Molecular Determinants Of Progression And Treatment Response In Melanoma
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$467,068.00
Summary
Melanoma, a skin malignancy of pigment cells, is a major Australian health problem and is the commonest cancer in young adults. This project utilises the resources of the world’s largest melanoma treatment service and aims to develop a scientific basis for 1) improved management of individuals at high risk for melanoma progression, and 2) improved treatment of patients with early and disseminated melanoma, in an era of rapid change in the prospects of successfully treating this dangerous cancer.
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.
Translating Molecular Pathology Into Cancer Diagnostics
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$479,882.00
Summary
The aim of this research is focussed on translation of basic science through to the clinic by introducing novel cancer diagnostics and technologies. Other integral aims are to identify new changes in DNA and other cancer cell markers in patients, assess the clinical utility of these as biomarkers (surrogates of cancer behaviour) and to conduct novel clinical trials with newly identified molecular targets of cancer and new therapeutics and combinations to assess their efficacy.
Chronic myeloid leukaemia was almost always fatal before the development of imatinib a decade ago, the first tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) developed to treat a human cancer. There are now more potent TKIs that are effective in cases of resistance to imatinib. The challenge now is to optimise the achievement of remissions using these drugs and convert CML into a curable condition. This will be the focus of my NHMRC Practitioner Fellowship over the next 5 years.