Marianna Volpert finished her honours degree in molecular biology in 2009 working on the permeability of the TRPV1 ion channel at the University of Melbourne. She completed her PhD with Prof. Moira O'Bryan at Monash University in May 2014, working on the role of CRISP3 in prostate cancer progression. Marianna was awarded the Sydney Parker Smith Postdoctoral Research Fellowship from the Cancer Council Victoria in June to continue work on her PhD project until July 2015.