Resistance prevention

Resistance prevention

The Resistance prevention program works on understanding the mechanisms underlying response and resistance to contemporary cancer therapies. Our laboratory findings translate directly from bench to bedside through clinical trials.

We strive to uncover the factors driving resistance to cancer therapies with a focus on the individual patient, and design and clinically implement precision strategies that target multiple aspects of the tumour and its microenvironment and effectively prevent or control the emergence of drug-tolerant persister cells.

We also endeavour to recruit and mentor the next generation of research leaders and provide an environment in which they can succeed.

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.

Group Leader - Dr Joanna Achinger-Kawecka

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.

Group Leader - Dr Michael Roy

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 on next-generation induced proximity strategies such as Targeted Protein Degradation using PROTACs and molecular glues, the lab uses a multidisciplinary toolkit with the ultimate aim to develop innovative new therapeutics to better address drug resistance or tackle previously ‘undruggable’ cancer drivers.

Group Leader - Professor Christopher Sweeney

The Sweeney Research Group, led by Professor Christopher Sweeney, has a translational research focus and works to better understand the underlying biology of prostate cancer and improve therapies for patients.

Prostate cancer is a complex disease that affects millions of men globally. Development of prostate cancer involves corruption of the normal prostate transcriptional network, following deregulated expression or mutation of key transcription factors.  The group is interested in understanding how many of these transcription factors affect prostate cancer development, from localised disease to castration-resistant metastatic prostate cancer, and subsequently finding viable therapeutic approaches and strategies to benefit and improve the care of patients.

Group Leader – Dr Zeyad Nassar

The Precision Oncology group investigates the molecular and metabolic drivers of aggressive, treatment-resistant prostate cancer, with the goal of identifying clinically actionable vulnerabilities and improving patient outcomes. The lab integrates synthetic lethality, CRISPR-based functional genomics, metabolism research, and patient-derived models to advance precision medicine for prostate cancer through the discovery of mutation-specific dependencies, development of circulating and tumour-based biomarkers, and evaluation of novel targeted therapies in clinically relevant preclinical systems. Through strong national and international collaborations, the group aims to translate laboratory discoveries into more precise and effective treatments for patients.

Group Leader – Professor Lisa Butler

Our internationally recognised research is tackling localised and metastatic prostate cancer by developing more robust diagnostics tests, biomarkers for responsiveness to current treatments and new drugs for clinical development.

Prostate cancer is a major public health issue, killing approximately 3,300 men in Australia annually. While early-stage cancers can be treated with surgery, advanced and metastatic cancers are treated with drugs which block the actions of male hormones, known as androgens. Androgens, such as testosterone and dihydrotestosterone, are critical for normal prostate development and for the growth of prostate cancers. While drugs which target androgen pathways in prostate cancer cells are initially effective, patients eventually relapse and progress to an incurable stage of the disease. More research is needed to improve outcomes for prostate cancer patients.

Our research aims to not only determine the effectiveness of new drugs undergoing clinical development but also to develop robust diagnostic tests to better predict cancer behaviour and assess response to treatment with existing and new prostate cancer drugs. A major focus of these efforts is the lipid metabolic pathway which our group is trying to better understand and exploit to improve outcomes for men with prostate cancer.

To achieve this, we have developed a unique patient-derived explant (PDE) model, which improves the clinical relevance of our data, and increases the likelihood that our research findings will quickly translate to clinical practice.