Rate My Professor Steffens Reinhardt

Dr. Luiza Steffens Reinhardt is a Casual Academic in the School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing at the University of Newcastle, Australia. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Genetics from the University of Newcastle, awarded in 2023, and a PhD in Biosciences from the Federal University of Health Sciences of Porto Alegre in 2022, focusing on molecules with biotechnological potential for novel brain cancer therapies. Her current appointments include Research Fellow at NSW Health Pathology Molecular Medicine - John Hunter Hospital since August 2024, Honorary Associate Lecturer at the University of Newcastle School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy since August 2024, and Scientific Officer at NSW Health Pathology since November 2023. With nearly ten years of experience in molecular biology, genomics, and pre-clinical models, her research is dedicated to translational cancer research. This includes leveraging long-read sequencing for informed genomic testing decisions in hereditary cancer predisposition syndromes and identifying new therapy targets for HER2-positive breast cancers resistant to current treatments. She is also co-founder of the CDT Science Club, a science engagement initiative with John Hunter Hospital School.

Steffens Reinhardt is author on 39 publications, including twelve as first author and six book chapters all as first author, with 646 citations and an h-index of 16. Key publications encompass 'Alterations in the p53 isoform ratio govern breast cancer cell fate in response to DNA damage' (Cell Death & Disease, 2022), 'The role of truncated p53 isoforms in the DNA damage response' (Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Reviews on Cancer, 2023), 'p53 Dysregulation in Breast Cancer: Insights on Mutations in the TP53 Network and p53 Isoform Expression' (International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2023), 'Cytoplasmic p53β Isoforms Are Associated with Worse Disease-Free Survival in Breast Cancer' (International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2022), and 'Good Cop, Bad Cop: Defining the Roles of Δ40p53 in Cancer and Aging' (Cancers, 2020). She has secured 17 grants totaling over $1.4 million AUD, including $599,132 from Cancer Institute NSW (2025) for single-cell resolution cancer genomics, $448,302 from Cancer Council NSW (2025-2027) for resistant HER2+ breast cancer therapies, and $420,000 from NSW Health Pathology (2024-2027) for long-read sequencing applications. In 2024, she received the Early-Career Excellence Award from the HMRI Cancer Detection and Therapy Research Program.