When Lisa Briggs was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer at just 32 years old, she was a young mother (of a 4-month old baby and 3 year-old toddler), non-smoker and health professional – and the diagnosis came as a profound shock. But it set her on a path where she is transforming how people affected by cancer are heard and represented in research and care.
Lisa is one of two nominees awarded the Inaugural Les Leckie Award for Lived Experience Leadership at the 2025 VCCC Alliance Awards held on 5 November, recognising her outstanding contribution to embedding lived experience into cancer research, policy, and care.
Lisa founded and now chairs the TRACKER Consumer Committee, co-designing Australia’s first national longitudinal lung cancer biobank. As Chief Investigator on the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute-led $3 million TRACKER project, she successfully advocated for the inclusion of liquid biopsies, a minimally invasive alternative to traditional tissue sampling.
This innovation stemmed from her own experience with multiple high-risk biopsies, including a metastatic brain tumour that was deemed too dangerous to biopsy. Her advocacy ensured that patient-friendly techniques became a cornerstone of TRACKER's design, reducing patient burden of participation whilst maintaining scientific rigor. She also led the creation of the TRACKER Consumer Engagement Strategic Plan, as well as the creation of a multilingual explainer animation video, to ensure information was accessible and inclusive for people from diverse backgrounds.
“Our tumour samples are precious — they hold the answers to better care,” Lisa said. “Knowing they’re used to advance research gives me hope for future treatments, and for a system where every patient’s experience matters.”
Lisa co-founded the Love & Light Lung Cancer Support Group, originally based at Austin Health and now hosted by Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.
At a National level, Lisa was recognised as a Top 4 Finalist for Victoria’s Local Hero in the 2020 Australian of the Year Awards, and more recently by Cancer Australia at the 2025 Jeannie Ferris Awards for her outstanding contributions to improving equity for all. Her leadership has also been lauded internationally through the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer Supportive Training for Advocates on Research and Science (IASLC STARS) program, amplifying Australian voices in global lung cancer research.
Lisa provides strategic advice to major organisations including Rare Cancers Australia, the Thoracic Oncology Group of Australasia (TOGA), Cancer Australia, Cancer Council Victoria and Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.
