Walter and Eliza Hall Institute – 2001

2001 – $1 million research grant

Research Institution: Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Melbourne, Victoria

Director of Research: Professor Peter Colman

Cancer Type: Wide range of haematological cancers including lymphoma

Feature Outcome:

Produced 3D images of proteins that indicate how the receptor signals tumour cells to grow.

Research Focus:

3D Imaging of proteins

Further Details / Outcomes:

Produced 3D images of proteins that indicate how the receptor signals tumour cells to grow. Images will aid discovery of new drugs that may interrupt that signalling; potentially halting the growth of cancer cells fuelled by EGFR. This has particular relevance for cancer of the brain, head, neck, lungs, pancreas and colon as elevated levels of receptor or growth factor have been observed in such tumours.

Discovery that it may be possible to produce drugs that cause the death of cancer cells selectively. In humans, two opposing molecular families determine a cell’s survival or death. It has been widely believed that all of the members of the ‘survival family’ are able to form molecular interactions with all of the members of the ‘death family’. WEHI has found that, in contrast to the expected promiscuous cross-reactivity, some of the molecular interactions are highly selective. These findings are important because they suggest that it might be possible to selectively target drugs to particular members of the survival family and, consequently, to cause the death of cancer cells selectively.