Fields of Research (FoR)
Cancer Cell Biology, Molecular Targets, Signal TransductionBiography
I am a postdoctoral researcher currently working under the supervision of Associate Professor Paul Ekert in the Translational Tumour Biology research group at Children's Cancer Institute. I also hold an appointment as Conjoint Associate Lecturer at UNSW. The Translational Tumour Biology are a part of the Personalised Medicine theme at Children's Cancer Institute, meaning we have access to molecular data and primary samples from patients...view more
I am a postdoctoral researcher currently working under the supervision of Associate Professor Paul Ekert in the Translational Tumour Biology research group at Children's Cancer Institute. I also hold an appointment as Conjoint Associate Lecturer at UNSW. The Translational Tumour Biology are a part of the Personalised Medicine theme at Children's Cancer Institute, meaning we have access to molecular data and primary samples from patients enrolled in the Zero Childhood Cancer Program (ZERO). ZERO is Australia's first precision medicine clinical trials for paediatric patients with high risk or relapsed cancers. These data and samples are an invaluable resource and guide our research to investigate novel mechanisms of oncogenesis and can potentially influence treatment approaches for patients with difficult to treat cancers. My key area of interest is oncogenic signal transduction. I use basic biology techniques to understand how specific molecular aberrations function to drive cancer and how these dependencies can be exploited for therapy.
I completed my PhD at The University of Melbourne in 2019 which focussed on exploring the biological function and therapeutic targeting of tyrosine kinase fusion genes in paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. I have expertise in signal transduction, kinase signalling and apoptosis and possess a broad range of molecular and cellular biology technical skills.
We currently have a range of honours and PhD projects available within the Translational Tumour Biology group for prospective students. I am currently available to co-supervise students with Associate Professor Paul Ekert (Please see My Research Supervision for project details)
My Qualifications
PhD (2019), Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Australia
BSc (degree with honours, 2015), Pathology/Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Australia
My Awards
2018: Henry and Rachel Ackman Travel Scholarship, The University of Melbourne, Australia
2016: Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship, Australian Government
2015: Dean's Honours List, Faculty of Science, The University of Melbourne, Australia
My Research Activities
My current research activities include:
- Functional validation of novel molecular drivers identified in the ZERO childhood cancer cohort
- Differential signal pathway activation by ABL1 fusions in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia
- Establishing the role of fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR1-4) gene aberrations and FGFR activation in paediatric cancer
List of my publications:
Moujalled DM, Hanna DT, Hediyeh-zadeh S, Pomilio G, Brown LM, Litalien V, Bartolo R, Fleming, Chanrion M, Banquet S, Maragno A-L, Kraus-Berthier L, Schoumacher L, Mullighan C, Georgiou A, White CA, Lessene G, Huang DCS, Roberts AW, Geneste O, Rasmussen L, Davis MJ, Ekert PG, Andrew Wei A, Ng AP Khaw SL. Co-targeting BCL-2 and MCL-1 in high-risk B-ALL. Blood Advances. 2020.
Brown LM, Lonsdale A, Zhu A, Davidson NM, Schmidt B, Hawkins A, Wallach E, Martin M, Mechinaud, F, Khaw SL, Bartolo RC, Ludlow LEA, Challis J, Brooks I, Petrovic V, Venn NC, Sutton R, Majewski IJ, Oshlack A, Ekert PG. The application of RNA sequencing for the diagnosis and genomic classification of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Blood Advances. 2020.
Brown LM, Bartolo RC, Davidson N, Schmidt B, Brooks I, Challis J, Petrovic V, Khuong-Quang D-A, Mechinaud F, Khaw SL, Majewski IJ, Oshlack A, Ekert PG. Therapeutic targeting and disease monitoring in CNTRL-FGFR1 driven leukaemia. Pediatric Blood & Cancer. 2019.
Brown LM, Hanna DT, Khaw SL, Ekert PG. Dysregulation of BCL-2 Family Proteins by Leukemia Fusion Genes. J Biol Chem. 2017.
Narayan N, Morenos L, Phipson B, Willis SN, Brumatti G, Eggers S, Lalaoui N, Brown LM, Kosasih HJ, Bartolo RC, Zhou, L, Catchpoole D, Saffery R, Oshlack A, Goodall GJ, Ekert, PG. Functionally distinct roles for different miR-155 expression levels through contrasting effects on gene expression, in acute myeloid leukemia. Leukemia. 2016.
My Research Supervision
Supervision keywords
Areas of supervision
Projects currently available for honours and PhD candidates:
- Biological modelling of FGFR1-altered paediatric cancers to identify effective therapeutic strategies (Primary supervisor: Associate Professor Paul Ekert)
- Investigating the biology of novel homeobox gene fusions in paediatric cancers (Primary supervisor: Associate Professor Paul Ekert)
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ORCID as entered in ROS
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4322-8203