OVERVIEW

Cancer Genomics

Researchers at TRI are investigating genetic factors that contribute to cancer, with the aim of developing new cancer treatments.

The Australian Translational Genomics Centre (ATGC) will enable around 2,000 Queenslanders a year access to DNA sequencing technology to identify cancer-causing genetic mutations.  It will also enable significant research into cancer causation, helping bridge the gap between genomic science and clinical care for cancer patients.  Researchers and clinicians will be able to identify the mutations which cause individual cancers, and which affect response to treatments like immunotherapies and chemotherapy. 

The UQ Centre for Clinical Genomics, located at TRI, uses innovations in gene sequencing, genotyping and proteomic technologies to research a wide range of complex diseases, including cancer, arthritis, osteoporosis, diabetes, eczema and other chronic diseases. 

Mater-UQ Professor Maher Gandhi's team is investigating new biomarkers for lymphoma, using circulating cell-free microRNA, with an aim to improve diagnosis and treatment of the disease.

Other researchers are studying master control genes to help develop new therapies for patients with cancer and also direct stem cells into specific outcomes for therapeutic use. Master control genes are a small subset of genes which interpret the genome in all cells to determine their identity. 

Dr Andrew Perkins’ group uses state-of-the-art genetics and genomics techniques including deep sequencing of genomes to understand how gene mutations disruption normal blood cell production. The core focus of the Genome Plasticity and Disease group is to discover spontaneous mutations that occur in the somatic cells of the body and cause cancer. In particular, this group is interested in retrotransposons, a type of “jumping gene” that moves to a new genomic location and changes how that region functions. 

Related News

Key Researchers
 
Andrew Perkins
Matthew Arthur Brown
Geoffrey Faulkner
Maher Gandhi
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Key Aims
 
  • To develop new therapies for patients with cancer.
  • To direct stem cells into specific outcomes for therapeutic use.
  • To discover spontaneous mutations that occur in the somatic cells of the body and cause cancer.
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Identifying cancer-causing genetic mutations

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