Aberrant Transcriptional Signalling In The Progression And Metastasis Of Melanoma.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$353,033.00
Summary
There are currently no treatments that have any impact on decreasing mortality from metastatic melanoma. We have found 2 new variants in melanoma that may control the tumour growing and invading around the body. This study will examine the protein containing these changes with the aims of finding how they function differently, to identify their roles in the formation of melanoma, as well as to identify new targets for prevention and treatment of metastatic disease.
Deciphering Tumour Heterogeneity Of Breast Cancer Metastases Using Barcoded Patient Derived Xenografts
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$583,161.00
Summary
Breast cancer mortality is largely due to metastases that seed from the primary tumour. Breast tumours are known to contain a heterogeneous mix of cells, but the precise way that cells are selected for tumour growth and metastasis (as well as their response to systemic therapy) is not well understood. In this study we will use patient samples and cellular ‘barcoding’ to track the destiny of every single clone throughout disease progression and study the effect of various therapies on metastasis.
Deciphering Mechanisms Of Disease Evolution In Melanoma
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$845,093.00
Summary
In many patients, cancers are ever-changing, even after they have formed. This explains why many cancers can spread beyond the point of cure by surgery and why they can become resistant to treatments. This project will use patient melanomas and laboratory modelling to understand how melanomas change as they grow and spread. The results will be used to identify the nature of evolutionary changes in cancer in order to predict and even exploit them in treatment.
Using MiR-200 To Find New Therapeutic Targets For Neuroblastoma
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$563,152.00
Summary
Neuroblastoma is one of the most common cancers in children. We have found that a genetic regulator, called microRNA, can limit the ability of neuroblastoma cells to invade surrounding tissues and metastasise. We aim use the microRNAs to find new therapeutic targets that may work in combination with existing treatments, reducing the short term toxicity and long term deleterious effects of current treatments.
The Oncogenic Function Of A Histone H3K9 Demethylase And Its Contribution To The Aggressive Malignant Phenotype Of Leukaemia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$762,501.00
Summary
In contrast to the significant improvements in the treatment of acute lymphocytic leukaemia, advances in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) therapy have been limited. The difficulty in treating AML is thought to arise from a drug-resistant subpopulation of leukaemic stem cells (LSC) that are capable of reinitiating disease after chemotherapy. This project will characterise a key regulator of LSC and provide insights into an important oncogenic process that gives rise to the aggressive and often fatal ....In contrast to the significant improvements in the treatment of acute lymphocytic leukaemia, advances in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) therapy have been limited. The difficulty in treating AML is thought to arise from a drug-resistant subpopulation of leukaemic stem cells (LSC) that are capable of reinitiating disease after chemotherapy. This project will characterise a key regulator of LSC and provide insights into an important oncogenic process that gives rise to the aggressive and often fatal AML.Read moreRead less
Epigenetic Changes In The Prostate Cancer Microenvironment
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$848,954.00
Summary
Many men with prostate cancer have slow-growing tumours that are unlikely to spread outside the prostate. These men with low-risk cancer are often monitored to prevent unnecessary aggressive treatments. However, the current methods used to distinguish between slow-growing and aggressive tumours are imprecise and there is a risk of missing aggressive tumours. We aim to identify new biomarkers of prostate cancer by measuring modifications to the DNA in the tumour and surrounding cells
Genetic And Genomic Dissection Of Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) In Cancer
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$576,598.00
Summary
The evolution of normal cells to cancer involves mutations that activate cancer-causing genes and/or prevent the actions of anti-cancer genes. It has become increasingly evident that cancer development also involves changes to epigenetic regulation, or control of gene activity by chemical modification of the gene or its environment rather that changes in DNA sequence. This project aims to explore the tumour suppressor activity of an important epigenetic regulatory complex in lymphoma.
Identifying Castrate-resistant Tumour Cells In Localised Prostate Cancer
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$573,047.00
Summary
This proposal addresses one of the most important challenges in cancer: what cell population ‘drives’ tumour progression, and how can it be effectively targeted? We will define the prostate cancer cells that survive androgen withdrawal therapy and investigate new ways to target them. Eliminating these important cells earlier in disease progression will lead to increased survival for men with prostate cancer.
What Predicts The Progressive Phase Of Multiple Sclerosis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,791,343.00
Summary
We have made major gains in our understanding of what causes MS. What has proven to be far more difficult is understanding the drivers of disability progression and conversion to progressive MS. The onset of progression heralds the accumulation of irreversible disability and is a critical time point to a person with MS. This grant aims to determine the lifestyle, environmental, genetic and epigenetic drivers of MS progression, using an internationally unique Australian MS longitudinal cohort.
Transcriptional Effectors Of Oncogenic ERK Signaling In Colorectal Cancer
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$820,776.00
Summary
This project aims to unravel how one of the most frequently deregulated molecular pathways in colorectal cancer controls the expression of genes required for these tumours to grow and spread. We expect this work to uncover novel therapeutic targets to effectively inactivate this pathway and biomarkers to select patients most likely to benefit from existing therapies.