Nathalie Nataren

Miss Nathalie Nataren

Research Assistant

Centre for Cancer Biology

College of Health

I am a final-stage PhD candidate at the Centre for Cancer Biology (Adelaide University) in the Vascular Biology and Cell Trafficking Laboratory. Throughout my career I have contributed to research in clinical genomics, cancer biology, translational biopsy technology, biomarker discovery, and bioinformatics, with a focus on leukaemia, basal cell carcinoma and melanoma. Prior to my PhD I gained broad technical experience across cancer research laboratories and a core clinical genomics facility, contributing to diagnostic sequencing workflows and the design and execution of research experiments including whole exome sequencing, high-throughput RT-PCR, and single-cell transcriptomics. In addition to my wet-lab and technical skills, I have made the transition into bioinformatics and currently lead the analysis of a cutting edge spatial transcriptomics analysis of metastatic melanoma tumours.

Basal Cell Carcinoma research: The first aim of my PhD focused on assessing RNAseq identified gene expression biomakers for the detection of Basal Cell Carcinoma from very small skin biopsy samples (approximately 1000 skin cells) to enable minimally invasive screening of skin lesions.

Melanoma research: Whilst 20-40% of advanced melanoma patients now acheive complete diseases remission with immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy, the remaing majority of patients do not benefit from this treatment and eventually succumb to their disease. My bioinformatics research investigates the tumour microenvironment of treatment-naive metastatic melanoma to identify molecular and cellular determinants of immune checkpoint inhibitor resistance through analysis of spatial transcriptomics data. The ultimate goal of this research is to be able to predict which patients will benefit from immune therapy prior to treatment and to indentify potential new druggable targert to improve treatment outcomes.

Language Competency
Spanish - Latin American Can read, write, speak and understand spoken

Year Citation
2025 Thompson, E. J., Dorward, E. L., Jurrius, K., Nataren, N., Tondl, M., Myo Min, K. K., . . . Bonder, C. S. (2025). Inhibitor of DNA binding-1 is a key regulator of cancer cell vasculogenic mimicry. Molecular Oncology, online(9), 1-20.
DOI Scopus2 WoS2 Europe PMC1
2025 Mokhtar, S. M. A., Nataren, N. J., Evans, D. R., Moore, M., Bradley, S., MacHacaz Palmar, S., . . . Yamada, M. (2025). Molecular and histological evidence for the biocompatibility of PEDOT-coated microneedles in human skin.. Journal Of Materials Chemistry B, 13(22), 6393-6401.
DOI Scopus5 WoS5 Europe PMC2
2023 Nataren, N., Yamada, M., & Prow, T. (2023). Molecular Skin Cancer Diagnosis: Promise and Limitations. Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, 25(1), 17-35.
DOI Scopus19 WoS13 Europe PMC6
2018 Branford, S., Wang, P., Yeung, D. T., Thomson, D., Purins, A., Wadham, C., . . . Hughes, T. P. (2018). Integrative genomic analysis reveals cancer-associated mutations at diagnosis of CML in patients with high-risk disease. Blood, 132(9), 948-961.
DOI Scopus180 WoS172 Europe PMC158
2016 Barnett, C., Nataren, N., Klingler-Hoffmann, M., Schwarz, Q., Chong, C., Lee, Y., . . . Scott, H. (2016). Ectrodactyly and lethal pulmonary acinar dysplasia associated with homozygous FGFR2 mutations identified by exome sequencing. Human Mutation, 37(9), 955-963.
DOI Scopus33 WoS24 Europe PMC25
2016 Barnett, C. P., Nataren, N. J., Klingler-Hoffmann, M., Schwarz, Q., Chong, C. E., Lee, Y. K., . . . Scott, H. S. (2016). Cover Image, Volume 37, Issue 9. Human Mutation, 37(9), i.
DOI
2015 Gagliardi, L., Nataren, N., Feng, J., Schreiber, A., Hahn, C., Conwell, L., . . . Scott, H. (2015). Allan-Herndon-Dudley syndrome with unusual profound sensorineural hearing loss. American Journal of Medical Genetics, Part A, 167(8), 1872-1876.
DOI Scopus10 WoS10 Europe PMC9

Year Citation
2017 Branford, S., Wang, P., Yeung, D., Purins, A., Marum, J. E., Nataren, N., . . . Hughes, T. P. (2017). Integrative Genomics Reveals Cancer Associated Mutations Are Common at Diagnosis of CML in Patients with Poor Response to TKI Therapy. In BLOOD Vol. 130 (pp. 4 pages). GA, Atlanta: AMER SOC HEMATOLOGY.
2016 Marum, J. E., Wang, P. P. S., Stangl, D., Yeung, D. T., Mueller, M. C., Dietz, C. T., . . . Branford, S. (2016). Novel Fusion Genes at CML Diagnosis Reveal a Complex Pattern of Genomic Rearrangements and Sequence Inversions Associated with the Philadelphia Chromosome in Patients with Early Blast Crisis. In BLOOD Vol. 128 (pp. 6 pages). CA, San Diego: AMER SOC HEMATOLOGY.
DOI WoS2
2015 Branford, S., Wang, P. P. S., Parker, W. T., Yeung, D., Marum, J. E., Stangl, D., . . . Hughes, T. P. (2015). High Incidence of Mutated Cancer-Associated Genes at Diagnosis in CML Patients with Early Transformation to Blast Crisis. In BLOOD Vol. 126 (pp. 4 pages). Orlando, FL: AMER SOC HEMATOLOGY.

Year Citation
2026 Ortiz, M., Ffrench, C., Webb, S., Toubia, J., Nataren, N., Dorward, E., . . . Bonder, C. (2026). Tumor Protein D54 (TPD54) regulates intracellular protein trafficking, cellular function and disease progression in melanoma.
DOI
2024 Nataren, N., Gunnell, L., Prow, T., & Yamada, M. (2024). Advancing Remote and Low-Resource Healthcare Delivery with Microbiopsy Skin Sample mRNA Housekeeping Gene Stability Analysis Across Various Temperatures.
DOI

My bioinformatics research has been recognised through two competitive grants: the Tour de Cure PhD Grant (2024) and the Australian Melanoma Research Foundation Postgraduate Scholar Grant (2025).

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