Melanoma Oncology and Immunology Program
With the incidence of melanoma in Australia is in excess of 12,000 each year this area of research is of high importance to the community. Melanoma accounts for approximately 1,500 deaths per annum in Australia with about 450 of these being in NSW. Prevalence over a five year period is in excess of 45,000 people.
Our approach is to conduct translational research with a focus on resistance mechanisms. We continue to look at methods of improving the landscape of treatments with immunotherapy and other targeted treatments.
Over the past five years there has been significant breakthrough in treatment approaches with two new options showing promise to reduce the mortality from the disease. One is the use of treatments targeted to aberrant signal pathways in melanoma. The second is immunotherapy based on inhibition of immune checkpoints with monoclonal antibodies. Read below on our projects that look into these specific areas.
Increasing responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors
- Overcoming T cell exhaustion during immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors by metabolic approaches
- Effects of epigenetic regulators on PD-L1 expression, antigen expression and immune responses
- Combining chemotherapy with checkpoint inhibitors to increase immune responses against resistant melanoma
Resistance to targeted therapies
- Repurposing chemotherapy to activate innate death mechanisms in targeted therapy resistant melanoma
- EZH2 inhibitors and combinations with other drugs in treatment resistant melanoma
- BET inhibitors and combination with other drugs in treatment resistant melanoma
Melanoma Epigenetic Lab
- The role of histone and chromatin modifier’s in melanoma progression and treatment resistance.
- Identifying novel epigenetic regulators of targeted therapy and immunotherapy resistance.
- Investigating sex differences in X-linked epigenetic regulators of melanoma.
Increasing responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors
- Overcoming T cell exhaustion during immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors by metabolic approaches
- Effects of epigenetic regulators on PD-L1 expression, antigen expression and immune responses
- Combining chemotherapy with checkpoint inhibitors to increase immune responses against resistant melanoma
Resistance to targeted therapies
- Repurposing chemotherapy to activate innate death mechanisms in targeted therapy resistant melanoma
- EZH2 inhibitors and combinations with other drugs in treatment resistant melanoma
- BET inhibitors and combination with other drugs in treatment resistant melanoma
Melanoma Epigenetic Lab
- The role of histone and chromatin modifier’s in melanoma progression and treatment resistance.
- Identifying novel epigenetic regulators of targeted therapy and immunotherapy resistance.
- Investigating sex differences in X-linked epigenetic regulators of melanoma.
