Cancer Immunotherapy

Laboratory Head

Dr Chris Schmidt

Summary

A principal aim of the Cancer Immunotherapy Laboratory is to develop, optimise, and apply immunologically based therapies for solid cancers. The focus of research in this laboratory is on understanding how the immune system succeeds in its fight against malignancies, which is central to the future development of cancer immunotherapies. In general, these therapies involve the manipulation of human cells (usually tumour cells and blood-derived cells from the patient) in the laboratory before re-injection. The product is designed to stimulate the patient’s immune system to kill or suppress the tumour, similar in concept to familiar vaccines.

The laboratory has developed a platform technology for manufacturing dendritic cell-based vaccines that can be cryopreserved, allowing timely, uniform and relatively economical delivery.

Conditions researched

• Breast cancer
• Glioblastoma
• Melanoma
• Prostate cancer

Current research

• Dendritic cell based immunotherapy
• Analysing the immune response to cancer

Staff

Laboratory Head: Dr Chris Schmidt

Research Officer: Dr Quan Huang

Research Assistants: Cathy Lanagan,

PhD students: Michelle Neller, Imogen Gillions

Visiting scientist: Associate Professor J. Alejandro Lopez

Funding

We are grateful for the support from the following agencies:

• Cancer Council Queensland 
• National Health and Medical Research Council
• National Breast Cancer Foundation
• Griffith University
• The University of Queensland 

Collaborators

Professor Nick Hayward, Oncogenomics Laboratory, QIMR

Dr Michael E.G. O’Rourke, Mater Adult Hospital

Dr Mark Smithers, Princess Alexandra Hospital

Dr D.G. Walker, Brizbrain and Spine/Wesley Hospital

Professor Frank Gardiner, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital

Dr Ian Hermans, Malaghan Institute, Wellington, New Zealand

Dr Thomas Wölfel, University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany

Professor Pierre van der Bruggen, Université catholique de Louvain, de Duve Institute; and Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Brussels

Professor David Price, Cardiff University School of Medicine

Emeritus Professor Kay Ellem AO

Professor Andreas Suhrbier, Immunovirology Laboratory, QIMR

Dr Brent Reynolds, McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, USA

Dr Colin Furnival, Royal Brisbane Hospital/Wesley Medical Centre

Dr Chris Pyke, Mater Adult Hospital

Dr Derek Kennedy, Eskitis Institute, Griffith University

Professor Hans-Acha Orbea, Université de Lausanne, Switzerland

Associate Professor Michael McGuckin, Mater Medical Research Institute

Dr Giampietro Corradin, Université de Lausanne, Switzerland

Professor Vasso Apostolopoulos and Professor Geoff Pieterz, Austin Research Institute

Dr Arturo Londoño-Vallejo, INSERM Unit 434, Paris