Dr Caroline Gargett BAppSci, MAppSci, PhD

Senior Scientist

NHMRC RD Wright Research Fellow

Dr Caroline Gargett obtained her PhD in 1997 and joined the Centre for Women’s Health Research as a postdoctoral scientist to study angiogenesis. As well as being a Senior Scientist she is also a National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC) RD Wright Research Fellow.

In 2002 Dr Gargett pioneered the Endometrial Stem Cell Group which published the first papers describing its discovery of two types of adult stem cells in the endometrium, the highly regenerative lining of the uterus. Her goal is to examine the role of endometrial stem/progenitor cells in endometriosis and endometrial cancer, as well as to use endometrial mesenchymal stem-like cells for a tissue engineering application in pelvic floor prolapse repair surgery.

Dr Gargett obtained the highest scoring NHMRC New Investigator grant in 2004 and currently holds a Cancer Council Victoria grant investigating cancer stem cells in endometrial cancer, a NHMRC Project grant to examine the role of endometrial stem/progenitor cells in the development of endometriosis, and an Australian Stem Cell Centre Strategic Development Fund Award to work with CSIRO (Molecular Health Technologies) to develop new bio-materials to use with endometrial mesenchymal stem/progenitors in a tissue engineering application for repair of pelvic floor prolapse.

Dr Gargett has also received 3 National New Investigator Awards and 3 International Awards, including the Established Investigator Award of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in 2005 and a British Council Early Career Researcher Exchange Award in 2007 to undertake a 10 week sabbatical at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom.

Dr. Gargett’s research has received widespread publicity both in Australia and Internationally. In 2008 Dr.Gargett was listed in the NHMRC’s publication
“10 of the Best Research Projects 2008”.  In 2009 she received the prestigious Wellbeing of Women (WOW) award with her international collaborators as a result of their work on the importance of endometrial stem cells in developing endometriosis, with the view to developing potential therapeutics.

Dr Gargett convenes the Human Reproduction Module in the Bachelor of Biomedical Science course at Monash University, has been an Associate Editor for Human Reproduction and has served as Secretary for the Society for Reproductive Biology.