Professor Jayesh Desai

Medical Oncologist, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

Professor Jayesh Desai is a highly esteemed Medical Oncologist at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, where he specializes in sarcomas and colorectal cancer. He leads the Phase I/Early Drug Development program and co-chairs the Bone and Soft Tissue Sarcoma service. As Deputy-Director of the PCCTU, he oversees Peter Mac's collaborations with industry alliances and partnerships. Recently, he took on the role of Associate Director of Clinical Research at Peter Mac. Prof Desai has led 40 clinical trials over the past five years and has authored or co-authored approximately 150 publications in high-impact journals.

Prof Desai's contributions extend beyond his research and clinical roles. He has served on influential national and international committees such as ASCO and ESMO, securing about $40 million in peer-reviewed and industry research funding. He has been instrumental in establishing sarcoma research in Australia, co-founding the Australasian Sarcoma Studies Group in 2008. His education includes Medical Oncology training in Melbourne and a translational research fellowship in sarcoma at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard Medical School in Boston, USA.

Dr Jeremy Lewin

Medical Oncologist, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

Dr Jeremy Lewin is the Medical Director of ONTrac at Peter Mac Victorian Adolescent and Young Adult Service and a Medical Oncologist at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre with expertise in sarcoma and genitourinary malignancies. His areas of interest include developing new therapeutic strategies for young cancer patients with relapsed disease and rationalizing surveillance strategies for those in survivorship.

Ms Julijana Todorovic

Consumer Representative, Australia and New Zealand Sarcoma Association (ANZSA)

Julijana Todorovic is a lawyer, predominantly practicing in Native Title, Land Acquisitions, Governance and Discrimination law. She is a passionate advocate for patient-centred cancer treatment, following treatment for Ewing's Sarcoma between 2016 - 2018. Julijana has been a consumer-investigator in a number of clinical trial applications and believes that, where possible, survivors can play a meaningful role in guiding safer and more tolerable treatments which can provide patients with greater quality of life. Julijana is also passionate about clinical treatment which cares for a person's physical, mental, social and spiritual health.

Ms Karen Lurati

Consumer Representative, Australia and New Zealand Sarcoma Association (ANZSA)

Karen Lurati was diagnosed with liposarcoma in 2017 and was a patient of Dr David Gyorki. She has been cancer free for over 5 years. Karen joined the ANZSA consumer advisory committee and took on the initiative to create the ANZSA official merchandise. Karen is passionate about supporting ANZSA sarcoma awareness and education and giving a survivor's perspective to assist the medical community and consumers.

Ms Sarah Cheung

Consumer Representative, Australia and New Zealand Sarcoma Association (ANZSA)

Sarah Cheung is a professional in chartered accountancy working in information technology. For over a year, she has represented New Zealand's interests as a committed member of the ANZSA’s Consumer Advisory Panel, while actively participating in various sarcoma support groups. She is eagerly following the recent developments of the New Zealand Sarcoma Foundation, hoping to contribute to their initiatives. Her passion lies in advocating for standardised and equitable treatment outcomes for sarcoma patients, particularly in New Zealand, where she works to address the significant disparities in treatment plans within the small sarcoma community.