Leading Edge Science
Most scientific breakthroughs have years and often many decades of theory and experiment behind them.
In many areas of medical science, such as cancer, Australia is a world leader.
For these advances, work by some of Australia’s and the world’s brightest minds relies on our ability to fund groundbreaking research.
It’s down to each of us and your donation and support for our work is critical for future advances.
Meet the Researchers
Our long standing support for the work of the St George Cancer Centre & UNSW Clinical School has seen many successful advances, with results of their work into prostate, breast & other cancers published in key, recognised scientific publications. Through these, the work learns from and contributes to the global knowledge base, sharing breakthroughs and insights with other researchers.
One area of research that offers great promise is the investigation of ‘extracellular vesicles’, offering the hope of finding new methods to detect cancer early.
Early detection of all cancers would be a major public health innovation and contribute greatly to higher levels of survival, especially in the ‘less detectable’ cancers such as liver, pancreatic, cervical, ovarian and many others.
Professor Yong Li
Professor Li’s current research aims to investigate
- Novel biomarkers as liquid biopsy for early cancer diagnosis, new therapies and personalised medicine;
- The mechanisms of cancer metastasis and chemo-radio-resistance and cancer stem cells changes as cancer progresses
- The use of targeted cancer therapy, immunotherapy or combination therapies to treat metastatic and therapeutic resistant prostate and breast cancers.
Background: Prof. Li is Professor (Conjoint) School of Clinical Medicine, (UNSW), Principal Scientific Officer at St George Hospital (SESLHD) and Head of Cancer Research at St George Cancer Centre. His expertise is in cancer biomarker discovery, cancer biology, radiation biology, targeted cancer therapy and cancer metastasis. Prof. Li has over 150 publications in peer-reviewed journals since 2000. These include: Journal of Biological Chemistry, Blood, Clinical Cancer Research, Theranostics, Advanced Science and Molecular Cancer. Professor Li has attracted support from sources including NHMRC, ARC, US Department Defence, Cancer Institute NSW and Prostate and Breast Cancer Foundation.
Mahmoud Assem-Hamed
Work by Mahmoud focuses on the role of “extracellular vesicles” (EV) in personalised medicine for prostate cancer. An EV-based biopsy is less-invasive than surgery and allows specialists to build a whole picture of tumour information by doing a simple blood test.
Mahmou's current study aims to identify new biomarkers that can detect prostate cancer earlier.
Background: Master by research (Medicine) Alexandria University, Egypt; Master of Science (Histochemistry and Cell Biology) Sohag University, Egypt; Bachelor of Science (Biological Sciences); Master of Science (Molecular Biology).
Publications:
- Prostate cancer-derived extracellular vesicles metabolic biomarkers: Emerging roles for diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutics
- Quantification of DNA and AgNORs Correlating to Cyclin D1-immunoexpression in Human Breast Cancer
- Chemoprevention of Chemical Carcinogenesis Induced Colon Tumour
- Immunohistochemical Expression of Cyclin D1 in Invasive Ductal Carcinoma of Human Breast
Presentations:
Immunohistochemical Expressions in Human Breast Cancer, 40th Intl Conference of Egyptian Society of Histology and Cytology;
Poster - Profiling Small and Large Extracellular Vesicles in Prostate Cancer.NSW Cancer Conference 2023
Qi Wang
Qi is working on liquid biopsies as a way of improving the diagnosis and monitoring the progression of prostate cancer. The work proposes to develop a sensitive, non-invasive liquid biopsy method to detect the extracellular vesicles and particles by cancer cells into the bloodstream, enabling better diagnosis and prognosis. The current prostate cancer diagnosis methods are costly, uncomfortable and inaccurate. The findings will help avoid unnecessary surgical biopsies and improve the prognosis for prostate cancer patients.
Background: PhD candidate (Medicine) ANU, Master of Science (Biological Sciences), Bachelor of Science (Biological Engineering). Qi has presented at conferences in Australia, New Zealand, at Australian-Chinese Biomedical Scientists (AACBS), 2023 Cancer Symposium (Sydney); NSW Cancer Conference and the Human Proteome Organization World Congress (HUPO), South Korea.
Yujin Lee
Work by Yujin is looking at “extracellular vesicles” in breast cancer diagnosis and the monitoring of metastasis (spread). The work suggests that ‘vesicles’ in breast cancer cells and human plasma can be identified and then used to diagnose breast cancer earlier. An aim of the work is to construct an EV-protein-based biomarker panel for breast cancer diagnosis, and look at how these biomarkers work in breast cancer tumorigenesis, invasion and spread.
Background: PhD candidate (UNSW); Master of Science (Research) University of Queensland. Published in: International Journal of Molecular Science, 24(20); Cancer Letters, 555; Molecular Cancer, 22(1). Presentation: Small extracellular vesicle protein biomarker profiles for breast cancer diagnosis at HUPO 2023, South Korea.
