Reducing Disparities In Cervical Cancer Incidence For Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Women Through Screening And Vaccination
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$329,768.00
Summary
This program of research will aim to reduce cervical cancer incidence for Indigenous women by developing and trialling health systems interventions to increase cervical screening participation and HPV vaccination coverage. This research will be led by an Indigenous researcher with Indigenous people and for Indigenous people.
Immunotherapy In Mismatch Repair-deficient Colorectal Cancers
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$318,768.00
Summary
A new drug called PD-1 is effective in treating bowel cancers occurring in people at high risk of cancer called Lynch syndrome but little is known why PD-1 is effective at treating these cancer types. Initial studies have found that certain attributes of these cancers such as high amounts of inflammation may help to predict why these cancers respond to PD-1 but further studies of these tumors are needed to identify other tumor characteristics that may help predict responsiveness to PD-1.
Determining The Clinical Relevance Of Intratumour Heterogeneity In Breast Cancer And Its Relationship To Metastases Formation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$314,644.00
Summary
Breast cancer metastasis is generally an incurable disease, yet it is not well-understood. This project aims to understand how cancer metastasises by using a novel and unique approach of analysing multiple regions from matched primary and metastatic tumours from breast cancer patients. Expected outcomes include identifying predictors of treatment resistance and resultant personalised management and therapeutic strategies to improve survival outcomes of breast cancer patients.
Identification Of Novel Colorectal Cancer Susceptibility Genes
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$358,093.00
Summary
Colon cancer is one of the most common cancers, with around 1 million cases diagnosed annually. These cancers can be caused by a combination of lifestyle/environmental and genetic factors. Genetics cause ~30% of colon cancers, although the cause is unexplained in ~2/3 of these cases. The aim of this project is to discover new colon cancer genes by extensive gene sequencing of multi-case unexplained colon cancer families, and screening of additional cases and cancer-free individuals.
Novel Therapeutic Strategies For Pancreatic Cancer Using Next Generation Sequencing
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$354,892.00
Summary
Dr David Chang is a surgeon scientist who specialises in the treatment of pancreatic cancer. His research focus is on the development and implementation of novel therapeutic strategies for pancreatic cancer. He aims to achieve this by utilising novel biomarkers that have the ability to forecast prognosis and response to treatments. Ultimately, this will lead to the “individualised” treatment for each patient.
Metagenomic Analysis To Determine The Prostate Microenvironment And The Aetiology Of Inflammatory Mediated Prostate Cancer
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$339,534.00
Summary
Infectious organisms have been implicated in the development of several different malignancies. This project aims to determine if this may also be applicable in prostate cancer and if so, to define which organism/s may be responsible, thus providing targets for improving diagnosis, treatment and prevention strategies. The approach will be to identify DNA in the prostate tumour tissue that is foreign to the �normal� prostate environment and indicative of an invading organism.
Integration Of Epidemiological, Biological, And Health Services Data In Cancer Research
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$290,032.00
Summary
Improved understanding of carcinogenic mechanisms, such as the importance of gene and environment interaction, has placed increased emphasis on the need for studies combining biological and epidemiological data. The proposed research program incorporates a number of cross-disciplinary studies which bridge classical epidemiology and basic science and strive to improve the clinical relevance and translational potential of research outcomes.
Targeting The Epithelial-to-mesenchymal Transition In Basal-like Breast Cancers
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$348,823.00
Summary
Metastasis accounts for over 90% of deaths due to cancer worldwide. I aim to uncover the signals, which drive cancer cells to distant sites leading to metastatic tumour growth. Although the efficacy of current therapeutics is improving, they are unable to counteract tumour spread and relapses that are common with many cancers. My research will focus on understanding the events that lead to metastasis thus enabling us to develop better therapies for aggressive cancers.