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30 September 2021
Driving Towards Personalised Ovarian Cancer Treatment
Cintya Dharmayanti
PhD candidate at UniSA’s Applied Chemistry and Translational Biomaterials (ACTB) Group
Bachelor of Biomedical Research (Honours)
Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science
PhD candidate at UniSA’s Applied Chemistry and Translational Biomaterials (ACTB) Group, Cintya Dharmayanti has taken out UniSA’s 2021 Three Minute Thesis (3MT) with a condensed presentation of her research in driving personalised ovarian cancer treatment.
Her winning presentation, Highway to Health: Driving towards personalised ovarian cancer treatment, detailed her work into the development of a nanoparticle system for ovarian cancer drug delivery, potentially leading to more effective treatments and reduced side effects.
“A woman diagnosed with ovarian cancer today would only have about a 50/50 chance of seeing the year 2026,” Cintya says. “The reason behind this low number lies partially in the treatment. While one patient may respond remarkably well to traditional chemotherapy, another, of the same age, the same diagnosis, and the same disease progression, may show little to no response at all.”
“With this diversity in mind, it’s clear that we can’t keep applying a ‘one size fits all’ treatment strategy towards these women. We need treatments that are tailored to each individual. We need personalised treatment.”
The first 3MT competition was held at the University of Queensland in 2008 and is now an international competition held in over 900 universities across more than 80 countries worldwide. The competition cultivates presentation and research communication skills – and sees students battle it out in three-minute presentations of their work.
As UniSA’s First Prize and People’s Choice winner, Cintya will now take to the 2021 Virtual Asia Pacific 3MT Competition to represent the University on the world stage.
After completing a Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science and Bachelor of Biomedical Research (Honours) in 2018 and 2019, respectively, Cintya pursued her passion for research by undertaking postgraduate studies at the University of South Australia.
Her affinity for the technical science of pharmacy and biomedical research has always been apparent, revelling in it throughout her degrees.
“My favourite part of my studies has always been chemistry. I like that it allows us to better understand what’s going on in the world around us,” Cintya says.
“In particular, I love that I can apply chemistry principles to address problems within the field of pharmaceutical science. It enables us to develop new treatments, and improve existing ones, with the ultimate goal of improving patient outcomes.”
“Throughout my studies, I’ve discovered that the practical side of chemistry and research can be really challenging, but I find the daily problem-solving nature of it extremely fulfilling.”
Cintya is currently a PhD candidate in the Applied Chemistry and Translational Biomaterials (ACTB) Group under the primary supervision of Associate Professor Anton Blencowe, where the team spend their time discovering and testing innovative solutions to challenges across biomedical and conservation sectors.
“Outside of research, Cintya has also spent time as a tutor at the University and been involved in teaching within a number of undergraduate chemistry courses, including Chemistry 100, Chemistry 101, and Advanced Structure Determination and Analysis.
She is also an active member of a number of internal and external committees, including the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) Early Career Chemists Group, CHS Future Researchers Group (Secretary), and UniSA’s Pharmaceutical Science Advisory Committee, and is well on her way to achieving her inspiring professional goals.
“My dream is to one day contribute to the discovery and development of pharmaceuticals that have the potential to improve the quality of life for patients worldwide,” she says.
“I am captivated by this field and the creativity within it, and I am excited to follow in the footsteps of the brilliant minds before me to help those that need it most.”
Cintya Dharmayanti’s winning 3MT presentation on personalised ovarian cancer treatment.
In UniSA’s final, six other PhD candidates communicated their research using one slide, and non-technical language in just three minutes. They included the below:
- Sophie Jano, UniSA Justice & Society, ‘Past, present and prediction: how your brain adapts to complexity’.
- Kathryn Stephenson, UniSA Business, ‘Cynicism: the unmeasured contagious workplace disease’.
- Liang Zhao, UniSA STEM, ‘Detecting early fire smoke from satellites with artificial intelligence methods’.
- Foteini Pasenidou, UniSA Education Futures, ‘What can ‘disable’ students’ inclusion in Australian schools?’.
- Katharine McBride, UniSA Allied Health and Human Performance, ‘Culture and spirit keeping Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women’s hearts strong’.
- Aprille Chua, UniSA Creative, ‘Projecting a Dynamic Workplace for Your Wellbeing’.
Watch Cintya Dharmayanti’s winning presentation and the rest of the finalists’ here. To vote for Cintya in the Asia Pacific 3MT Semi-Final People’s Choice visit the website here.
