Kate Furness
Dr Kate Furness is a researcher with more than 15 years’ expertise in nutrition management for people with upper gastrointestinal (UGI) cancers, driving significant advances in the way nutrition impact symptoms are identified and managed in clinical practice. As Senior Lecturer at La Trobe University, she leads and supervises the next generation of researchers while contributing extensively to the evidence base, with 35 peer-reviewed publications in the past five years. Her research has shaped international clinical practice through major collaborations, including the NOURISH study and the development of MASCC and ESPEN guidelines and recommendations, while her innovative nutrition models and strategies have attracted substantial funding from the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF). Her PhD established the evidence for early, intensive, behaviour-focused nutrition support delivered via telephone and mobile technology, directly informing the development of the $1.68 million MRFF-funded SuperQoL trial. As co-project manager, Kate is leading this multi-site randomised controlled trial across eight metropolitan and regional Victorian health services, evaluating an intensive dietitian-led telehealth intervention for people with pancreatic cancer. By integrating personalised nutritional support and symptom management, SuperQoL is pioneering scalable, remote approaches to nutrition care designed to improve quality of life, strengthen patient outcomes and transform the delivery of supportive cancer care.
Abstracts this author is presenting: