Patsie Polly

Professor Patsie Polly is a distinguished academic at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, serving as Director and Fellow of the UNSW Scientia Education Academy. She holds a Professor position within the Department of Pathology in the School of Biomedical Sciences (SBMS), Faculty of Medicine & Health. With a dual focus on medical research and educational innovation, Professor Polly leads the Cancer Cachexia Mechanisms Research Group and serves as Convenor of 3rd-year Pathology (PATH3205) and Co-convenor of 2nd-year Pathology courses.

Her educational background includes a BSc (Hons I) from UNSW's School of Pathology (1992) and a PhD from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, UNSW (1997). She earned her Senior Fellowship with the Higher Education Academy, UK in 2018. Professor Polly's research interests span Medical and Health Sciences, Gene Expression, Cancer Research, Molecular Biology, and innovative educational approaches including Virtual Laboratories and ePortfolio Pedagogy.

Professor Polly's scholarly work demonstrates significant impact across both medical research and educational innovation. Her medical research focuses on gene regulatory mechanisms underlying muscle wasting due to cancer cachexia, while her educational research pioneers adaptive e-learning approaches and virtual laboratory implementations. She has strategically integrated virtual and real laboratory experiences to create engaging learning environments that develop career-relevant skills for students.

Her extensive publication record includes 73 publications (1993-2019) with an H-index of 19 (Scopus) and 21 (Google Scholar), reflecting substantial scholarly impact. Since 2008, she has generated 54 peer-reviewed publications on educational research and scholarly teaching approaches.

• Alexander von Humboldt Fellow (1997-1999)
• NHMRC Howard Florey Fellow (2000-2003)
• JSPS Short Term Visiting Fellow (2002)
• UNSW Teaching Fellow (2016-2017)
• Scientia Education Fellow (2017-2022)
• Senior Fellow Higher Education Academy UK (2018-Present)
• Multiple UNSW, Faculty, and National Teaching Awards

Professor Polly has successfully secured substantial research funding, including $1.6 million in medical research project grants (1992-2013), $2.434 million in infrastructure grants (since 2008), and $5.16 million in higher education project grant funding (2012-2019). She has supervised numerous PhD students and serves as a sought-after collaborator in her field. Her leadership extends to chairing the AAEEBL ePortfolio Research special interest group and serving as an International Board Member for AAEEBL since 2019.

Based in the Wallace Wurth EAST Building on UNSW's Upper Campus, Professor Polly leads a vibrant research group focused on cancer cachexia mechanisms while simultaneously driving educational innovation through the UNSW Scientia Education Academy. Her work bridges fundamental medical research with transformative educational practices, creating meaningful impact in both domains.