Dr Kendelle Murphy

Dr Kendelle Murphy is a Senior Research Officer in the Cancer Invasion and Metastasis Laboratory at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. Cancer develops in a complex three-dimensional environment, where tumour cell communication with the surrounding stroma governs cancer cell behaviour. Dr Murphy uses novel state-of-the-art intravital (in vivo, ACRF INCITe Centre) imaging approaches to provide new insights into how cells behave in a physiologically relevant environment, thereby improving our understanding of disease progression, drug delivery and efficacy.

Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly lethal disease with few treatment options. Multimodal chemotherapy regimens including gemcitabine/Abraxane and FOLFIRINOX are the current standard-of-care in the clinic, however these have limited benefits to extend survival. Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK) is known to modulate bi-directional communication between the tumour and surrounding ECM driving disease, influencing disease progression, therapy response and the development of pro-tumorigenic fibrosis.

As a CINSW (ECR) Fellow Dr Murphy conducts research has a clear focus on clinical translation. Importantly this research led to the establishment of a Phase II clinical trial (Amplia Therapeutics Ltd, ACCENT Trial, Q3 2022), highlighting the translational and collaborative capacity of her work.