The Univeristy of Melbourne The Royal Melbourne Hopspital

A joint venture between The University of Melbourne and The Royal Melbourne Hospital

Dr Sarah Harbach


Dr Sarah Harbach is a junior postdoctoral research fellow in the Vincan-Tran research group co-headed by Professor Elizabeth Vincan and Dr Hoanh Tran, and a medical scientist in VIDRL’s Tissue Culture Based Diagnostics (TCBD) Laboratory, headed by Professor Elizabeth Vincan. Sarah completed her PhD at the University of Manchester (UK) in 2023, identifying nasal biomarkers of lung cancer and investigating the nasal epithelial response in COVID-19 using shotgun proteomics. Through her PhD and her time at AstraZeneca (UK) analysing the biodistribution of lipid nanoparticles, Sarah has extensive experience in mass spectrometry analysis of small molecules, lipids and proteins, and the nasal proteomic landscape in lung cancer and COVID-19.

  • Key Achievements
    • Identified novel nasal proteomic alterations in acute SARS-CoV-2 and post-infection recovery.

      Identified nasal biomarkers of lung cancer applicable to screening programs; Sarah has a patent for these biomarkers.

    Research Groups
    • Vincan Group

      Elizabeth’s group investigates novel ways to block cancer growth with a focus on the gastrointestinal tract – stomach, bowel and liver. A cell-cell communication pathway called Wnt is hyperactive in these cancers. Their research shows inhibiting Wnt has potent anti-cancer effects.


      Lab Team

      Vincan Group