Associate Professor Julia Steinberg is a Cancer Institute NSW Career Development Fellow and leads the Genomics and Precision Health stream of research. Her research programme aims to integrate individual and population-level genomic, sociodemographic, medical, and behaviour information for successful precision health. A/Prof. Steinberg’s focus is on effectively and sustainably improving human health and reducing the burden of cancer.
Since completing her DPhil (PhD) in Genomic Medicine and Statistics at the University of Oxford, Julia has gained extensive experience in genetics and genomics.
She co-leads the Australian Cancer Risk Study, a collaborative transdisciplinary program on genomic risk prediction and risk-tailored screening and early detection for the four most common cancers in Australia, funded by the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF).
Julia also leads a new MRFF-funded collaborative research program on the potential of innovative multi-cancer early detection (MCED) tests in Australia. This work brings together researchers across many Australian and international institutions, health professionals, and consumers. It aims to establish evidence-based recommendations to help maximise the potential of MCED tests for patient-friendly and more effective early detection of cancers.
Another key research area focuses on informing health system requirements for targeted cancer treatment, by estimating the future cancer burden relevant to specific pan-tumour biomarkers (MSI-H/dMMR and NTRK gene fusions).
To help integrate genomics into clinical practice, Julia is involved in a clinical implementation trial to improve testing for Lynch syndrome, an inherited predisposition to cancer. Finally, she uses large-scale data to help understand the current gaps and inefficiencies in healthcare, identifying potential inequities and opportunities for tailored interventions to improve health outcomes.