Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
I am a clinician-scientist and genitourinary cancer medical oncologist at Eastern Health in Melbourne, Australia. I currently serve as Laboratory Head and Senior Research Fellow at Eastern Health Clinical School, Monash University, with a cross-appointment within the Biomedicine Discovery Institute Prostate Cancer Research Group.
After completing my specialist training, I pursued a PhD at Monash University, focusing on prostate cancer genomics. I then relocated to Vancouver, Canada, where I completed a genitourinary clinical fellowship at BC Cancer and a postdoctoral fellowship at the Vancouver Prostate Centre, University of British Columbia. My postdoctoral research centered on developing tissue and circulating tumour DNA biomarkers to predict treatment outcomes in lethal metastatic prostate cancer, using samples collected from prospective clinical trials and large biobanks to explore disease biology and tumour evolution. In October 2024, I returned to Australia to begin my independent research career.
My research interests encompass diverse disciplines, including molecular biology, bioinformatics, clinical trials, biobanking, clinical database development, and translational medicine. By combining expertise in cancer genomics and clinical oncology, my research team strives to understand how genomic and epigenomic alterations identified in both tumour tissue and blood can better guide therapeutic decision-making in patients with urological cancers.
Research interests
- Genitourinary cancers (with prostate cancer focus)
- Circulating tumour DNA and tissue biomarkers
- Molecular biology and bioinformatics
- Integrating translational research into clinical trials
- Biobanking and database creation
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):
Research area keywords
- prostate cancer
- genomics
- epigenomics
- ctDNA
- circulating biomarkers
- tissue biomarkers
- targeted therapies
- systemic therapy
- precision medicine
- genitourinary cancers
- urology
- radioligand therapy
- chemotherapy
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
-
Serial Profiling of Oncogenic biomarkers through Treatment in Liquid biopsy for InvestiGating Heterogeneity and Treatment response in metastatic prostate cancer
Herbison, H. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Kwan, E. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Pook, D. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Ranasinghe, W. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Wann, A. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Tung, I. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Nzenza, T. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Rolfs, A. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Taylor, R. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Lawrence, M. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Papargiris, M. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Tran, B. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Anton, A. (Associate Investigator (AI)) & O'Haire, S. (Associate Investigator (AI))
1/10/25 → 30/09/27
Project: Research
-
Monash Cancer Donor Program
Pook, D. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Taylor, R. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Lawrence, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Ryan, A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Kwan, E. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Ranasinghe, W. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Herbison, H. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Grossman, C. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Papargiris, M. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Kraska, J. (Associate Investigator (AI)) & Rathi, V. (Associate Investigator (AI))
6/06/25 → 6/06/26
Project: Research
-
Multimodal ctDNA analysis and novel imaging to inform precision use of PSMA radioligand therapy: an integrative biomarker analysis of the phase 2 TheraP trial
Kwan, E. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI))
ANZUP Cancer Trials Group Limited
1/01/25 → 31/12/26
Project: Research
-
Toward a clinically informative epigenomic liquid biopsy in metastatic prostate cancer
Kwan, E. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI))
1/01/26 → 31/12/26
Project: Research
-
Comprehensive circulating nucleic acid analysis to identify biomarkers for immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC)
Kwan, E. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)) & Azad, A. (Supervisor)
1/03/21 → 28/02/22
Project: Research
-
…But Words Will Never Hurt Me
Davis, I. D., Anton, A. & Kwan, E. M., Mar 2025, In: European Urology. 87, 3, p. 289-291 3 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial › Other › peer-review
-
Circulating tumour DNA fraction as a predictor of treatment efficacy in a randomized phase 2 trial of [177Lu]Lu-PSMA-617 (LuPSMA) versus cabazitaxel in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) progressing after docetaxel (TheraP ANZUP 1603)
Kwan, E. M., Hofman, M. S., Ng, S. W. S., Emmett, L., Sandhu, S., Buteau, J. P., Iravani, A., Joshua, A. M., Francis, R. J., Subhash, V., Lee, S. T., Scott, A. M., Martin, A. J., Stockler, M. R., Donnellan, G., Annala, M., Tolmeijer, S. H., Azad, A., Davis, I. D. (Leading Author) & Wyatt, A. W. & 1 others, , Jun 2024, In: Journal of Clinical Oncology. 42, 16 suppl, 1 p., 5055.Research output: Contribution to journal › Meeting Abstract › peer-review
3 Citations (Scopus) -
Multiregion sampling of de novo metastatic prostate cancer reveals complex polyclonality and augments clinical genotyping
Warner, E. W., Van der Eecken, K., Murtha, A. J., Kwan, E. M., Herberts, C., Sipola, J., Ng, S. W. S., Chen, X. E., Fonseca, N. M., Ritch, E., Schönlau, E., Bernales, C. Q., Donnellan, G., Munzur, A. D., Parekh, K., Beja, K., Wong, A., Verbeke, S., Lumen, N. & Van Dorpe, J. & 5 others, , Jan 2024, In: Nature Cancer. 5, 1, p. 114-130 17 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
31 Citations (Scopus) -
Overall survival with [177Lu]Lu-PSMA-617 versus cabazitaxel in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (TheraP): secondary outcomes of a randomised, open-label, phase 2 trial
Hofman, M. S., Emmett, L., Sandhu, S., Iravani, A., Buteau, J. P., Joshua, A. M., Goh, J. C., Pattison, D. A., Tan, T. H., Kirkwood, I. D., Ng, S., Francis, R. J., Gedye, C., Rutherford, N. K., Weickhardt, A., Scott, A. M., Lee, S. T., Kwan, E. M., Azad, A. A. & Ramdave, S. & 12 others, , Jan 2024, In: The Lancet Oncology. 25, 1, p. 99-107 9 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
141 Citations (Scopus) -
Prediction of plasma ctDNA fraction and prognostic implications of liquid biopsy in advanced prostate cancer
Fonseca, N. M., Maurice-Dror, C., Herberts, C., Tu, W., Fan, W., Murtha, A. J., Kollmannsberger, C., Kwan, E. M., Parekh, K., Schönlau, E., Bernales, C. Q., Donnellan, G., Ng, S. W. S., Sumiyoshi, T., Vergidis, J., Noonan, K., Finch, D. L., Zulfiqar, M., Miller, S. & Parimi, S. & 19 others, , Dec 2024, In: Nature Communications. 15, 1, 16 p., 1828.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access79 Citations (Scopus)