CTC Fellow wins Peter Bancroft Award

31/05/18

The CTC's Mbathio Dieng won the prestigious University of Sydney Faculty of Medicine Award for her PhD research into managing stress and fear of cancer recurrence in recovering, early-stage melanoma patients. Dr Dieng received the $4,000 Peter Bancroft Prize at a ceremony held on 30 May 2018. 

People with a history of melanoma commonly report a fear of cancer recurrence (FCR), yet psychological support is not routinely offered as part of ongoing melanoma care. Dr Dieng's randomized controlled trial concluded that a newly developed evidence-based psychoeducational intervention was effective in reducing FCR and stress, and increasing melanoma-related knowledge in people at high risk for another melanoma.

Dr Dieng is currently a CTC Research Fellow in the CTC's Health Economics team, headed by Associate Professor Rachael Morton. Dr Dieng is working on a range of projects for her Post-Doctoral research, which include the impact of diagnostic imaging on healthcare costs and quality of life, and the new national Melanoma Clinical Outcomes Registry (MelCOR). 

The CTC's Health Economics Team measures benefit, harm and cost in clinical studies, and evaluates the cost-effectiveness of drugs, devices and healthcare programs. The team has an active teaching program in the University of Sydney's undergraduate medical program and postgraduate public health degrees, and supervises higher degree research students from economics and health backgrounds undertaking an MPhil or PhD.