Radiation Biology and Oncology

Group Leader

Professor Martin Lavin

Summary

This group has focuses on three areas of research:

1. Investigating  the molecular basis of autosomal recessive ataxias including ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) and ataxia oculomotor apraxia type 2 (AOA2);
2. Early detection of prostate cancer; and
3. Venomics - developing a serum tube for analyte determination.

Conditions researched

• Ataxia-telangiectasia
• Ataxia with oculomotor apraxia type 1 or 2
• Blood cancers (leukaemia, lymphoma)
  
• Prostate cancer

Current research

The major area of research interest is centred on the genetics and biology of the human genetic disorder ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T). Research areas include:

• Characterise rat models of ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T)
  
• Investigate neurodegeneration in the rat models
  
• Generate induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) from all patients attending the A-T clinic in Brisbane
  
• Generate olfactory neuronal progenitor cells from these A-T patients in collaboration with Professor Alan Mackay-Sim, Griffith University
  
• Investigate the role of ATM in DNA damage response and in oxidative stress
  
• Complete the characterisation of the Setx-/- mouse model and the role of senataxin in meiosis
  
• Investigate the role of senataxin in the cerebellum
  
• Further characterise the role of SMG-1 protein in inflammation and tumour development.
  
• Develop biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis in prostate cancer
  
• Complete work on the development of the Q-Sera tube

Staff

Group Leader: Professor Martin Lavin

Postdoctoral staff: Dr Philip Chen, Dr Sergei Kozlov, Dr Olivier Becherel, Magtouf Gatei, Dr Amanda Wraith Kijas, Renee Stirling

Research Assistants: Aine Farrel, John Luff

Students: James Brown, Dr Teong Chuah, Stephen Earl, Janelle Hancock, Amila Suraweera, Kelly Landers

Funding

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the following funding agencies:

• National Health and Medical Research Council
• BrAsh A-T
  
• National Institutes of Health
• The University of Queensland

Collaborators

Associate Professor R.A. Gardiner and Dr Michelle Burger, Department of Surgery, The University of Queensland

Dr Dianne Watters, Griffith University

Dr R. Clarke and Professor J. Kearsley, The St George Hospital, Sydney

Dr Zvi Fuks, Department of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre

Dr Yosef Shiloh, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University

Dr J. Ramsay, QRI Mater Hospital

Professor N. Kondo, Dr T. Fukao and Dr H. Kaneko, Gifu University School of Medicine

Dr Susan Lees-Miller, The University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Dr Richard Gatti, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles

Dr Nathan Ellis, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre, New York