Bill Walsh Translational Cancer Research Laboratory

The Bill Walsh Translational Cancer Research Laboratory is the research arm of the Medical Oncology Department at Royal North Shore Hospital.

We focus on increasing our understanding of cancer biology and how cancer will behave. We are also working to identify better ways to diagnose cancer.

Through our research we are improving cancer treatment and offering better outcomes for those with the disease.

Lead

Department Heads

Associate Professor Nick Pavlakis BSc, MBBS, MMed (Clin. Epi), PhD, FRACP

Appointment: Associate Professor, The University of Sydney Northern Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health
Positions: Co-head, Bill Walsh Translational Cancer Research Laboratory; Chair, Scientific Advisory Committee, Australasian Lung Cancer Trials Group , Senior Staff Specialist, Dept. of Medical Oncology Royal North Shore

Professor Stephen Clarke OAM, MBBS, PhD, MD, FRACP, FAChPM

Appointment: Professor, The University of Sydney Northern Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health
Positions: Co-head, Bill Walsh Translational Cancer Research Laboratory; Senior Staff Specialist in Dept. Medical Oncology, Royal North Shore Hospital

Dr Helen Wheeler MBBS, FRACP

Position: Co-head, Bill Walsh Translational Cancer Research Laboratory; Senior Staff Specialist, Head Dept. Medical Oncology, Royal North Shore Hospital

Research Director

Associate Professor Viive Howell BSc (App), MSc, PhD

Appointment: Associate Professor, The University of Sydney Northern Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health
Position: Laboratory Research Director, Bill Walsh Translational Cancer Research Laboratory; Co-Lead, Inflammation Flagship, Sydney Vital Translational Cancer Research Centre

People

Dr Emily Colvin BMedSc (Hons), PhD

Appointment: Lecturer, Sydney Medical School (Northern), Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney
Position: Proud Family Fellow and Cancer Institute NSW Early Career Fellow
Group Leader: Ovarian Cancer

Dr Connie Diakos BSc(Hons), PhD, MBBS, FRACP, MRACI CChem

Appointment: Conjoint Senior Lecturer, Sydney Medical School (Northern), Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney
Position: Research Fellow; Co-lead, Inflammation Flagship, Sydney Vital Translational Cancer Research Centre.
Group Leader: Colorectal Cancer, Neuroendocrine Cancer

Dr Amanda Hudson BSc (Hons), PhD

Appointment: Research Fellow, Sydney Medical School (Northern), Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney
Position: The Brain Cancer Group Fellow
Group Leader: Brain Cancer

Dr Kelly McKelvey BBiomedSci(Hons), PhD

Appointment: Lecturer, Sydney Medical School (Northern), Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney
Position: Matt Callander ‘Beanie for Brain Cancer’ HMRI Fellow funded by the Mark Hughes Foundation
Group Leader: Radiation Therapy and Immunotherapy

Dr Sarah Hayes BMedSc (Hons), PhD

Appointment: Associate Lecturer, Sydney Medical School (Northern), Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney
Position: Tour de Cure / Fight for a Cure Early Career Research Fellow in lung cancer research
Group Leader: Lung Cancer and Proteomics

Dr Sumit Sahni B.Pharma, PhD

Appointment: Lecturer, Sydney Medical School (Northern), Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney
Position: Boncardo Pancreatic Cancer Research Fellow
Group Leader: Pancreatic Cancer

Dr Yaser Gholami Medical Physics, PhD

Appointment: Associate Lecturer, School of Physics, University of Sydney
Position: Postdoctoral Scientist Nuclear Nanomedicine
Group Leader: Nanomedicine

Network

Sydney Vital

Projects

Brain Cancer:

Teaching an Old Drug New Tricks: Can we repurpose an old drug as a new brain cancer treatment?
The immuno-coagulome: an untapped pathway for new therapeutics in glioma
Investigating how glioblastoma tumours change over time to become resistant to treatment
Unravelling the tumour micro-environment to combat brain cancer
Laying the foundations for improved treatments for IDH-mutated glioma
The interaction between coagulation, angiogenesis and inflammatory pathways in glioblastoma
MHF Brain Cancer PACT: Mark Hughes Foundation Collaborative Brain Cancer Pre-clinical pipeline for Advancing Cancer Therapeutics
Development of non-invasive monitoring for brain tumour recurrence and treatment resistance
A new class of theranostics for malignant brain cancer
Radiosensitisation of high-grade gliomas by modulating glucose metabolism
New Horizons: Therapeutic applications for medicinal cannabis in the treatment of brain cancer

Colorectal Cancer:

The role ofIinflammation in colorectal cancer
Identifying prognostic protein markers in colorectal cancer tumour
Exploring a new nanotechnology strategy for the neo-adjuvant treatment of colorectal cancer by photodynamic therapy and ionising radiation

Lung Cancer:

Investigating patterns of drug resistance in ALK rearranged non-small cell lung cancer
Exploring methods to improve efficacy of immunotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer
Identification of biomarkers for non-small cell lung cancer
Chemotherapy resistance in non-small cell lung cancer
The exhaled breath condensate proteome: a promising source of biomarkers for lung cancer

Mesothelioma:

Improved treatment for mesothelioma: Can cannabinoids address this unmet need?

Neuroendocrine Tumours:

The role of dual PET scans in understanding neuroendocrine tumour behaviour
Analysing PET scans for neuroendocrine tumours

Ovarian Cancer:

Evaluation of lysyl oxidase inhibitors as a new treatment for ovarian cancer
Investigating the role of long non-coding RNA (ribonucleic acid) in the ovarian cancer microenvironment
Improving ovarian cancer treatment using nanoparticles

Pancreatic Cancer:

Biomarker identification for pancreatic cancer diagnosis
Biomarker identification for pancreatic cancer prognosis.
Identification of new drug targets for pancreatic cancer treatment
Understanding the role of tumour microenvironment in pancreatic cancer progression