Dr Vivian Chua obtained her PhD in 2016 from The University of Western Australia (UWA) in cancer and molecular biology. She underwent post-doctoral research training at Thomas Jefferson University (Philadelphia, USA) under the mentorship of a globally recognised melanoma researcher, Professor Andrew Aplin. In 2020 and 2022, Dr Chua was promoted to junior faculty positions; Research Instructor and Research Assistant Professor, respectively.

She returned to Perth in 2024 and joined Edith Cowan University (ECU) as a Vice Chancellor’s Research Fellow and faculty within the School of Medical and Health Sciences to establish her independent research team. Dr Chua is lead of the Cancer Cell Biology group at the Centre for Precision Health, an ECU Strategic Research Centre.

For the past 10 years, Dr Chua’s research has been dedicated to understanding the biology of uveal melanoma, the deadliest form of adult eye cancers that frequently spreads to the liver, and uncovering new therapeutic strategies. Dr Chua’s research program focuses on studying the molecular mechanisms driving the growth of liver metastases with uveal melanoma as a model, mechanisms underlying metastasis to the liver and poor therapeutic responses of liver metastases. These studies aim to identify novel and effective treatment strategies for difficult-to-treat liver metastases including uveal melanoma.

To date, Dr Chua has attracted over AUD $1.3 million in research funding including the prestigious US Department of Defense Melanoma Academy Scholar Award (~USD $600,000; 2022 – present) which was transferred to Perth with Dr Chua.

She is author of 15 publications (first-author of seven publications) in uveal melanoma research. These articles are well regarded, collectively over 400 citations and published in high-impact journals in the field of oncology and cancer research, including Science Signalling and EMBO Molecular Medicine.

Find Dr Chua’s publications on her Google Scholar page.