Frances Louise Byrne

Dr Frances Louise Byrne is an Associate Professor in the School of Biotechnology & Biomolecular Sciences at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), part of the Faculty of Science. She currently serves as Co-Associate Dean of UNSW Science (July 2024–April 2025) and leads an independent research lab focused on cancer metabolism and obesity-related cancers. Her career includes roles such as Cancer Institute NSW Career Development Fellow (2022–2024) and Hope Funds for Cancer Research Postdoctoral Fellow (2014–2017).

Dr Byrne holds a PhD from the Children’s Cancer Institute (UNSW) and a Bachelor of Biotechnology (Hons) from Flinders University. Her research explores novel anti-cancer molecules targeting mitochondrial metabolism and the link between obesity and endometrial/liver cancers. Key collaborations include work with Prof. Kyle Hoehn (School of BABS) and Prof. Naresh Kumar (School of Chemistry) on drug development.

She is an Associate Fellow of Advance Higher Education (AFHEA) and teaches courses such as BABS3151 and BIOC3271. Dr Byrne supervises PhD, Masters, and Honours students in BABS, Chemistry, and Biomedical Sciences. Notable awards include the 2025 Paper of the Month (RSC Med Chem) and Bioscience Reports Best EMCR Poster Presentation (2022).

Her contributions extend to industry partnerships, including the Bridge Program Industry Fellowship (2021) and roles in national drug commercialization initiatives. She also engages with the public through media and co-authorship with research advocates like Jeff Cuff and author Leah Hazard.