengineering and Cancer.
Daniela’s scientific achievements, technologies and leadership have been recognised by a number of national and international awards. She is the recipient of the 2019 Joint E.K. Frey – E.Werle and Henner Graeff Promotion Prize, a 2015 Monash University Engineering Women’s Leadership Award, a 2013 Oral Presentation Award at the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre Congress, Queensland University of Technology Mid-Career and Early Career Researcher Awards and four Carla Patterson Publication Awards. She was selected to attend the 2017 Women and Power Executive Leadership Program at the Harvard Kennedy School.
Research interests
Daniela’s research interests are to understand the role of the extracellular and cellular microenvironment in modulating cancer progression and therapy response applying tissue-engineered technologies. Using her multidisciplinary expertise in cell biology, biomedical engineering and translational research, her team develops 3D platforms by integrating patient-specific and biomechanical characteristics of the tumour microenvironment to test biological therapies.
Daniela’s work and research have been recognised nationally and internationally with peer-reviewed publications (Nature Protocols, Biomaterials, Cancer Research, Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, Trends in Biotechnology), presentations and invited participation in international symposia.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Education/Academic qualification
Natural Sciences, PhD, The tumour-biological role in integrin alpha v beta 3 in ovarian cancer, Technische Universität München (Technical University of Munich)
Award Date: 25 Oct 2007
External positions
Honorary contract, Queen Mary University of London
2 Mar 2020 → …
Research area keywords
- 3D cell culture models
- Tumour tissue engineering
- Biomaterials
- Cancer Biology
- Mechanobiology
- Extracellular matrix
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Replicating the cartilage micromechanical environment
Stok, K. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Farrugia, B. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Loessner, D. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Lamande, S. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Mueller, R. (Partner Investigator (PI)) & Bay, B. (Partner Investigator (PI))
24/05/24 → 23/05/27
Project: Research
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ARC Training Centre for Cell and Tissue Engineering Technologies
Meagher, L. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Bray, L. J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Voelcker, N. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Risbridger, G. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Hutmacher, D. W. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Batra, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Dargaville, T. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Elnathan, R. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Saifzadeh, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Heng, T. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Aguilar, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Lim, R. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Klein, T. J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Fisher, A. (Partner Investigator (PI)), McGovern, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Dislakis, V. (Partner Investigator (PI)), McLellan, A. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Dulleck, U. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Steck, R. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Scott, W. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Corrie, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Thissen, H. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Cameron, N. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Haupt, L. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Werner, C. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Levett, P. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Whyte, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Forsythe, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Smith, N. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Frith, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Hicks, C. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Rackham, O. J. L. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Sohal, A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Polo, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), May, M. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Reimers, N. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Toh, Y.-C. (Chief Investigator (CI)), McKee, J. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Adams, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Obschonka, M. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Subramaniam, N. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Yambem, S. D. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Russell-Bennett, R. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Bertram, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Schierjott, R. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Hollands, J. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Currie, P. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Ball, G. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Trapani, J. A. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Cadarso Busto, V. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Loessner, D. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Ecker, R. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Boyd, R. L. (Partner Investigator (PI)) & Lim, J. (Partner Investigator (PI))
ARC - Australian Research Council, PolVax Pty Ltd, Cartherics Pty Ltd, TissueGUARD GmbH, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, TissueGnostics GmbH
13/01/21 → 30/11/27
Project: Research
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NHMRC Equipment Grant - BeadBug 6 microtube homogenizer
Loessner, D. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)) & Stok, K. S. (Chief Investigator (CI))
1/11/23 → 31/12/24
Project: Research
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High-Precision Mass Spectrometry Imaging Facility
Voelcker, N. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Tuck, K. (Chief Investigator (CI)), McConville, M. J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Li, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Loessner, D. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Pigram, P. (Chief Investigator (CI)), van Oppen, M. J. H. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Winkler, D. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Hartland, E. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Velkov, T. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Stewart, A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Schittenhelm, R. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Williamson, N. A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Rudd, D. (Partner Investigator (PI)) & Pham, K. N. (Partner Investigator (PI))
ARC - Australian Research Council
17/03/23 → 31/12/23
Project: Research
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Tailoring metabolic activity assays for tumour-engineered 3D models
Clegg, J., Curvello, R., Gabrielyan, A., Croagh, D., Hauser, S. & Loessner, D., Feb 2025, In: Biomaterials Advances. 167, 11 p., 214116.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access -
A self-assembled 3D model demonstrates how stiffness educates tumor cell phenotypes and therapy resistance in pancreatic cancer
Liu, Y., Okesola, B. O., Osuna de la Peña, D., Li, W., Lin, M. L., Trabulo, S., Tatari, M., Lawlor, R. T., Scarpa, A., Wang, W., Knight, M., Loessner, D., Heeschen, C., Mata, A. & Pearce, O. M. T., 5 Jul 2024, In: Advanced Healthcare Materials. 13, 17, 16 p., 2301941.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access7 Citations (Scopus) -
Recreating metabolic interactions of the tumour microenvironment
Curvello, R., Berndt, N., Hauser, S. & Loessner, D., Jun 2024, In: Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism. 35, 6, p. 518-532 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review Article › Research › peer-review
2 Citations (Scopus) -
Tumor-associated mesenchymal stromal cells modulate macrophage phagocytosis in stromal-rich colorectal cancer via PD-1 signaling
Leonard, N. A., Corry, S. M., Reidy, E., Egan, H., O'Malley, G., Thompson, K., McDermott, E., O'Neill, A., Zakaria, N., Egan, L. J., Ritter, T., Loessner, D., Redmond, K., Sheehan, M., Canney, A., Hogan, A. M., Hynes, S. O., Treacy, O., Dunne, P. D. & Ryan, A. E., 20 Sept 2024, In: iScience. 27, 9, 27 p., 110701.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access5 Citations (Scopus) -
A tumor microenvironment model of pancreatic cancer to elucidate responses toward immunotherapy
Kast, V., Nadernezhad, A., Pette, D., Gabrielyan, A., Fusenig, M., Honselmann, K. C., Stange, D. E., Werner, C. & Loessner, D., 1 Jun 2023, In: Advanced Healthcare Materials. 12, 14, 15 p., 2201907.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access17 Citations (Scopus)