Nicolas Hart Recieved 2024 NSW Premier’s Award for Outstanding Cancer Research

Nicolas Hart has been recognized as the 2024 NCW Outstanding Mid-Career Researcher for his exceptional contributions to the field of research.

Associate Professor Nicolas H. Hart, is an NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow in Cancer Survivorship at the INSIGHT Research Institute. He is also the Program Director of Clinical Exercise Physiology at the Human Performance Research Centre and School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation within the Faculty of Health at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS).

His clinical research focuses on improving the outcomes of individuals affected by cancer, particularly cancer survivors and caregivers, with a special emphasis on advanced and metastatic cancer. His work spans several areas:

1. Survivorship and Supportive Care: Investigating exercise, nutrition, psychosocial factors, and toxicity management.
2. Cancer-Specific Outcomes: Examining disease biology, progression, and overall survival.
3. Model of Care Development: Researching health services and implementation science to inform policy and practice.

Professor Hart is the founder and co-leader of a bone research collaborative and holds academic positions at multiple universities including Flinders University, Edith Cowan University, Queensland University of Technology, and University of Notre Dame Australia.

With over $17.5 million AUD in research funding, A/Prof Hart is a chief investigator on several prestigious grants. This includes two fellowships from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) to improve outcomes for people with bone metastases (2023-2027), as well as a fellowship from the Cancer Council of Western Australia to study how exercise medicine can delay disease progression in advanced cancer patients. He has published more than 160 peer-reviewed articles, including senior authorship in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, and has contributed to 3 book chapters.

A/Prof Hart has mentored 22 PhD students and supervised over 10 postdoctoral fellows, fostering the next generation of researchers in cancer survivorship, exercise medicine, and health services research. He is the inaugural MASCC Survivorship Fellow and has led international efforts to develop survivorship care standards for individuals with advanced or metastatic cancer. He also holds leadership roles in Exercise and Sport Science Australia, the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia, and several international committees related to cancer care and survivorship.

In addition, A/Prof Hart is the Chair of Fatigue for the Cancer Symptom Trials (CST) group, Co-Chair of PC4 Survivorship, and a member of international committees like the International Bone Metastases and Exercise Working Group (IBMEWG) and the WHO Cancer Development Group. He was instrumental in creating global clinical exercise guidelines for people with bone metastases and developing a Package of Interventions for Rehabilitation in cancer survivors worldwide.

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About the 2024 Premier’s Award for Outstanding Cancer Research

The 2024 Premier’s Award for Outstanding Cancer Research are prestigious awards recognizing exceptional contributions to cancer research in various fields. These awards aim to celebrate and honor the achievements of researchers whose work significantly advances the understanding, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer. The awards are typically presented by the government or relevant cancer organizations to researchers or research teams who have made significant scientific breakthroughs, or contributed to improving patient outcomes through innovation in cancer care and treatment.

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