Anne-Maree Pearse

Pearse graduated from the University of Sydney in 1972 before starting an MSc at the University of Tasmania in 1976.{{Cite web|url=https://www.jfcr.or.jp/princehitachiprize/e/2012.html|title=The Awardee of the 2012 Prince Hitachi Prize for Comparative Oncology|website=jfcr.or.jp|access-date=2019-03-23}} During her Masters she worked on the flea, Uropsylla tasmanica, which is a flea that infects quolls and Tasmanian devils. She was unable to complete her PhD due to symptoms of progressive and severe degenerative disc disease.{{Cite web|title=The Prince Hitachi Prize for Comparative Oncology {{!}} 2012Awardee|url=https://www.jfcr.or.jp/princehitachiprize/e/2012.html|access-date=2020-09-28|website=www.jfcr.or.jp}}

Pearse worked in the Cytogenetics Laboratory at the Royal Hobart Hospital, Tasmania for seventeen years where she worked on human leukemia but also continued studying quolls.{{Cite journal|last1=Melrose|first1=W. D.|last2=Pearse|first2=A. M.|last3=Bell|first3=P. A.|last4=Jupe|first4=D. M.|last5=Baikie|first5=M. J.|last6=Twin|first6=J. E.|last7=Bryant|first7=S. L.|date=1990|title=Haematology of the Australian eastern quoll, Dasyurus viverrinus--II. Red cell enzymes and metabolic intermediates|journal=Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. B, Comparative Biochemistry|volume=97|issue=1|pages=47–48|issn=0305-0491|pmid=2147643|doi=10.1016/0305-0491(90)90175-S}}{{Cite magazine | title= Fatal Cancer Threatens Tasmanian Devil Population | url= https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/fatal-cancer-threatens-tasmanian-devil-population | last= Julie Rehmeyer | date=March 31, 2014 | magazine= Discover Magazine | issn= 0274-7529}} During this period she published work on cancer in quolls.{{Cite journal|last1=Twin|first1=J. E.|last2=Pearse|first2=A. M.|date=1986|title=A malignant mixed salivary tumour and a mammary carcinoma in a young wild eastern spotted native cat Dasyurus viverrinus (Marsupialia)|journal=Journal of Comparative Pathology|volume=96|issue=3|pages=301–306|issn=0021-9975|pmid=3013953|doi=10.1016/0021-9975(86)90050-2}} She initially retired from scientific work, establishing a flower farm, before returning to science to work on DFTD.{{Cite magazine|url=https://harpers.org/archive/2008/04/contagious-cancer/5/|title=Contagious Cancer|last=Quammen|first=David|date=2008|magazine=Harper's Magazine|access-date=2019-03-23|issn=0017-789X}} She joined the Save the Tasmanian Devil program at the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment, Tasmanian Government, in 2004 after hearing about the disease on the radio.

file:Tasmanian Devil Facial Tumour Disease.png

In 2006, Pearse and her colleague Swift published a paper on their findings on DFTD in Nature.{{Cite journal|last1=K. Swift|last2=Pearse|first2=A.-M.|date=2006-02-02|title=Allograft theory: Transmission of devil facial-tumour disease|journal=Nature|language=en|volume=439|issue=7076|pages=549|doi=10.1038/439549a|pmid=16452970|issn=1476-4687|bibcode=2006Natur.439..549P|s2cid=4409863|doi-access=free}} In their report they studied tumours from eleven Tasmanian devils. They observed that the tumours had major chromosomal abnormalities and these abnormalities were the same between individual animals. This led them to conclude that the tumour cells in different animals were of the same clonal origin. As a result, they proposed the hypothesis that "the disease is transmitted by allograft, whereby an infectious cell line is passed directly between the animals through bites they inflict on one another.".

Since then, other scientists have added further evidence to the Allograft Theory of DFTD whilst Pearse has continued to uncover new information on the disease.{{Cite journal|last1=Pye|first1=R. J.|last2=Woods|first2=G. M.|last3=Kreiss|first3=A.|date=2015-12-13|title=Devil Facial Tumor Disease|journal=Veterinary Pathology|volume=53|issue=4|pages=726–736|doi=10.1177/0300985815616444|issn=1544-2217|pmid=26657222|s2cid=28432058|doi-access=free}} In particular, she has investigated how the disease mutates in Tasmanian Devil populations. The conclusion of this research is "that DFTD should not be treated as a static entity, but rather as an evolving parasite with epigenetic plasticity".{{cite journal |last1=Ujvari |first1=Beata |last2=Pearse |first2=Anne-Maree |last3=Peck |first3=Sarah |last4=Harmsen |first4=Collette |last5=Taylor |first5=Robyn |last6=Pyecroft |first6=Stephen |last7=Madsen |first7=Thomas |last8=Papenfuss |first8=Anthony T. |last9=Belov |first9=Katherine |title=Evolution of a contagious cancer: epigenetic variation in Devil Facial Tumour Disease |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |date=7 January 2013 |volume=280 |issue=1750 |pages=20121720 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2012.1720 |pmid=23135679 |pmc=3574417 }}

These findings have implications in humans in terms of donor-derived malignancy in organ transplantation and transmission of a malignancy between a mother and a fetus or between twin fetuses.

• 2011 Australian Museum Sherman Eureka Prize for Environmental Research (shared){{Cite web|url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/the-22nd-annual-australian-museum-eureka-prizes/news-story/a5e330766658b2343582c40a9516bd18|title=The Australian Museum Eureka Prize Winners for 2011|date=2011-09-06|website=theaustralian.com.au|access-date=2019-03-23|url-access=subscription}}
• 2012 Prince Hitachi Prize for Comparative Oncology{{cite news |title=Devil scientist wins Japanese prize |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-03-01/devil-scientist-wins-japanese-prize/1961606 |access-date=24 June 2019 |work=ABC News |date=1 March 2011 |language=en-AU}}

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Category:Living people

Category:21st-century Australian scientists

Category:Cytogenetics

Category:Year of birth missing (living people)

Category:University of Sydney alumni

Category:University of Tasmania alumni

Category:Australian women scientists