Dr Annabel Short

Dr Annabel Short is a researcher at The Kids Research Institute Australia and Co-Lead of the WA Comprehensive Kids Cancer Centre’s Survivorship Theme. Her research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms that contribute to vulnerabilities in the developing brain and the longer-term effects of childhood cancer and its treatment.

Dr Short joined the Brain Tumour Research team at The Kids in 2022, bringing a background in cancer genetics, behavioural and molecular neuroscience, and brain development. Her research explores how cellular changes can contribute to tumour development and how childhood cancer and its treatment can affect the developing brain.

She completed her Bachelor of Medical Research at the University of Tasmania before undertaking a PhD in behavioural and molecular neuroscience at the Florey Institute for Neuroscience and Mental Health at the University of Melbourne. She subsequently completed postdoctoral research at the University of California, Irvine, investigating how the postnatal environment influences brain development and cellular programming.

As Co-Lead of the Survivorship Theme, Dr Short brings her research expertise to the Centre’s focus on understanding and addressing the longer-term impacts of childhood cancer and treatment, with the aim of improving outcomes for children and young people beyond their cancer diagnosis.