Prof Stephen Tong

Academic achievements

His academic achievements are recognized nationally and internationally, with over 110 publications. Most of these publications are leading specialty journals and prestigious interdisciplinary journals (e.g. RNA, Molecular Therapy, Journal of Immunology) and very high impact journals (Nature, The Lancet and British Medical Journal).  He has published multiple times in prestigious journals such as Hypertension, Obstetrics and Gynecology, BMC Medicine, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, American Journal of Pathology, and Endocrinology. 

Since 2010, he has attracted 11 National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) project grants, including six as the principle investigator. One of these was selected by NHMRC as one of the ‘10 best project grants in 2015’, featured in 2016.

He has held the highest ranked applications for Clinical Career Development Fellowships I (2007) and II (2012) from NHMRC, and has received two NHMRC Achievement Awards. He has also obtained numerous grants from diverse funding bodies, and was a principal investigator on a grant obtained in the United Kingdom worth >2 million AUD. This now funds GEM III (Gefitinib and Methotrexate trial).

Contributions to the scientific community

Stephen has had many invitations to deliver presentations at major scientific meetings across Australia and the across the world (Washington, Detroit, Sao Paulo, Santiago, Edinburgh, Munich and others). He has been on the Scientific Program Committee a number of national conferences, and co-led the sell-out Mercy Global Obstetric Update, Melbourne (2015).

Stephen has served many times on the NHMRC Grant Review Panel (this panel assesses major grant applications) and the NHMRC Academy. He has previous been Associate Editor for Molecular Human Reproduction, one of the top journals in the field

Training the clinician scientists of tomorrow

Stephen is heavily invested in training the clinician scientists of the future. He mentors students and early career researchers. His team - The Translational Obstetrics Group - boasts the highest number of obstetricians who have undertaken/or who are undertaking higher research degrees in the country.  He also provides strong support and mentorship to his early and mid-career scientists.

Leader of the translational obstetric group

The Translational Obstetrics Group (TOG), is a large research team of 10-15 scientists and clinician-scientists. Led by Stephen, TOG comprises two subgroups; each are led by senior scientists – Natalie Hannan, and Tu’uhevaha Kaitu’u-Lino. 

The Translational Obstetrics Group is committed to laboratory discoveries that can be translated to the clinic, improving the lives and health of mothers and their babies worldwide. The three key concepts conceived by TOG have progressed from laboratory studies to international multi-centre trials and prospective studies. Any one of these—if successful—could be landmark discoveries, potentially resulting in leaps in global women’s and children’s health. 

• TOG has developed a novel drug combination for ectopic pregnancy which they first discovered in the laboratory – gefitinib and methotrexate (GEM study). 
• TOG performed the initial studies that formed the basis of a potential blood test that may help women avoid stillbirth (FLAG study). 
• TOG has also developed a laboratory screening pipeline to identify drugs that could be used to treat preeclampsia. Using this pipeline, TOG has identified novel drug candidates for preeclampsia, one of which has progressed to a clinical trial in South Africa (PIE study).