Rate My Professor Janet Rhodes

Dr. Janet Rhodes is a medical doctor and researcher in the Health Sciences division at the University of Otago, affiliated with the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and the Centre for Translational Cancer Research. She completed an undergraduate biomedical degree at Victoria University of Wellington and obtained her medical degree from the University of Auckland. Currently training as a general surgeon at the senior registrar level (SET 5 trainee), she paused her surgical training to pursue a PhD in the Kemp Laboratory under the supervision of Associate Professor Roslyn Kemp, following a recommendation from her surgical mentor, Professor John McCall. Her career trajectory includes clinical practice in general surgery with aspirations to subspecialize in upper gastrointestinal surgery while building an academic profile that integrates surgery, research, and teaching.

Janet Rhodes' PhD research centers on the immunology of colorectal cancer (CRC), investigating how immune cells within the tumor microenvironment influence patient outcomes. Her project, titled 'Refining prognostic accuracy in colorectal cancer patients,' employs novel multiplex immunohistochemistry techniques to assess immune cell infiltration in tumors from 800 New Zealand CRC patients. This work aims to validate and adapt the immunoscore prognostic tool for the local population, potentially improving staging, treatment selection, and survival predictions for CRC, New Zealand's second leading cause of cancer death. She explores pro- and anti-tumor immune responses to identify markers correlating with better or worse prognosis and considers applications to other gastrointestinal malignancies. Rhodes has received significant recognition for her contributions, including the 2018 Health Research Council Clinical Research Fellowship (36 months, NZ$292,996), the 2019 Gut Cancer Foundation Award, the 2019 Richard Stewart Fund, and the 2019 American Association of Immunologists Travel for Techniques Award. Key publications include 'Multiparametric analysis of colorectal cancer immune responses' (Immunology & Cell Biology, 2018) and 'Tertiary lymphoid structures in cancer – considerations for patient stratification' (Clinical & Translational Immunology, 2020). Her efforts also extend to interests in tissue banking to mitigate health outcome inequities.