Published Research
Immunotherapy for triple-negative breast cancer: A molecular insight into the microenvironment, treatment, and resistance
Xupeng Bai, Jie Ni, Julia Beretov, Peter Graham, Yong Li (2012)
Activation of the eIF2α/ATF4 axis drives triple-negative breast cancer radioresistance by promoting glutathione biosynthesis
Xupeng Bai, Jie Ni, Julia Beretov, Valerie C. Wasinger, Shanping Wang f, Ying Zhu, Peter Graham, Yong Li (2021)
THOC2 and THOC5 Regulate Stemness and Radioresistance in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
Xupeng Bai, Jie Ni, Julia Beretov, Shanping Wang, Xingli Dong, Peter Graham, and Yong Li (2021)
Extracellular vesicles: the next generation of biomarkers for liquid biopsy-based prostate cancer diagnosis
Bairen Pang, Ying Zhu, Jie Ni, James Thompson, David Malouf, Joseph Bucci, Peter Graham, Yong Li (2020)
Triple-negative breast cancer therapeutic resistance: Where is the Achilles’ heel?
Xupeng Baia,b, Jie Nia,b, Julia Beretova,b,c, Peter Grahama,b, Yong Lia (2020)
Exosomes in Cancer Radioresistance
Jie Ni, Joseph Bucci, David Malouf, Matthew Knox, Peter Graham1, Yong Li (2019)
Inhibition of PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway alleviates ovarian cancer chemoresistance through reversing epithelial-mesenchymal transition and decreasing cancer stem cell marker expression
Junli Deng, Xupeng Bai, Xiaojie Feng, Jie Ni, Julia Beretov, Peter Graham, and Yong Li, (2019)
CHTOP in Chemoresistant Epithelial Ovarian Cancer: A Novel and Potential Therapeutic Target
Xiaojie Feng, Xupeng Bai, Jie Ni, Valerie C. Wasinger, Julia Beretov, Ying Zhu, Peter Graham, and Yong Li (2019)
Liquid biopsy in ovarian cancer: recent advances in circulating extracellular vesicle detection for early diagnosis and monitoring progression
Lei Chang1, Jie Ni, Ying Zhu, Bairen Pang, Peter Graham, Hao Zhang, Yong Li, (2019)
Inhibition of PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway alleviates ovarian cancer chemoresistance through reversing epithelial-mesenchymal transition and decreasing cancer stem cell marker expression
Junli Deng, Xupeng Bai, Xiaojie Feng, Jie Ni, Julia Beretov, Peter Graham, and Yong Li1 (2019)
Cancer stem cell in breast cancer therapeutic resistance
Xupeng Baia, Jie Ni, Julia Beretova, Peter Grahama, Yong Li (2018)
Urinary biomarkers in prostate cancer detection and monitoring progression
Duojia Wua,b , Jie Nia,b , Julia Beretova,b,c , Paul Cozzib,d , Mark Willcoxe , Valerie Wasingerf,g , Bradley Walshh , Peter Grahama,b , Yong Li (2017)
Targeting MicroRNAs in Prostate Cancer Radiotherapy
Jie Ni, Joseph Bucci, Lei Chang, David Malouf, Peter Graham, Yong Li (2017)
Proteomics discovery of radioresistant cancer biomarkers for radiotherapy
Lei Chang, Peter Graham, Jingli Hao, Joseph Bucci, David Malouf, David Gillatt, Yong Li, (2015)
Targeting PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway in the treatment of prostate cancer radioresistance
Lei Changa, Peter H. Grahama, Jie Ni, Jingli Hao, Joseph Bucci, Paul J. Cozzi, Yong Li (2015)
Cancer Stem Cells in Prostate Cancer Chemoresistance
Jie Ni, Paul Cozzi, Jingli Hao, Wei Duan, Peter Graham, John Kearsley, and Yong Li, (2014)
CD44 Variant 6 is Associated With Prostate Cancer Metastasis and Chemo-/Radioresistance
Jie Ni, Paul J. Cozzi, Jing L. Hao, Julia Beretov, Lei Chang, Wei Duan, Sarah Shigdar, Warick J. Delprado, Peter H. Graham, Joseph Bucci, John H. Kearsley, and Yong Li (2014)
Epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) is associated with prostate cancer metastasis and chemo/radioresistance via the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway
Jie Ni, Paul Cozzi, Jingli Haoa,b, Julia Beretova, Lei Changa, Wei Duane, Sarah Shigdar, Warick Delpradof, Peter Grahama, Joseph Bucci, John Kearsleya, Yong Li (2013)
Cancer Stem Cells “The Root of Radioresistance” in Prostate Cancer Radiotherapy
Yong Li et al (2013)
Acquisition of epithelial–mesenchymal transition and cancer stem cell phenotypes is associated with activation of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway in prostate cancer radioresistance
L Chang, PH Graham, J Hao, J Ni, J Bucci, PJ Cozzi, JH Kearsley and Y Li (2013)
