Associate Professor Louise Cheng, Co-head of the Phenomics Australia Australian Drosophila Transgenic Facility node at Peter Mac, has taken out the 2024 NHMRC Marshall and Warren Ideas Grant Award for the highest-scoring Ideas Grant.
This story was first published on Peter Mac’s website.
The Group Leader’s award-winning application will examine how cancer tumours grow at the expense of other tissues in a side effect of cancer called cachexia.
Cachexia is a metabolic syndrome of weight loss that affects 80 per cent of people with advanced cancer.
Associate Professor Cheng explained that as tumours develop and their metabolic demand increases the tumour turns to using the body’s muscle and fat for energy to grow.
“There are currently no effective treatments or ways for diagnosing cachexia yet it significantly impacts a patient’s ability to withstand treatment,” she said.
“We will use both patient samples and a Drosophila fly model of cancer cachexia to help us understand how organs communicate with each other and to help us find out how the competition for resources between tumours and ‘other’ tissues can drive cancer cachexia.
“It is important for us to comprehend how tumours send signals that lead to the breakdown of muscle and fat, and to fully understand why such a process is beneficial for the tumour.
“Understanding these processes will help us develop targeted interventions that could alleviate cachexia.”
The research project is a collaboration between Associate Professor Cheng’s lab and clinical collaborators Dr Hyun Ko from Cancer Imaging, and Professor Sandy Heriot from Cancer Surgery. The collaboration illustrates the bench-to-bed-side approach that is taken at Peter Mac.
The ultimate aim for Associate Professor Cheng is to uncover biomarkers that can be used to detect cachexia early, as well as interventions that can mitigate or prevent the devastating effects of this syndrome.
Associate Professor Cheng is the Head of Stem Cell Growth Regulation Laboratory at Peter Mac and a Group Leader at the Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology and the Department of Anatomy and Physiology at the University of Melbourne.
The ADTF boasts cutting-edge microinjection equipment, ensuring the consistent and efficient production of a diverse array of transgenic Drosophila strains. This state-of-the-art facility offers Australian research centers significant advantages, capitalizing on economies of scale and elevating the overall productivity of their researchers.
ACDT actively fosters collaboration among local researchers, augmenting their appeal to international counterparts. By substantially reducing entry costs and technical barriers associated with Drosophila research, it facilitates a seamless transition for investigators currently immersed in other experimental systems. Moreover, the facility contributes to the expansion of Australia’s research skill set, creating valuable employment and training opportunities in the process.
With an established track record and reputation for excellence, Phenomics Australia In Vivo Genome Engineering and Disease Modelling team uses techniques such as CRISPR-mediated mutagenesis, classical gene targeting, and transgenesis to create optimal tools for your research delivering a comprehensive service in genome modification. To meet the high demand for this platform, Phenomics Australia offers genome editing services through five nodes across Australia, operating at Monash, ANU, ONJCRI, SAHMRI and PeterMac.
