The Univeristy of Melbourne The Royal Melbourne Hopspital

A joint venture between The University of Melbourne and The Royal Melbourne Hospital

EDUCATION

Research Projects

Project: In silico simulation of the tumour microenvironment to predict cancer patient outcomes and identify novel gene targets for cancer immunotherapy

Barrow group

Many tumours produce factors that can either promote cancer hallmarks or immune surveillance. Understanding the balance of pro- and anti-tumour pathways in the tumour microenvironment may be critical for cancer patient outcomes as well as identifying novel gene targets for cancer immunotherapy. This project will utilise publicly available cancer gene expression datasets, such as The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), to build an in silico model of the tumour microenvironment that can predict cancer patient outcomes. This project will identify gene markers that could be optimised to improve cancer patient prognosis and risk stratification in the clinic and potentially identify novel gene targets for cancer immunotherapy.

Contact project supervisor for further
information and application enquiries

Project Supervisor

Dr Alexandra Barrow

Project Co-supervisor

Professor Lachlan Coin

Project availability
PhD/MPhil
Master of Biomedical Science

Barrow group

alexanderdavid.barrow@unimelb.edu.au

0 vacancies

Themes
Immunology
Viral Infectious Diseases
Bacterial and Parasitic Infections
Cross Cutting Disciplines
Discovery Research
Clinical and health systems research

The Barrow group is interested in innate immune recognition programs, in particular a new immunological recognition strategy termed ‘growth factor surveillance’. Growth factors (GFs) are over-expressed by cancer cells to promote tumour growth. We first showed that the immune system evolved activating receptors to sense aberrant GF expression by cancers. The Barrow group’s goal is to understand how the immune system recognises GF expression by tumours with the ultimate aim of exploiting these pathways for cancer immunotherapy and the development of new cancer immunotherapies.