Georgina Long Explained

Georgina Long
Honorific Suffix:	AO FRACP FAHMS AAHMS AAS
Birth Date:	15 November 1970
Birth Place:	Sydney, Australia
Education:	University of Sydney
Occupation:	Medical oncologist
Employer:	Melanoma Institute Australia University of Sydney Royal North Shore Hospital Mater hospital
Children:	3
Awards:	Australian of the Year 2024

Georgina Venetia Long is an Australian medical oncologist, clinical trialist and translational researcher, and works in drug therapy development. She was the joint recipient of the National Australia Day Council's 2024 Australian of the Year Award.^[1]

Long was the first woman and first Australian to be named president of the US-based Society for Melanoma Research.^[2]

Early life and education

Long had five siblings and grew up in Sydney's Inner West in the state of New South Wales, Australia. She also lived in Europe and America as a child.^[3] She completed high school at Santa Sabina College in 1988.^[4]

Long began studying a combined degree of science and law at the University of Sydney, but gave up law and graduated with a double major in pure maths and chemistry in 1993, before completing a PhD in organic chemistry, also at Sydney University, in 1996.^{[5] [6]} She was a postdoctoral researcher at the Scripps Research Institute in California as a Fulbright Fellow, before returning to Australia to undertake her medical degree, graduating with an MBBS in 2001.^{[5] [6]}

Career

Long is a medical oncologist specialising in melanoma. She has led numerous clinical trials,^[7] focusing on targeted therapies and immuno-oncology in melanoma. She is the chief investigator on research into the molecular biology of melanoma.^[8]

Long is co-director of the Melanoma Institute Australia with pathologist Richard Scolyer. Together they have been part of a team pioneering the use of immunotherapy treatment for melanoma, which Long then adapted for brain cancer when Scolyer was diagnosed with it in June 2023.^{[9] [10]} He was the first brain cancer patient in the world to have pre-surgery combination immunotherapy.^[11]

In June 2024, Long was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science.^[12]

Awards and honours

• University Medal in Organic Chemistry, University of Sydney, 1993^[13]
• New South Wales Cancer Institute Awards Outstanding Cancer Research Fellow of the Year, 2013^[14]
• New South Wales Cancer Institute Awards The Wildfire Highly Cited Publication Award, 2014^[14]
• New South Wales Cancer Institute Awards Excellence in Translational Cancer Research Award, 2017^[15]
• New South Wales Cancer Institute Awards Outstanding Cancer Researcher of the Year, 2018^[16]
• Officer of the Order of Australia, 2020^[17]
• Ramaciotti Medal for Biomedical Research, 2021^[18]
• Medal for Outstanding Female Researcher, Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences, 2021^{[19] [20]}
• New South Wales Cancer Institute Awards The Wildfire Highly Cited Publication Award, 2021^[21]
• Novartis Oncology Cancer Achievement Award, Medical Oncology Group of Australia, 2023^[22]
• Australian of the Year, 2024^[23]

Selected publications

• Prognostic and Clinicopathologic Associations of Oncogenic BRAF in Metastatic Melanoma. Georgina V . Long. Alexander M . Menzies. Adnan M . Nagrial. Lauren E . Haydu. 3. 2011. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 29. 10. 1239-1246.
• Nivolumab in previously untreated melanoma without BRAF mutation. Caroline . Robert. Georgina V . Long. Benjamin. Brady. Caroline . Dutriaux. Michele . Maio. 4. 2015. New England Journal of Medicine. 372. 4. 320-330.
• Pembrolizumab versus Ipilimumab in Advanced Melanoma. The New England Journal of Medicine. Caroline. Robert. Jacob . Schachter. Georgina V . Long. Ana. Arance. Jean Jacques . Grob. Laurent . Mortier. 3. 2015. 372. 26. 2521-2532.
• Melanoma staging: evidence‐based changes in the American Joint Committee on Cancer eighth edition cancer staging manual. Jeffrey E . Gershenwald. Richard A . Scolyer. Kenneth R . Hess. Vernon K . Sondak. Georgina V . Long. Merrick I . Ross. Alexander J . Lazar. 5. 2017. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. 67. 6. 472-492.
• Combination nivolumab and ipilimumab or nivolumab alone in melanoma brain metastases: a multicentre randomised phase 2 study. The Lancet. 2018. 19. 5. 672–681. Georgina V. Long. Victoria. Atkinson. Serigne. Lo. Shahneen. Sandhu. 3.
• Georgina V. Long. Pan-cancer analysis of whole genomes. 2020. Nature. 578. 7793. 82-93.
• Immune checkpoint inhibitors in melanoma. Matteo S . Carlino. James. Larkin. Georgina V . Long. 2021. The Lancet. 398. 10304. 1002-1014.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Professor Georgina Long AO and Professor Richard Scolyer AO Australian of the Year . . 12 July 2024 . en.
2. Web site: Being good as a role model does not depend on gender . 22 July 2024 . 16 October 2023 . ESMO Daily Reporter . . en-GB.
3. Web site: The people behind the Professors . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20190322011236/https://www.melanoma.org.au/research/research-news/the-people-behind-the-professors/ . 22 March 2019 . 11 September 2019 . 29 March 2017 . . en.
4. Queen's Birthday Honours. 7. Encompass: The Magazine of Santa Sabina College. November 2020. 10 August 2024.
5. Web site: Georgina Long. Franklin Women. 2022. 10 August 2024.
6. Web site: Great Minds. The University of Sydney. 13 May 2024. 10 August 2024. Alex. Johnson.
7. Web site: Professor Georgina Long. Australian Academy of Science.
8. Web site: Prof Georgina Long. St Vincent's Private Hospitals.
9. News: Hayley's melanoma came back. Then scientists tried something different. Sydney Morning Herald. Angus. Thomson. 3 June 2024. 10 August 2024.
10. Web site: Melanoma researchers Richard Scolyer and Georgina Long named joint 2024 Australians of the Year. ABC News. Charlotte. Gore. 25 January 2024. 10 August 2024.
11. Web site: Australians of the Year Georgina Long and Richard Scolyer call for tanning and melanoma overhaul. 9 news. Yashee. Sharma. Jorge. Branco. 25 January 2024. 10 August 2024.
12. Australian of the Year Georgina Long among new Academy Fellows. Lab+Life Scientist. 25 June 2024. 10 August 2024.
13. Web site: Professor Georgina Long AO. Melanoma Institute Australia.
14. Web site: Previous Cancer Research winners. Cancer Institute of New South Wales.
15. Web site: 2017 Research Awards. Cancer Institute of New South Wales.
16. Web site: Changing the future of melanoma. 6 November 2018. 10 August 2024. Cancer Institute of New South Wales.
17. Happy Birthday Honours list. Cate. Swannell. Medical Journal of Australia. 8 June 2020. 10 August 2024.
18. 2021 Ramaciotti Awards for biomedical research announced. Lab+Life Scientist. 2 December 2021. 10 August 2024.
19. Professor Georgina Long AO receives Medal for Outstanding Female Researcher for ground-breaking melanoma research. Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA). 24 May 2022. 10 August 2024.
20. Web site: eet Outstanding Female Researcher Medal winner Professor Georgina Long. Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.
21. Web site: Winner of the Wildfire Highly Cited Publication. Cancer Institute of New South Wales.
22. Web site: 2023 Cancer Achievement Award Recipient Announced.
23. Web site: Richard Scolyer and Georgina Long named Australian of the Year. Sydney Connect. Sydney Local Health District. 26 January 2024. 10 August 2024.