Personal profile
Biography
Professor Melissa C. Southey, BSc (Hons, Pathology) PhD (Medicine), GradDip (Law), is a molecular geneticist (FHGSA) and a Founding Fellow of the Faculty of Science, Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (FFSc, RCPA). She is Chair of Precision Medicine, School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health, Director of Monash University’s new Biobanking Victoria initiative, based at the Monash Health Translation Precinct and Research Director of the Monash Partners Comprehensive Cancer Consortium.
Professor Southey’s research program has a population-based focus that has been pivotal to the establishment of large genetic epidemiological research resources that are now being utilized to address key questions in cancer research. Melissa is best known for her work with multiple-case cancer families and heritable risk factors that has provided the evidence base for best practice guidelines for the clinical management of individuals at high risk of the disease.
Professor Southey has led multidisciplinary teams in diagnostic and research settings in Australia and internationally, supported by programmatic awards from the European Commission, the National Institutes of Health (USA), NHMRC and The National Breast Cancer Foundation. She has co-authored more than 520 peer reviewed publications and has been namedin the Clarivate 2018 Highly Cited Researchers, ranking in the top 1% of researchers over the last 10 years. She actively participates on a number of national and international scientific advisory, governance and editorial bodies.
Biography
Please see Southeylab.org
External positions
Honorary Professorial Fellow, University of Melbourne
1 Jan 2019 → …
Senior Honorary Research Associate, Cancer Council Victoria
1 Jan 2013 → …
Research area keywords
- Precision Medicine
- Oncology
- Familial Cancer
- Epidemiology
- Genomics
- Biobanking
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):
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SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Integrating genetic and epigenetic data for prediction of prostate cancer aggressiveness and outcomes
Dugue, P.-A. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Southey, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Azad, A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Giles, G. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Maclnnis, R. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Barlee, A. (Partner Investigator (PI)) & Cavill, S. (Partner Investigator (PI))
1/01/24 → 31/12/27
Project: Research
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The One Water Consortium
Henry, R. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), McCarthy, D. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Barker, F. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Powell, D. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Southey, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Leder, K. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Cottam, D. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Crosbie, N. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Poon, R. (Partner Investigator (PI)) & Sprink, T. (Partner Investigator (PI))
Monash University, Environment Protection Authority (trading as EPA Victoria) , Melbourne Water Corporation (MWC) (trading as Melbourne Water) (Victoria), Department of Health (DH) (Victoria)
30/06/23 → 6/09/28
Project: Research
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Trial Integration of Polygenic Scores for Common Cancers into Standard Clinical Care
James, P. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Young, M. A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Yanes, T. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Chenevix-Trench, G. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Fox, S. B. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Best, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Taylor, N. J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Jackson, V. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Mar Fan, H. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Blackburn, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Willis, A. M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Goranitis, I. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Terrill, B. N. (Chief Investigator (CI)), McLanders, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Southey, M. (Chief Investigator (CI))
1/06/23 → 31/05/27
Project: Research
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Determination of “actionable vaccine targets” for breast cancer immunotherapy
Faridi, P. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Dolcetti, R. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Purcell, A. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Mazzieri, R. (Associate Investigator (AI)) & Southey, M. (Associate Investigator (AI))
1/01/23 → 31/12/27
Project: Research
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Delivering Precision Medicine to Population-based Cancer Prevention
Southey, M. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI))
1/01/23 → 31/12/27
Project: Research
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Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP): A need for standardized definition and criteria for translational research studies
Harraka, P., Yeh, P., Nicholls, S. J. & Southey, M. C., Apr 2026, In: Genetics in Medicine. 28, 4, 4 p., 102530.Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment / Debate › Other › peer-review
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DNA methylation-based surrogate markers of C-reactive protein and their associations with health-related traits
Li, D. L., Hodge, A. M., Ryan, J., Southey, M. C., Giles, G. G., Milne, R. L. & Dugué, P. A. (Leading Author), 2026, (Accepted/In press) In: GeroScience. 14 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access1 Link opens in a new tab Citation (Scopus) -
Epigenetic markers of ageing and cancer risk
Li, D. L. (Leading Author), Ryan, J., Hodge, A. M., Southey, M. C., Giles, G. G., Milne, R. L. & Dugué, P. A. (Leading Author), May 2026, In: Ageing Research Reviews. 117, 15 p., 103041.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review Article › Research › peer-review
1 Link opens in a new tab Citation (Scopus) -
Tumour-based epigenetic signatures as markers of prostate cancer aggressiveness after radical prostatectomy
Zhu, Y., Zarean, E., Li, D. L., O’Reilly, R. L., Davis, I. D., Taylor, R. A., Azad, A. A., Bolton, D. M., Papa, N., Lawrentschuk, N., MacInnis, R. J., Milne, R. L., Giles, G. G., Southey, M. C. & Dugué, P. A., 2026, In: British Journal of Cancer. 134, p. 477–485 9 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
1 Link opens in a new tab Citation (Scopus) -
Allelic effects on KLHL17 expression underlie a pancreatic cancer genome-wide association signal at chr1p36.33
Connelly, K. E., Hullin, K., Abdolalizadeh, E., Zhong, J., Eiser, D., O’Brien, A., Collins, I., Das, S., Duncan, G., Chanock, S. J., Stolzenberg-Solomon, R. Z., Klein, A. P., Wolpin, B. M., Hoskins, J. W., Andresson, T., Smith, J. P., Amundadottir, L. T., Pancreatic Cancer Cohort Consortium & Pancreatic Cancer Case-Control Consortium, 30 Apr 2025, In: Nature Communications. 16, 1, 18 p., 4055.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access2 Link opens in a new tab Citations (Scopus)