# Sarah-Jane Dawson

Source: https://onco.cc/people/dawson-sarah-jane/  
OnCo record `dawson-sarah-jane` (Person). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

A ctDNA pioneer whose early work showed blood could track breast cancer better than protein markers or imaging.

## Summary

Sarah-Jane Dawson is Professor and Head of the Translational Genomics and Epigenomics Laboratory at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, where she is also a medical oncologist. She is a pioneer of circulating tumour DNA, and her early work showed that blood could track metastatic breast cancer better than protein markers or imaging, helping to launch liquid biopsy as a monitoring tool. Her publications include the analysis of circulating tumour DNA to monitor metastatic breast cancer. Her laboratory now develops ctDNA, molecular residual disease and epigenomic approaches across solid and blood cancers.

## Fields

- Kind: Person
- Last checked: 2026-09-08
- Role: Professor; Head, Translational Genomics and Epigenomics Laboratory; medical oncologist, Peter Mac
- Specialisms: Circulating tumour DNA; Cancer genomics; Breast cancer; Haematologic malignancies

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah-Jane_Dawson
- Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre: https://www.petermac.org
- PubMed author search: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Dawson%20SJ%5BAuthor%5D%20circulating%20tumor%20DNA

## Connected records

- cancers: [HR-positive / HER2-negative breast cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/breast-hr-positive/)
- technologies: [Liquid biopsy (ctDNA)](https://onco.cc/technologies/liquid-biopsy/), [MRD / molecular residual disease testing](https://onco.cc/technologies/mrd-testing/)
- institutions: [Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre](https://onco.cc/institutions/peter-mac/)
- terms: [Circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA)](https://onco.cc/terms/ctdna/)
- roadmaps: [ctDNA tests roadmap: from a curiosity in plasma to blood tests that decide treatment](https://onco.cc/roadmaps/ctdna-tests/)

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