Prophylactic Early Parenteral Nutrition In Patients Undergoing Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation: A Multi-centre Randomised Controlled Trial.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,131,673.00
Summary
We intend to conduct a multi-centre clinical trial in patients receiving bone marrow transplants to determine whether very early nutrition support improves overall survival.
Long-term In Vivo Imaging Of Bone Marrow Microenvironments In Multiple Myeloma.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$688,371.00
Summary
White blood cells are soldiers of the immune system. When the machinery that controls growth and death of these cells is disrupted, these cells can undergo massive expansion. This leads to the development of blood cancers such as multiple myeloma (MM). In MM, malignant cells infiltrate bones preventing production of blood and damaging the bone structure leading to fractures. Using cutting edge microcopy we will watch how MM cells grow and damage bone tissue to develop new therapeutic approaches.
Translating Advances In Molecular Oncology Into Improved Care For Patients With Haematological Malignancies
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$411,327.00
Summary
The purpose of my research is to develop and integrate into routine practice better treatment paradigms for patients with blood cancers – leukaemias, lymphomas, myeloma. My research seeks to (i) bring a new class of anti-cancer targeted therapy, inhibitors of Bcl-2, into routine care; (ii) discover the genetic changes that explain why slow growing lymphoid cancers change into rapidly fatal lymphomas; and (iii) integrate new molecular tests into the management of patients with acute leukaemia.
A New Therapeutic Monoclonal Antibody Targeting CD302 In Acute Myeloid Leukaemia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$124,676.00
Summary
This project will develop a new antibody treatment for Acute Myeloid Leukaemia. Antibody treatments help the body to attack the leukaemia using its immune system. The prognosis of this leukaemia is poor. Our current treatments use high dose chemotherapy and sometimes a stem cell transplant. Many patients cannot have the current therapy due to their age or other medical problems. A new antibody therapy may be used on its own or with other therapies to help more patients achieve remission.
Role Of Erg In B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$749,034.00
Summary
Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is a lethal blood cancer for which current treatments are suboptimal. Over-expression of the ERG gene has been associated with the poor prognosis B cell ALL called Ph+ B-ALL. We have recently shown that loss of Erg prevents disease development in disease models. We hypothesise that expression of ERG is a key driver of Ph+ B-ALL and propose to define this role and identify new opportunities for development of specific novel therapeutics.
Myeloproliferative diseases (MPD) and leukemias arise from blood cells with faulty molecular signalling caused by genetic mutations. We are studying MPD and leukemias that carry over-active versions of the JAK2 signalling molecule. We will use human and mouse leukemias and MPD to discover how these diseases develop, and how we can use specific medications to stop these processes. Our goal is to discover new, improved ways to treat leukemias and MPDs.
Targeting Epigenetic Enzymes In Core Binding Factor AML
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$542,273.00
Summary
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a devastating disease and there are ~900 new cases diagnosed annually in Australia. A subset of AML, called core binding factor (CBF) AML is more responsive to conventional chemotherapies than other AMLs however patients still relapse indicating a need for new therapies. We will use preclinical models of CBF AML to identify the proteins and pathways that these leukemias are “addicted” to in order to develop new treatment options for these patients.
Transposon Mutagenesis For Discovery Of Disease Causing Genes And Their Cooperative Interactions In Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$659,302.00
Summary
The emergence of cancer is caused by multiple mutations in normal cells. Recent progress has allowed the detection of virtually all mutations in a cancer genome. Although this has been enormous progress, it has become increasingly evident that only rare mutations are responsible for sustained tumour growth and treatment failure, while the majority of mutations are without effect. Our research will assist identification of the genetic changes essential to leukemia development, which will help dev ....The emergence of cancer is caused by multiple mutations in normal cells. Recent progress has allowed the detection of virtually all mutations in a cancer genome. Although this has been enormous progress, it has become increasingly evident that only rare mutations are responsible for sustained tumour growth and treatment failure, while the majority of mutations are without effect. Our research will assist identification of the genetic changes essential to leukemia development, which will help develop new cancer therapies.Read moreRead less
Understanding How Second Primary Malignancies Arise Following Multiple Myeloma Therapy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$408,768.00
Summary
Multiple myeloma is a cancer of white blood cells. Chemotherapy and new drugs that target cancer cells are the most effective therapies for multiple myeloma. However, these drugs also increase the chance of developing a secondary cancer that is different to the initial cancer. Little is known about how these cancers arise. I aim to find out how current therapies cause secondary cancers; with the hope of finding alternative therapies for multiple myeloma that do not cause secondary cancers.
Defining The Leukaemogenic Mechanism For GATA2 T354M, A New Predisposing Mutation In Familial MDS/AML
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$631,883.00
Summary
A successful approach for identification of cancer genes has been to study the 5-10% of cases occurring in families with inherited predisposition to develop cancer. Unlike solid tumours, few cancer-causing mutations are known for haematological cancers. We have found a new mutation in 3 families in a gene (GATA2) not previously associated with familial acute myeloid leukaemia. We will explore how this mutation causes leukaemia to help better understand the more common non-inherited leukaemias.