STOP PRESS...LEUKEMIA BREAKTHROUGH :  An interstate collaboration between a team of scientists from St Vincent's Institute, Melbourne and Hansen Institute, Adelaide, has unravelled the structure of a cell-signalling receptor which will lead to the discovery of new, less invasive drugs to treat leukemia.  Both institutes were separately awarded grants from the Australian Cancer Research Foundation . 

Download the full media release and check out the strucural diagrams here    

Read an interview with lead scientist, Professor Michael Parker, here.

A $900,000 Australian Cancer Research Foundation grant provided St. Vincent's Institute’s with an extensive upgrade of cancer drug discovery technologies to accelerate progress in converting basic cancer discoveries into promising lead molecules for cancer treatment.

The ACRF Rational Drug Discovery Facility at St Vincent's Institute was officially opened by The Hon. John Brumby, MP, Minister for Innovation, Victoria, on March 1, 2007.

Read about the facility opening in this Media Release.

Research Background/Overview:  St. Vincent’s Institute is an independent medical research institute, which conducts laboratory research into the cause, prevention and treatment of high impact diseases such as cancer. SVI is affiliated with St. Vincent’s Hospital and The University of Melbourne.

SVI’s integration of research programs based on cancers that have a predilection to metastasise to bone -such as breast and prostate cancer - and technologies for the structure-based discovery of therapeutic compounds is unique in Australia.  SVI is one of the few leaders in this field internationally.

Lead Researchers:  Professor Tom Kay, Professor Michael Parker, A/Professor Matthew Gillespie

Specifically, the upgrades are:

1. A new X-ray Crystallography Facility. Visualising the 3D atomic structures of proteins involved in cancer is essential for fully understanding their function and allows structure-based discovery of novel drugs to combat the disease. The structures are determined by shooting X-rays at protein crystals to generate X-ray scattering patterns that can be converted into 3D images using computers. Housed in a $200K, purpose-built laboratory the new X-ray facility is five times faster than its predecessor and will allow SVI to maintain internationally competitive research. 

2. Virtual Screening Facility. Once the 3D atomic structure of a cancer protein is elucidated, the structure is screened against a data base containing the structures of more than 4 million compounds using fast computers with aim of finding drug-like molecules that are predicted to bind to the protein structure and inhibit cancer-causing properties. The new facility will include more powerful software and hardware to considerably speed up the search for these molecules. 

3. Medium Throughput Screening Facility. Compounds identified through the Virtual Screening Facility are either purchased or synthesized. The compounds are then tested in biological assays to establish their suitability. The new facility will enable a larger number of compounds to be tested more rapidly.

The total cost of the ACRF Rational Drug Discovery Facility is $1,051,548

Types of Cancer: Leukaemia

 Further information - visit www.svi.edu.au

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