After gaining a Bachelor of Science with a double major in Microbiology and Organic Chemistry from the University of Western Australia, Professor Delia Nelson became interested in asthma and allergy. She completed her Honours and PhD theses at the TVW Telethon Institute For Child Health Research and became an independently-funded senior research officer with the Department of Medicine at UWA.
Prof Nelson is now a senior research fellow and senior lecturer with the School of Biomedical Sciences at Curtin University. Her research interests include understanding how the immune system interacts with progressing solid tumours and to how to use immune-based therapies, gene therapies and/or vascular-targeting therapies to treat solid tumours. Her research support includes funding from the Cancer Council of Western Australia, NH&MRC, the Australian Lung Foundation, the American-based Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (MARF) and the Dust Diseases Board of NSW.