Saunders
Current cancer therapies use drugs that target both tumour cells and rapidly growing normal cells – causing side effects and limiting effectiveness. Newer treatments aim to target molecules that are unique to tumour cells, leaving normal cells unharmed. Hence, the identification and validation of novel molecular targets is crucial for development of new therapeutic strategies in cancer. However, defining the functions of proteins encoded by disease-related genes and potential therapeutic targets presents a significant challenge. Our research uses the emerging technology of functional genomics - a powerful, cutting-edge approach to understand gene function and define biological networks involved in cancer. Our research is focused on outcomes and aimed directly at increasing cancer survival by driving the development of new, more effective drugs with decreased side-effects.
We are working to identify targets of various components in the the
ubiquitin/proteasome system, a
cellular recycling and garbage disposal system. Using a number of
methods (MS, BiFC, siRNA, high-content imaging) we are able to scan the
human genome/proteome to see which proteins are tagged by ubiquitin in
tumour and normal cells. This will help us to understand how normal
cells become cancerous through changes in their protein content, and
also identify new molecules that might be targeted by anti-cancer
drugs.
A second major focus of our work is investigating structure-function
relationships in serpin molecules, a
family of serine protease inhibitors. We are working to understand the
role of novel mutations in serpins.
Research Projects
• High-throughput protein interaction screens using Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation (BiFC) and the human ORFeome.
• Functional characterisation of E3 Ubiquitin ligases and identification of substrates (e.g. UBR5/EDD1, HACE1)
• Structure-function relationships in serpins.
• Functional characterisation of novel tumour mutations from high-throughout genome sequencing.
Staff
 Research AssistantRobert Shearer |
 PhD Student
Rae-Anne Hardie |
 PhD StudentMary Iconomou |
 Visiting PhD StudentNathan Ralston-Bryce |
 Honours StudentAlyce Nehme |
