Pascale Willem obtained her medical degree at Saint-Antoine University Hospital (Paris VI) and further specialized in medical Human Genetics in Paris. Starting her career in constitutional genetics in Paris, (Saint Antoine), she emigrated to South Africa for personal reasons and joined the Department of Genetics at the South African Institute for Medical Research.

She developed a keen interest in acquired genetic variants observed in cancer that reveal molecular mechanisms underpinning the process of malignant transformation and also act as a target for precise therapeutic interventions.  With a goal to offer appropriate modalities for the diagnosis of cancer in patients of the South African public sector, she founded the Somatic Cell Genetics Unit (Faculty of Health Sciences, Haematology, and Molecular Medicine department at the National Health Laboratory Services/University of the Witwatersrand) with limited resources.

The unit offers a broad spectrum of cytogenetics and molecular diagnostic tools. It developed rapidly into a center of excellence for cancer diagnosis.  Dr Willem has over 30 years of expertise in onco-genetics diagnostic modalities and the interpretation of their clinical relevance. 

To broaden her knowledge, she completed a Ph.D. on the molecular events involved in cancer initiation and progression, focusing on cryptic events that affect genetic stability in a variety of malignancies. She initiated several local and international research collaborations notably in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and plasmablastic lymphomas (PBL). Playing a leading role in the latter, together with US collaborators from the Herbert Irving Cancer Institute in New York, she identified pervasive STAT3 and JAK mutations in this lymphoma, thus identifying therapeutic targets for this highly aggressive malignancy.

In 2023, she was appointed by the Wits Diagnostic Innovation Hub (Wits DIH) a new entity at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. Her role is to establish a Molecular Oncology Diagnostic laboratory, mentor scientists and registrars, and initiate local research projects in cancer that address the needs and health issues of the local populations.

Recently, she was awarded a grant from the Infectious Diseases and Oncology Research Institute (University of the Witwatersrand) and has initiated a collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC-USA) to characterize the broad-spectrum of HPV subtypes distribution in prostate cancer tissue in African patients.