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Excellence in research publication award to Assoc Prof Theresa Hickey
The Faculty of Health & Medical Sciences Research Committee (University of Adelaide) have awarded Dr Theresa Hickey a Publication Excellence Award 2021 for the paper published this year in Nature Medicine (Hickey et al; 27, 310-320) entitled "The androgen receptor is a tumor suppressor in estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer". Targeting the androgen receptor (AR) in breast cancer has been of intense clinical interest over the past two decades, but widespread controversy existed over whether to use an agonist or antagonist strategy. This publication definitively shows that AR is a tumour suppressor in estrogen receptor (ER) positive breast cancer, the most prevalent form, and that an agonist, not an antagonist, strategy exerts potent anti-tumour activity in multiple disease contexts, including disease resistant to all forms of standard-of-care therapy. The immediate global response (62 global news outlets; Altmetrics score 485) are testament to the outstanding quality of this research. Based on the preclinical studies in this paper, a phase III international clinical trial (VERU; ARTEST) commenced in July 2021.
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Congratulations Wenjun Liu - 2021 Florey Postgraduate Research Conference prize recipient
The Florey Postgraduate Research Conference, held on 22 September at the Adelaide Convention Centre, was a highlight for the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences Faculty showcasing outstanding research activity. DRMCRL PhD student Wenjun (Nora) Liu was awarded the Peter Couche Foundation Prize for her poster presentation of her Masters work on "Transcriptional targets of senataxin are associated with perturbed neuro-degenerative pathways under prolonged autophagy induction". Well done Nora! The conference, now in its 15th year, gives HDR students the opportunity to discuss their research with fellow students, academics, industry partners, and other major stakeholders of the University. It is a chance to recognise excellent in research, hear from distinguished speakers on specialised topics, and beneficial to HDR students for ongoing professional and personal development. 2021 Florey Postgraduate Conference prize list here
Another DRMCRL student awarded PhD degree – Congratulations Reza Alizadeh Ghodsi!
Mohammadreza (Reza), our final student from the “2017 PhD quartet”, has been awarded a doctoral degree for his work on "Extreme activation of androgen receptor for prostate cancer therapy". Reza will continue prostate cancer research as a postdoc at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Centre in Seattle, USA, in the laboratory of Dr Peter Nelson whose interests are in exploiting cancer genomics and the tumor microenvironment to guide oncology treatment. All the best and well done Reza!
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Well done Ebtihal Mustafa - PhD awarded!
Congratulations to Ebtihal Mustafa for great work in completing her doctoral thesis on "Development of a novel therapeutic strategy for estrogen receptor negative breast cancer". And in further good news, Ebi will start a postdoctoral position in October with Assoc Prof Nicholas Clemons at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne whose research interests are in fundamental cancer biology and pre-clinical development of innovative therapeutic strategies and translational research, with a focus on upper gastrointestinal cancers. Best of luck Ebi!
Congratulations! Leila Hosseinzadeh – Dean's commendation for doctoral research excellence
Another DRMCRL student has been awarded a Higher Degree by Research. Leila Hosseinzadeh’s PhD thesis entitled: “Role of the GATA3 transcription factor in mediating androgen receptor signalling in breast cancer” has academically qualified her for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and a Deans Commendation for Research Excellence. Leila is on a hat trick - with preparation of a manuscript from her thesis work, and an offer of a post-doctoral position in Canada with Dr Mathieu Lupien. Great job Leila!
MDC2021: Mother’s Day Classic Winners again!
Congratulations to the Dame Roma Mitchell Cancer Research Laboratories (DRMCRL) who participated in the 2021 NBCF Mother’s Day Classic. For the third year in a row, the DRMCRL team won the trophy for the Largest Higher Education Team in South Australia (sponsored by UniSuper). Well done to our team; Theresa, Eva and Jack, Amy, Richard, Alex, Wayne, Stephen, Elizabeth, Geri, Nora and Zoya; who walked/ran 8 km to support life-saving breast cancer research and awareness.
https://twitter.com/drmcrl/status/1391252049505832963
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Dean’s commendation for doctoral thesis excellence - Congratulations Raj!
Raj Kumar Shrestha’s PhD thesis work entitled: “Elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying androgen-regulated lipid metabolism in prostate cancer” has been conferred with a Commendation for Doctoral Research Excellence by the Dean of Graduate Studies. Well done Raj! Raj’s PhD work was supported by an Adelaide Scholarship International (ASI), and a Freemasons Centre for Male Health and Wellbeing top-up scholarship.
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Inaugural ”AHMS on Steroids” event
The DRMCRL kick-started a multidisciplinary social interest group of researchers who share the passion and knowledge for steroids/steroid hormone receptors. The “AHMS on Steroids” events aim to create an informal, fun environment for engaging discussions, networking, and collaborative opportunities. As inaugural host, DRMCRL Director Prof Wayne Tilley, welcomed about 30 people from across the AHMS building, Molecular Biosciences, SAHMRI, University of South Australia and Basil Hetzel Institute. We hope this will be the first of many stimulating and rewarding events.
Associate Professor Hickey guest speaker at the Ovarian Cancer Australia Morning Teal Event in Adelaide today
Associate Professor Theresa Hickey was the guest researcher speaking at the Ovarian Cancer Australia Morning Teal event hosted today by Senator Simon Birmingham (Federal Finance Minister) at the Adelaide Health and Medical Sciences building, University of Adelaide. Theresa’s presentation (I’m OVARY-ACTING for a Breakthrough: Insights from breast cancer) highlighted activating the androgen receptor (AR) with “male” hormones as a new therapeutic approach in breast cancer recently published in Nature Medicine. Theresa discussed how this research has implications for ovarian cancer. Associate Professor Hickey was able to meet and discuss her seminal work on androgens in breast cancer with Senator Birmingham, Professor Peter Hoj (Vice Chancellor, University of Adelaide), Abbie Taylor (Ambassador, Ovarian Cancer Australia), John Gardner MP (Minister for Education, SA) and the many others, including students, present at the function.
DRMCRL researchers attend 33rd Annual Lorne Cancer Conference 2021
Professor Wayne Tilley, Associate Professor Theresa Hickey and Dr Amy Dwyer attended the 2021 Annual Lorne Cancer Conference held at the Mantra Lorne. The Lorne Cancer Conference was a unique experience with Victoria entering into a 5-day lockdown from Friday 12th February. This resulted in the program for Saturday being restructured to accommodate the postponed sessions from Friday.
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