Rate My Professor Tania Slatter

Associate Professor Tania Slatter serves as Head of the Department of Medical Laboratory Science within the Faculty of Health Professional Programmes at the University of Otago. She earned her BSc in Biochemistry with Honours, MSc with Distinction in 2003 on low cholesterol phenotypes, and PhD in 2007. Her academic career progressed from research in the Department of Pathology at the Dunedin School of Medicine, where she was recognized as an emerging researcher. In 2015, Slatter received the Sir Charles Hercus Health Research Fellowship valued at $500,000 for her project Predicting brain tumour prognosis from cell immortality pathways. The following year, she won the Emerging Researcher Award at the Dunedin School of Medicine and Southern District Health Board's Health Research Excellence Awards. She also secured Marsden Fund support of $786,000 for investigating the Δ133p53 isoform as an oncogene or tumour suppressor. Appointed full-time Director of the Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science programme in 2021, she concurrently holds the position of Academic Leader for Histology at Otago Micro and Nanoscale Imaging. Slatter contributes to professional bodies as a member of the Manutū Hanora Laboratory Sector Reference Group and Associate Investigator at the Maurice Wilkins Centre.

Slatter's research centers on molecular and experimental pathology and translational medicine, specializing in cancer, perinatal medicine, and autoimmune disease. Her clinical interests encompass brain cancer, breast cancer, laboratory medicine, chronic kidney disease, macular degeneration, and perinatal pathology. Notable projects include elucidating the Δ133p53 isoform's role in promoting tumour growth via TLR4 enhancement; developing diagnostic tests for personalized cancer therapies; establishing the Otago Placental Study to examine DNA damage and HPV effects on pregnancy outcomes; and exploring telomere maintenance mechanisms in glioblastomas and uterine cancers as part of the New Zealand Brain Tumour Study. Co-directing the Slatter and Hung Laboratory for Molecular Pathogenesis, her work advances prognostic biomarkers and novel treatments. Key publications comprise Δ133p53 isoform enhances TLR4 function to promote tumour growth (Carcinogenesis, 2025), Lithium-induced kidney injury and fibrosis: A versatile model to explore cellular pathways of injury and repair (Physiological Reports, 2025), Adaptive homeostasis and the p53 isoform network (EMBO Reports, 2021), and TP53 splice mutations have tumour-independent effects on genomic stability and prognosis (International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2025). With over 1,200 citations, her contributions significantly impact oncology, histopathology, and diagnostic advancements.