Professor Jake Shortt is a clinical and laboratory Haematologist with subspecialty interests in malignant haematology – particularly leukaemia, lymphoma, myelodysplasia and myeloma.
‘Haematology is a specialty that encompasses both clinical care and scientific research,’ explains Professor Shortt. ‘The technological advancements in laboratory diagnostics as well as drug and therapeutic development are happening so quickly, and that lends itself well to a career that combines research with clinical activity.
‘You’re constantly learning, and constantly developing your craft and your skillset and at the same time you’re improving patient outcomes.’
Prof Shortt is co-appointed to Monash University as the Head of Haematology Research within the Department of Medicine at the School of Clinical Sciences and is an Honorary Clinical Professor at the University of Melbourne in the Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Medical Oncology.
He heads the ‘Blood Cancer Therapeutics Laboratory’ in the Monash Health Translation Precinct, seeking to discover new blood cancer treatments and bring them to the clinic.
He is also the clinical lead at Monash Health for chronic myeloid leukaemia, myelodysplasia and T-cell lymphoma and serves as a Principal Investigator on phase 1-4 clinical trials in these disease areas.
‘Monash Health Haematology does a lot of heavy lifting,’ says Professor Shortt. ‘We provide blood cancer services to about 25% of the state and the proportion of our patients treated on clinical trials is often double that of the national median.
‘We have a growing international profile and although there are challenges with some of our infrastructure, we continue to optimise what we have to deliver the cutting-edge care we’re capable of now. We certainly punch above our weight.’
In his new Clinical Director role, Professor Shortt works to recognise and develop talent within the Haematology team. ‘I took on this leadership role because I know what a terrific department it is to work with. Everybody pitches in, everybody respects one another and holds the same core values.
‘At the same time, I’m also here because of the terrific mentoring I received from within the department from people like Erica Wood and Stephen Opat, and Ricky Johnstone from Peter Mac. You need good mentors to keep you grounded and to help you when you need advice. I want to pay it forward to my up-and-coming colleagues.’
There is plenty to look forward to in the haematology space, Professor Shortt says.
‘Most recently, we embarked on work with cell therapies and autologous transplant program and that’s really come into fruition over the last 12 to 18 months. This has been an essential step because cell therapies have emerged as an important standard of care for our patient group.
‘Although it’s a new treatment, it’s imminently deliverable within a network like Monash Health. This work will help us to build our international recognition and ensures that we are absolutely providing contemporary frontline standard of care and the best clinical trials. My impression is that we’re largely delivering this now.
‘I’m excited about bringing Monash Health Haematology to the point where we can proudly claim to be the leading Haematology clinical and academic service in the country – and I think we’re pretty close. We’ve still got work to do, but we’re a world class team doing fantastic research and striving to deliver the best in patient-centred care.’