Meet Dale Cross who is a Research Assistant in the Cancer Research Unit team.

What is your background?

I grew up in the south of Sydney, right on the national park, and am the youngest of two kids, with my sister being the favourite child. I studied at Wollongong University where I graduated with a Bachelor of Biological Sciences (Hons) in 2016. My honours project involved testing the effectiveness of a novel cancer therapeutic in glioblastoma (a brain cancer). This project really motivated me to pursue a career in cancer research and led me to the Cancer Research Group here at CMRI, where I have been a research assistant for 4 years.

What attracted you to science?

I had great science teachers in high school who always made science fun and interesting, but what really attracted me to science was the fact that one day something that I’ve worked on could lead to a discovery that helps people.

What does your typical day look like?

My day usually starts with tissue culture in the morning. After that, my day is typically spent at the bench performing various techniques to investigate the telomere maintenance mechanisms of different types of cancer cells.

What is your favourite part of the job?

The lab culture at CMRI is definitely one of my favourite parts of the job. Everyone is super helpful and gets along really well, which makes the work easier and a lot of fun.

Learn more about our Cancer Research Unit here.