Biography
Dr Nicholls graduated with a Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences (Hons)
in 2007, and received his PhD from the Hudson Institute of Medical
Research and Monash University (2012, Australia) on the development and
endocrine regulation of the reproductive tract. Dr Nicholls then
undertook postdoctoral research at the Whitehead Institute, based within
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA). In this research, Dr
Nicholls described how embryonic cells of the germline - the precursors
of both eggs and sperm - become committed to produce gametes in
adulthood, and no other cell type. When this commitment fails to occur,
these embryonic cells may instead form germ cell tumours of the gonads,
one of the most common cancers of young children, and the most common
cancer in men under 45 years of age.
Dr Nicholls has been awarded several honours, including the New
Investigator Award from the Society for Reproductive Biology
(Australia), and postdoctoral research fellowships awarded by the
National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia) and the Hope
Funds for Cancer Research (USA).
In 2020, Dr Nicholls joined the Faculty of Life Sciences and the
Institute of Cancer Therapeutics. In ongoing studies, Dr Nicholls uses a
number of model organisms to explore how genetic and environmental
factors influence the development of gonadal tumours from embryonic
cells, and the molecular pathways that govern the sensitivity of
tumours to chemotherapy.