Resistance Prevention

This program will work on understanding the mechanisms underlying response and resistance to contemporary cancer therapies.  It is envisaged that laboratory findings will be translated directly from bench to bedside through clinical trials.

Program Vision

• To uncover the factors driving resistance to cancer therapies, with a focus on the individual patient.
• To design and clinically implement precision strategies that:
  • Target multiple aspects of the tumour and its microenvironment;
  • Effectively prevent or control the emergence of drug-tolerant persister cells.
• To recruit and mentor the next generation of research leaders and provide an environment in which they can succeed.

The Paediatric and Neuro-oncology program will utilise the close links to the Braggs Comprehensive Cancer Centre, which is Australia’s first proton therapy centre and the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere.  It is expected to be treating approximately 700 patients per year from 2025.  The program’s research teams will also work closely with SAiGENCI affiliates such as .

Cancer Biology and Cell Signalling Laboratory

Group Leader - Associate Professor Antonella Papa

The Cancer Biology and Cell Signalling Laboratory focuses on studying molecular mechanisms associated with breast cancer development and resistance to therapies.  We use many experimental approaches to monitor the activation status of signalling molecules in cancer cells and the presence of new biomarkers specific to resistant disease.  This new knowledge is used to inform novel combination therapies that are then tested in the mouse, as a pre-clinical model.  The ultimate goal of our research is to contribute to new clinical trials that improve treatment efficacy and outcomes for breast cancer patients.

3D Chromatin Organisation Laboratory

Group Leader -

The 3D Chromatin Organisation Laboratory, led by Dr Joanna Achinger-Kawecka, investigates the regulatory principles of three-dimensional (3D) genome folding and transcriptional control.  This 3D organisation of the genome brings together genes and distal regulatory elements to orchestrate gene transcription, and has been implicated in many diseases, including cancer.  Our lab develops new genomics technologies and bioinformatics approaches to explore the role of 3D chromatin organisation in driving cancer progression and treatment resistance.  Understanding this oncogenic role of the 3D regulatory genome will accelerate the development of new targeted therapeutic interventions for cancer.

Molecular and Proximity Discovery (MPD) Laboratory

Group Leader -

The Molecular and Proximity Discovery (MPD) Laboratory, led by Dr Michael Roy, brings together medicinal chemistry and structural biology approaches to investigate and drug protein interactions in cancer.  Focused in particular on next-generation induced proximity strategies —such as Targeted Protein Degradation using PROTACs and molecular glues — the lab utilises a multidisciplinary toolkit, with the ultimate aim to develop innovative new therapeutics to better address drug resistance or tackle previously “undruggable” cancer drivers.

OncoTherapeutics and Biology Laboratory

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Researchers