CLOSING THE DIAGNOSTIC GAP IN OVARIAN CANCER DETECTION
With
Associate Professor Michelle Hill
Founder and CEO
ProSeek bio
PEOPLE IN HEALTH CARE SEGMENT
Filmed in Brisbane & Sydney | May 2026
After 15 years in academia, Associate Professor Michelle Hill founded ProSeek bio to address one of the most urgent challenges in women’s health: closing the diagnostic gap in ovarian cancer.
For too long, women suspected of ovarian cancer have faced an impossible choice — undergo invasive surgery for diagnosis, only for up to 80% of those procedures to reveal no cancer, or delay intervention and risk diagnosis at a later stage when treatment options are fewer and survival outcomes are significantly worse.
ProSeek bio is developing a non-invasive blood test designed to help clinicians determine whether surgery is truly necessary. Using advanced glycoproteomics to detect ovarian cancer biomarkers in blood, the technology is being developed to deliver more precise diagnostic insights through blood sample processed in existing pathology laboratories.
The goal is clear: enable earlier diagnosis, reduce unnecessary surgeries, lower healthcare costs and improve survival outcomes for women.
Ovarian cancer remains the most lethal women’s cancer because symptoms are often vague, common and easily overlooked. Bloating, pelvic pain and unexplained weight changes are frequently dismissed, contributing to delayed diagnosis in more than 70% of cases. Yet when ovarian cancer is detected early, more than 90% of women survive at least five years. When diagnosed late, survival drops dramatically.
ProSeek bio was founded to change that reality.
Built on more than a decade of biomarker research, the company is translating academic discovery into a clinical diagnostic tool with the potential to transform how ovarian cancer is detected and managed.
By giving clinicians a faster, safer and less invasive way to assess risk, Assoc Prof Hilll talks about how ProSeek bio is working to change the diagnostic pathway for ovarian cancer — reducing harm, improving decision-making and helping save women’s lives.
Source: Adapted from transcript
Event Credit: Medical Technology Association of Australia (MTAA)
Ovarian cancer statistics credit: Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation (OCRF)
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Australia’s Nursing Crisis Snapshot
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Australian nurses cannot continue to work under the extreme pressure they are currently operating under – the impacts are mounting.
The almost 400,000 Australian nurses are a constant presence in every one of our major life milestones, national emergencies and global crises. The nurse of today holds a science degree, possesses highly technical training, valuable medical opinions, front-row expertise, is an effective trainer, and is skilled in population and systemic thinking. But the pandemic is inflicting a major emotional and physical toll on nurses.
In this “Perspectives” special, Australian Health Journal spoke with 4 nurses on the challenges they or nurses in their circle have experienced, the key issues as well some of the opportunities. These nurses come from national leadership & policy, large scale workforce management, a final year student completing over a year on placement across 6 Melbourne Hospitals and a NSW based ICU nurse stranded in Mexico, unable to return to a critical role in nursing to an already strained team due to incoming quotas.
While the issues are challenging, there are strategies that can be put into place to ease the pressure, to support nurses, and nursing care in Australia. These are discussed by the the 4 nurses.
– Adjunct Professor Kylie Ward FACN CEO, Australian College of Nursing
– Adjunct Professor Alanna Geary FACN ACN Chair of Workforce Sustainability Policy Chapter & Chief Nursing & Midwifery Officer, Metro North Health
– Natalie Reyes, NSW based ICU Nurse Currently stranded in Mexico
– Hayley Pollock, Final Year Bachelor of Nursing Student & ACN Emerging Nurse Leader
