Integrating Immunity And Genetics In Follicular Lymphoma To Establish A Prognostic Score Fit For The Modern Era
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,377,174.00
Summary
Follicular lymphoma (FL) is divided into early and advanced stages. Early stage FL is frequently cured, but there is no way to identify who will be cured and who won't. By contrast advanced stage FL is incurable. Our unique access to well-annotated clinical trial and population based cohorts allows us to perform a detailed biological comparison of early and advanced FL, to gain a deeper understanding of the impediments to eradicating the disease, and to predict outcome to conventional therapy.
Investigating The Role Of Aberrant Splicing (intron Retention) In Acute Myeloid Leukaemia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,135,745.00
Summary
In 2013, we made a breakthrough discovery that certain parts of genes, previously considered “Junk DNA”, are actually carrying signals to control the amount of proteins produced in cells. Our preliminary work now suggests these signals controlling protein levels can be faulty in cancers. Here, we wish to determine whether these faulty signals could cause a deadly blood cancer called acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). We aim to decipher previously unknown causes of AML that will spur novel therapies.
Glucocorticoid Resistance In Paediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$394,721.00
Summary
Glucocorticoids are among the most effective drugs used in the treatment of many haematological malignancies, including leukaemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma. However, the development of tumour cell resistance to these drugs remains a significant problem, and clinically relevant mechanisms of glucocorticoid resistance remain poorly understood. This project aims to define mechanisms of resistance to glucocorticoids and develop new drugs to reverse resistance.
Epigenetic Therapy In Myelodysplasia And Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukaemia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$676,779.00
Summary
The myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a group of disorders that are characterised by impaired blood production and progression to leukaemia within a few months to several years from diagnosis. We will use bone marrow blood stem cells collected from patients with myelodysplasia to study how normal stem cells transform into abnormal stem cells. We hope to identify molecular pathways that are disrupted during this transformation to rationally design drugs to better treat these common disorders.
Tumour Suppressive Mechanisms Of CEBP? And PU.1 In Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$497,827.00
Summary
Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is an aggressive leukaemia with poor overall responses to therapy. The transcription factors CEBPA and PU.1 are often lost during AML development, and therapies that can restore their normal functions hold great promise. By identifying the genes that these transcription factors regulate in normal and leukaemic white blood cells, this project aims to understand how AML develops and which genes represent rational drug targets for this disease.
Defining The Myb-p300 Dependent Transcriptional Program In Myeloid Leukaemia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$603,632.00
Summary
MYB is a “cancer gene” which turns other genes on or off. MYB is needed by leukaemia cells but also for normal blood cell formation. We have found that interaction between the MYB protein and a protein called p300 is more critical for growth of leukaemia cells than for normal cells. Here we aim to identify a set of MYB/p300 co-regulated genes that are needed by leukaemia cells for the continued growth or survival. Some of these genes may be targets for developing new leukaemia drugs.
Role Of Connective Tissue Growth Factor In The Pathobiology Of Lymphoid Tumours And Response To Therapy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$603,615.00
Summary
Leukaemia is the most common cancer in children and the improved cure rates are among the major biomedical advances of the past five decades. However, we still do not fully understand why leukaemia cells have a growth advantage. We identified the growth factor CTGF as being massively activated in leukaemia cells. The project aims to study the role of CTGF in bringing about the disease. Insights gained are expected to lead towards novel treatments for patients with leukaemia.