Patient Tailored Anti-tumour T Cells To Prevent Relapse In Patients With Acute Myeloid Leukaemia Undergoing Allogeneic Haemopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$190,445.00
Summary
Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is the most common acute leukaemia in adults. Patients with high-risk AML have a 2-year survival of less than 20%. Blood or bone marrow transplant from a healthy donor is often the only chance of cure but the leukaemia frequently returns. Dr Blyth will perform a clinical trial giving leukaemia fighting immune cells from the transplant donor to patients with high risk AML to prevent relapse after transplant.
Deriving Actionable Strategies To Enhance Cancer Immunotherapy Response
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$447,193.00
Summary
Cancer immunotherapy is an increasingly common treatment used to treat several types of advanced cancers. Whilst it can be dramatically effective in a minority of patients, many patients do not respond to the treatment and our ability to predict who will not benefit is limited. This project aims to study distinct aspects of tumour immunology in patients receiving immunotherapy treatments in order to identify better predictors and more widely-effective immunotherapy treatment strategies.
Tumor Targeted T Cells To Enhance Anti-tumor Efficacy And Dictate Umbilical Cord Blood (UCB) Engraftment In The Setting Of Double UCB Transplant.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$376,002.00
Summary
Currently, despite cord blood transplantation, most leukemia patients will ultimately die of disease relapse. Therefore, my proposal is focused on improving the effectiveness of cord blood transplantation by further infusion of gene modified umbilical cord derived immune blood cells designed to specifically target and lyse residual leukemia tumor cells. This novel approach this will decrease disease relapse and lead to better patient survival following cord blood transplant therapy.
T Cell Trafficking And Effective Immunotherapy For Cancer
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$218,807.00
Summary
Cancer is the major cause of death in Australia in 2007. New forms of treatment are needed. The body’s defences against infection can be harnessed to fight some cancers. This project will examine how we can do this better using the signals that tell the body’s killer cells where to go and what to do when they get there.
Development Of Autoimmune Pathologies In Response To Cancer Immunotherapies
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$408,768.00
Summary
Cancer immunotherapies (CIs) boost a patient’s own immune response towards cancer, providing long-term survival benefits. However, in some cases, CIs imbalance immune activity, leading to aberrant activation against self. This is observed clinically as a broad spectrum of autoimmune syndromes including those affecting the endocrine system. This study will investigate the mechanism by which endocrinopathies develop in response to CIs, offering new strategies for identifying susceptible patients.
Cutting Through Complexity: The Promise Of Biomarkers To Discover, Diagnose, And Treat Antibody-associated Demyelination
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$438,768.00
Summary
Patients with damage to myelin, the sheath around nerve cells in the brain, have “demyelinating disorders” which can result in severe disability including blindness and paralysis. In some patients, their immune system mistakenly targets certain proteins in the brain. This research project will identify new targets in currently undiagnosed patients, increase our understanding of underlying disease processes, and evaluate optimal treatment strategies in these patients to improve their outcomes.