Mitchell S Stark 32nd Lorne Cancer 2020

Mitchell S Stark

A/Prof Mitchell Stark is a molecular biologist and an NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow (EL2) and Group Leader from the Dermatology Research Centre (DRC) based at the Frazer Institute, The University of Queensland. His group has extensive experience in microRNA biology and biomarker discovery, next-generation sequencing, bioinformatics, spatial transcriptomics, and functional analysis for a variety of applications. The Stark Lab’s major research streams include: miRNA biomarkers for melanoma progression and the development a Genomics Atlas of pre-skin cancer lesions, which aim to provide insight into the early progression of melanoma and keratinocyte cancer, to aid in preventing invasive skin cancer formation and offer increased precision to the clinical management of patients. A/Prof Stark completed his PhD (2015) in melanoma microRNA biomarkers at The Queensland University of Technology based at the QIMR Berghofer (QIMRB) Medical Research Institute. Prior to commencing his PhD, he worked as Senior Research Assistant (since 1999) and was trained and mentored in the Hayward lab (QIMRB) where he contributed to and led some seminal findings in the melanoma genetics/genomics field. A/Prof Stark joined the DRC in 2015 to lead a pre-melanoma genomics program. A/Prof Stark has a career total of 90+ publications (h-index 42) has published in respected journals such as Nature, Nature Genetics, Cancer Research, and Journal of Investigative Dermatology.