Cure Cancer profiles the work and lab of young guns Dr Marlene Hao and Dr Lincon Stamp
Dr Marlene Hao and Dr Lincon Stamp, Dept Anatomy & Physiology, were appointed joint lab-heads in 2019 following the retirement of their supervisor Prof Heather Young. Although they seemingly inherited the lab space and equipment, funds were tight and they would need to work together to prove themselves.
As early-career researchers, they faced more scepticisim and scrutiny when applying for grants, than more established researchers. “Although we were running the group, we were still considered too junior by some people to run the lab.” Lincon told Cure Cancer.
The Stamp Hao Lab is now a thriving workplace where everyone’s ideas matter - a result of the past decade working together with a shared passion for the enteric nervous system, support of each other, and a commitment to building an inclusive culture.
Marlene credits the 2020-2022 Cure Cancer grant funding for the research momentum that ultimately led to securing larger funding through the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) “which signalled to a lot of higher-ups that we can do this!”
The enteric nervous system is the nervous system located in the gut. It is responsible for controlling the movement of contents through the gut and operates independently of the central nervous system. “This sounds like it’s far removed from cancer research,” says Marlene, “but we believe knowledge from our field will help find new targets for the treatment of brain cancer.”