Dr Joanna Achinger-Kawecka is a Group Leader at the South Australian immunoGENomics Cancer Institute (SAiGENCI) within the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Adelaide. Joanna completed her PhD in cancer epigenetics at the University of Tubingen, Germany, supported by the Marie Curie Fellowship. She then joined the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney as a postdoctoral fellow, later establishing the 3D Epigenome in Cancer group within the Epigenetics Research Program of Professor Susan Clark. Her work has significantly advanced the understanding of the 3D genome and epigenome in cancer, including the development of innovative technologies and bioinformatics methods for mapping 3D chromatin structure in cancer cells. In 2024, Joanna joined SAiGENCI, where she established the 3D Chromatin Organisation Laboratory. The lab integrates experimental and computational approaches to explore the principles of 3D genome folding and gene deregulation in cancer. A key focus of the group’s research is understanding the regulatory potential of 3D chromatin organisation and transposable elements in cancer, with the ultimate goal of leveraging these insights for novel therapeutic strategies.
