Yuhang Zhang

Yuhang (Jasmine) Zhang

Graduate Research Topic

Title: Cassowary-CALD: Identifying adaptations required to facilitate patients from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities to participate in primary care-based cancer clinical trials.
Years: 2025 - 
Supervisors: Prof Jon Emery, Dr Sibel Saya, and Dr Joyce Jiang

Brief background and research interests

I hold a Bachelor of Health Science from the University of Queensland and a Master of Public Health from the University of Melbourne. I have had a strong interest in cancer since I was young and dream of having the opportunity to engage in cancer-related research. I believe that early detection of cancer is particularly important, as it can greatly enhance both cure and survival rates of cancer patients. My research focuses on cancer risk stratification to tailor screening strategies for individuals. By matching the right test to the right person at the right time, I aim to enable earlier cancer diagnoses and, ultimately, better health outcomes.

What led you to this research?

I was drawn to this area by a clear gap I kept seeing in practice: people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities are less likely to be reached by primary care–based cancer trials, even though early detection can change lives. Standard recruitment, consent materials, and appointment workflows fail to meet diverse language and cultural needs, resulting in missed opportunities to participate. At the same time, risk-stratified screening showed real promise—but only if everyone can access it. Therefore, I am keen to co-design practical and culturally appropriate adaptations with communities and GPs, so that clinical trials featuring personalised screenings through cancer risk stratification are truly inclusive.