AGITG ASM 2025 Special | with Associate Professor Sina Vatandoust and Associate Professor Margaret Lee
24–27 November | Tarntanya (Adelaide), South Australia
The most exciting ideas in GI oncology rarely come from just one room—or even one country. In this episode, host Rachael Babin sits down with Associate Professor Sina Vatandoust, Convenor of the AGITG 2025 ASM, and Associate Professor Margaret Lee, one of this year’s local speakers. Together, they share a preview of the upcoming meeting and explore how collaboration across Australia, the Asia–Pacific and beyond is helping turn promising concepts into clinical trials that truly make a difference.
Expect discussion on some of the key themes from this year’s program, including early-onset cancer, global oncology insights and radiation oncology breakthroughs—all with survivorship at the heart of the conversation.
We hope you enjoy the episode.
Guests + Host:
Associate Professor Sina Vatandoust, MD PhD FRACP | AGITG ASM 2025 Convenor
Associate Professor Sina Vatandoust is a consultant medical oncologist at Flinders Medical Centre and Flinders Private Hospital in Adelaide and serves as Co-Director of the Southern Oncology Clinical Research Unit (SOCRU). He holds an academic appointment as Associate Professor of Medicine at Flinders University.
He completed his MD thesis on haematopoietic stem cells, obtained his FRACP in 2013, and earned a PhD focused on patient-reported outcomes and biomarkers in the watch-and-wait management of rectal cancer.
Sina’s work bridges clinical care and research, with interests spanning clinical trials, patient-reported outcomes, and the development of novel biomarkers to guide personalised treatment. He is currently the Convener of the Australasian Gastro-Intestinal Trials Group (AGITG) Annual Scientific Meeting for 2024–2026, leading initiatives that foster collaboration and innovation across disciplines in GI cancer research.
Associate Professor Margaret Lee | National Speaker
Associate Professor Margaret Lee is a Medical Oncologist at Eastern Health and Western Health in Melbourne, specialising in gastrointestinal cancers. Her research focuses on both upper and lower GI malignancies, with key contributions to the DYNAMIC ctDNA trials, translational studies using organoid models, and real-world cohort studies such as SPACE-FLOT.
She places strong value on multidisciplinary collaboration to deliver personalised care, to improve patient outcomes whilst reducing unnecessary treatment-related toxicities. Beyond her clinical and research activities, she is dedicated to education, mentoring and sharing her love for oncology with the next generation of clinicians.
Through her combined focus on research, patient-centred care and education, she strives to advance innovation and excellence in gastrointestinal cancer management.
Rachael Babin
Rachael Babin
Rachael Babin is Host of The Oncology Podcast, Editor-in-Chief of The Oncology Newsletter, and Publisher of Oncology News Australia and The Oncology Network.
With a background in oncology communications and academic publishing, Rachael is happiest sitting behind the mic chatting to interesting people about the impact their work makes in oncology.
Connect with us on X here: @OncologyNewsAus
