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Associate Professor Jessica Howell

Co-head, Hepatitis B and Liver Cancer; Senior Research Fellow
Background

Jessica is consultant gastroenterologist at St Vincent's Hospital and The Royal Melbourne Hospital, with a research interest in liver cancer and viral hepatitis.

She completed my PhD exploring the role of the innate immune system in hepatitis C disease post liver transplantation. She received an NHMRC Sidney Sax Early Career Research Fellowship for post-doctoral studies at Imperial College London (Department of Hepatology), where she worked with a team on public health projects targeting reduction of HBV-related liver disease and liver cancer in Sub-saharan Africa and exploring genetic mutation analysis of circulating free tumour DNA in liver cancer in collaboration with Cologne University (Germany). 

Jessica is currently working on further projects exploring genetics of liver cancer and the epidemiology of liver disease and liver cancer under the mentorship of Professor Margaret Hellard. She is involved in hepatology training and public health projects in Fiji.

Qualifications
  • MBBS (Hons)
  • PhD (Medicine)
  • FRACP - Gastroenterology
Appointments
  • Alfred Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC), Alfred Health
  • CR Roper Senior Research Fellow, Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne
  • Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, Epidemiology and Disease Prevention, Monash University
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne
  • Honorary Postdoctoral Fellow, Imperial College London, UK
  • FRACP
  • Masters student, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (MSc Epi, Post Grad Dip Public Health)
Awards
  • 2022 Inaugural Tony Burgess Medal. VCCC Alliance
  • 2013 NHMRC Early Career Research Fellowship Bushell/ GESA Post Doctoral Research Scholarship
  • 2012 RACP CRB Bushell Scholarship Astra-Zeneca/ GESA Grant-In-Aid Scholarship Young Investigator Bursary, European Association for the Study of the Liver.
  • 2011 GESA Frenesius Kabi Travel Bursary
  • 2009 GESA (Gastroenterology Society of Australia) Clinical Research Scholarship (PhD)
  • 1998 National Heart Foundation Summer Scholarship
  • 1999 Anti-Cancer Council Summer Research Scholarship
  • 2002 MBBS with First Class Honours Deans Honour’s List Jamieson Prize for best student in Clinical Medicine; Tom Keen Prize for best student in Chemical Pathology
  • 2001 Deans Honour’s List
  • 2000 Deans Honour’s List
  • 1998 Deans Honour’s List Novartis Prize for best student in Behavioural Science
Positions
  • Gastroenterologist and hepatologist, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne
  • Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians
  • Committee member of the Australian Liver Association (ALA), Australasian Society for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine (ASHM) and Gastroenterological Society of Australia (GESA)