Janette Vardy

Professor Janette Vardy is a Senior Principal Research Fellow and NHMRC Research Fellow at the University of Sydney's Sydney Medical School, specifically within the Concord Clinical School. Her work focuses on cancer survivorship, cognitive effects of cancer treatments, and improving quality of life for cancer patients. She leads research programs addressing chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment, survivorship care, and symptom management in oncology. Vardy is affiliated with the Sydney Cancer Survivorship Centre and collaborates on trials evaluating interventions like cognitive rehabilitation and prehabilitation for cancer patients.

Her research spans clinical trials, patient-reported outcomes, and translational medicine. Key areas include neurocognitive effects of anticancer therapies, endocrine therapy impacts on brain function, and survivorship care plan implementation. Vardy has pioneered studies on laser therapy for neuropathy and telehealth interventions in oncology. She actively advises on cancer survivorship policies and contributes to international guidelines on cognitive dysfunction in cancer patients.

Vardy supervises students researching topics like anterior resection syndrome, culturally diverse cancer survivorship, and sleep disorders in breast cancer patients. Her work bridges basic science (e.g., neurobiological pathways) and clinical practice, emphasizing patient-centered care. Over 200 publications reflect her leadership in understanding and mitigating long-term effects of cancer treatments.

Her lab focuses on translational oncology, integrating behavioral science and clinical oncology to improve survivorship outcomes. Ongoing projects include evaluating virtual reality for balance assessment in neurotoxic chemotherapy patients and developing tools like the COG-IMPACT unmet needs assessment for cognitive impairment.