About
Dr Preety Bajwa received her PhD in Medical Biochemistry from the University of Newcastle, Australia where she investigated the role of age-related mTOR signalling in ovarian and endometrial cancers. She then spent five years as a Postdoctoral research scholar in Dr. Ernst Lengyel’s ovarian cancer research laboratory at the University of Chicago. During this time, her research focused on dissecting the tumour microenvironment of ovarian cancer metastasis. She also worked on the Female Cell Atlas project, supported by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, applying single-cell and spatial genomics to map the cellular and regulatory landscape of the female reproductive tract.
In 2025, Dr Bajwa joined the Cancer genetic Susceptibility Group at QIMR Berghofer as a Research Officer. Her current research leverages cutting-edge single-cell multi-omics technologies to generate cell-type-specific enhancer-gene maps of endometrial tumours. By integrating these data with endometrial cancer GWAS findings, she aims to uncover novel gene-regulatory mechanisms driving cancer susceptibility and identify more targeted prevention and treatment strategies.
Research Skills
- Cancer biology
- Mammalian tissue culture
- Single cell transcriptomics
Area of Interest
- Tumour Microenvironment
- Organoid
- Gynaecology
- Oncology
Professional Associations
- 2025 - present, Member, I.D.E.A committee, QIMR Berghofer
- 2018-2023, Member, University of Chicago Biological Sciences Division Post-Doctoral Association (BSD PDA)
Research Projects
Current Research Projects
Harnessing Genetic Insights to Target Obesity-Driven Endometrial Cancer
Past Research Projects
Exploring Cancer-associated mesothelial cells in ovarian cancer metastasis
A female reproductive Cell Atlas
Publications
A Cell atlas of the human fallopian tube throughout the menstrual cycle and menopause. Weigert M, Li Y, Zhu L, Eckart H, Bajwa P, Krishnan R, Ackroyd S, Lastra RR, Bilecz A, Basu A, Lengyel E, Chen M. Nature Communications (2025)
Cancer-Associated Mesothelial Cell-Derived ANGPTL4 and STC1 promote the early steps of ovarian cancer metastasis. Bajwa P, Kordylewicz K, Bilecz A, Lastra RR, Wroblewski K, Rinkevich Y, Lengyel E, Kenny HA. JCI Insight (2023)
Organotypic 3D models of the ovarian cancer tumor microenvironment. Watters KM, Bajwa P, Kenny HA. Cancers (2018)