Associate Professor Michael Menden named as one of 40 Under 40 in Cancer care

Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences researcher Associate Professor Michael Menden has been named as one of 40 Under 40 in Cancer by the Association for Value-Based Cancer Care.

The awards recognise 40 rising leaders whose work is helping shape the future of oncology across research, clinical care, advocacy, education, industry, nursing, pharmacy, digital health and patient support. The recognition reflects Associate Professor Menden’s contributions to computational pharmacogenomics and AI-driven precision medicine.

“Over the past years, my group has developed AI and statistical approaches to better predict drug responses and stratify patients, particularly in colorectal cancer, gastric adenocarcinoma, and lung cancer,” he said.

“This includes analysing large-scale high-throughput drug screening datasets and integrating them with molecular patient data to identify biomarkers and optimise treatment strategies.”

More recently, this work has expanded into generative AI and digital twin approaches for modelling patient trajectories and treatment responses. The broader goal is to make precision oncology more predictive, scalable, and ultimately more accessible to patients.

“For me personally, this is a very meaningful recognition. It highlights that computational and AI-driven approaches are increasingly seen as central to the future of cancer research and precision medicine. It is also wonderful recognition for the team members and collaborators who have contributed to this work over many years.”

The 9th Annual 40 Under 40 in Cancer Awards are being celebrated this week at the ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago.