Kevin Ni

Dr. Kevin Ni is a Conjoint Senior Lecturer in the School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), based at the St George and Sutherland Clinical Campuses. He leads the translational uro-oncology research portfolio in Radiation Oncology at Cancer Services St George Hospital and serves as a founding member and St George local lead for the EMPCAR Network. With over 40 peer-reviewed publications and an h-index of 30, Dr. Ni has made substantial contributions to cancer research, particularly in prostate, breast, and bladder cancers.

Dr. Ni holds a BA and MBBS/MD degrees from China and a PhD from UNSW Sydney. His educational background provides a strong foundation for his interdisciplinary research spanning basic science and clinical applications:

• Bachelor of Arts from China
• Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery from China
• Doctor of Medicine from China
• Doctor of Philosophy from UNSW Sydney

Dr. Ni's research encompasses the full translational spectrum of oncology, with a focus on molecular biomarker discovery, liquid biopsy and extracellular vesicles, transcriptomics, chemo-/radio-resistance, radiation biology, cancer stem cells, and imaging in prostate, breast, and bladder cancers. His work integrates basic science and clinical studies to drive the discovery of new knowledge for cancer control across the continuum of early detection, diagnosis, treatment, and surveillance. He has extensive experience in preparing and reviewing complex human research ethics applications and promoting good clinical practice in clinical trials across diverse health disciplines.

Dr. Ni's publication record demonstrates a consistent focus on biomarker discovery for cancer diagnosis and treatment monitoring, particularly through liquid biopsy approaches using exosomes and microRNAs. His research has increasingly emphasized the role of cancer stem cells and specific molecular pathways like PI3K/Akt/mTOR in therapeutic resistance, with applications spanning prostate, breast, and ovarian cancers. This work has significant implications for developing more personalized and effective cancer treatments.

Dr. Ni has received numerous awards and recognitions for his research contributions:

• National Scholarship of Excellence (2008)
• Outstanding Graduate (2011)
• Prostate and Breast Cancer Foundation Scholarships (2012-2015)
• Outstanding Self-financed Students Abroad Award of China (2013)
• Best oral presentation in Basic Science, 2nd Prize, St George and Sutherland Medical Research Symposium (2016)
• Travel grant award, European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Asia 2017 Congress (2017)
• Service Excellence Award, AACBS (2018)

As an academic supervisor, Dr. Ni has successfully guided multiple Honours and HDR students to completion, including PhD students Dr. Xupeng Bai (2017-2021, with Dean's award) and Dr. Bairen Pang (2017-2022). He currently supervises two PhD students and one Honours student, and is available to supervise additional PhD and ILP/Honours students in areas related to liquid biopsy, tumor biology, molecular biology, biomarker discovery, radiation oncology, prostate cancer, cancer stem cells, and radio-/chemo-resistance. His research is supported by multiple grants, including:

• CIA: A novel liquid biopsy assay of blood exosomal microRNA profiles to improve prostate cancer diagnosis (St George and Sutherland Medical Research Foundation, A$46,000, 2021-2022)
• AI: Combining nanoplasmonic profiling with machine learning for non-invasive early detection of ovarian cancer using plasma exosomes (Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation, A$134,026, 2020-2021)
• CIC: Validation of extracellular vesicle protein biomarkers in blood for the personalised treatment decision of prostate cancer patients (SSMRF-St George Cancer Care Foundation Award, A$50,000, 2022-2023)
• Multiple other grants totaling over A$300,000 in research funding

Dr. Ni is actively involved in several research networks and teams, including the Innovation and Industry Platform of SPHERE (Maridulu Budyari Gumal), which transforms healthcare innovation by accelerating technology implementation to address unmet healthcare needs. He also serves as an Executive Member of the Human Research Ethics Committee at SESLHD and is a Contracted Scientific Reviewer for the Research Directorate. His collaborative efforts extend both within and beyond UNSW, fostering interdisciplinary partnerships that drive innovative cancer research forward.