Rate My Professor Diona Damian

Professor Damian's research, spanning over 30 years, investigates the role of the skin's immune system in the causation, prevention, and treatment of skin cancer. Supported by NHMRC Project Grants and Fellowships, Cancer Institute NSW, Cancer Council NSW, recent MRFF funding, and Sydney Cancer Partners grants, her key contributions include pioneering skin cancer chemoprevention with nicotinamide (vitamin B3). She led the phase III randomized controlled trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2015, which showed oral nicotinamide reduced new non-melanoma skin cancers by 23% and actinic keratoses by 13% in high-risk patients. A follow-up phase III trial in organ transplant recipients, also in NEJM in 2023, confirmed its efficacy in this population. Other significant findings encompass the immunosuppressive effects of UV radiation, including UVA's role in skin carcinogenesis, and the application of topical immunotherapy with diphencyprone for metastatic melanoma. These advancements have been adopted into clinical practice in Australia and internationally. Current projects include the SiroSkin trial evaluating topical sirolimus for preventing facial squamous cell carcinomas in solid organ transplant recipients and the ProCel study assessing perioperative propranolol and celecoxib to reduce metastatic risk in stage III melanoma by modifying the tumor microenvironment. Professor Damian collaborates on ex-vivo confocal microscopy for real-time assessment of skin cancer margins with the Sydney Melanoma Diagnostic Centre and partners at the Charles Perkins Centre.