High-throughput genetic assays are commonly used to study the molecular basis of disease and such technology requires sophisticated data analysis methods that account for significant biological and experimental complexity. Specialized methods will be developed in free public software that will greatly benefit future genetic profiling studies.
Exploring Roles For MicroRNAs In Cancer Using Bioinformatics And Gene Expression Tools.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$292,639.00
Summary
microRNAs are newly discovered chemicals that were the subject of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Medicine. These chemicals decrease the amount of specific molecular ‘targets’ in cells, and play an important role in cancer. Currently we do not understand how these chemicals choose their targets, and we propose to use a computer-based approach to discover how they affect genes in cancer. This will improve our understanding of cancer and thereby lead to the discovery of novel anti-cancer therapies.
Development Of Statistical Methodologies And Application To Clinical Cancer Studies
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$428,065.00
Summary
Integrating different layers of information coming from the recent ‘-omics’ technologies can help improving the treatment and the prevention of complex diseases. In particular, the identification of molecular markers of different types can be used for better diagnostics and prognosis in cancer and immune diseases. This project will develop innovative statistical solutions to handle and make sense of the vast amount of biological data that are routinely generated in the laboratories.
A Comprehensive Genomic Analysis Of Oesophageal Adenocarcinoma: Understanding The Genetic Aetiology Of OAC Towards Biomarkers Of Progression, Prognosis And Targeted Treatment.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$987,906.00
Summary
Oesophageal cancer (OAC) continues to have poor survival despite surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Selecting patients for the most appropriate therapies and improving survival remain unmet research needs. We propose to undertake a detailed genetic study of OAC, including “next generation” sequencing, in order to catalogue the genetic changes in the disease. This information forms an essential basis for identifying genetic signatures of OAC progression, prognosis and treatment response.
Integrated Analysis And Functional Characterisation Of Gene Amplicons In Ovarian Cancer
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$453,068.00
Summary
In Australia in 2001 there were ~1300 new cases of ovarian cancer. Survival of ovarian cancer is very poor and current treatments inadequate. To develop more effective treatments we need to understand the molecular events that cause ovarian cancer. Some genes have multiple copies in ovarian cancer cells and these may be good targets for therapy. We aim to find these genes and determine which ones have a functional effect in the tumour.
Computational And Statistical Methods For The Analysis Of RNA-Seq Data
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$406,545.00
Summary
New sequencing technologies provide medical researchers with ultra high-resolution tools for measuring gene activity in healthy and diseased cells. These instruments generate unprecedented volumes of data that requires careful analysis to maximize the biological insight learned from each experiment. Our research will develop new tools for analyzing, interpreting and making medical discoveries from this rapidly emerging technology, for the benefit of Australian biomedical researchers.
Systematic And Sensitized Screens For Novel Genes That Regulate The Neural Differentiation Of Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$360,634.00
Summary
Embryonic stem (ES) cells are cells in the embryo that can transform into any cell type. Genes that direct mouse ES cells to transform into cells of the nervous system will be uncovered by selecting a group of likely suspects, and disrupting the DNA sequences of these genes to see whether neural differentiation occurs normally in their absence. The effects of the gene disruptions will be examined in the developing neural system of the mouse embryo.
New genomic technologies are revolutionizing biological research. RNA-seq is a recently developed high-throughput sequencing technology that provides scientists with much more detail how genes are regulated and expressed than any earlier technology. New tools developed by Professor Gordon Smyth are allowing researchers to use RNA-Seq technology to more accurately determine which genes are genuinely changing in the development of cancers and in response to cancer treatments.
The majority of deaths from cancers are due to metastasis. MicroRNAs are gene regulators involved in shaping cellular properties and are known to control metastasis. My work will lead to understanding how the production of microRNAs in cancer cells is controlled, what the major functions of microRNAs are in cancer cells and the discovery of pathways that may be amenable to new forms of therapeutic intervention in cancer.