Paradigm-shifting research to underscore Australia’s first Centre of Research Excellence for lymphatic diseases

SVI researchers Associate Professor Ramin Shayan and Dr Tara Karnezis are helping establish the new Centre of Research Excellence (CRE) for Lymphoedema and Lymphatic Regeneration. The initiative is funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council’s CRE Scheme.

Headed by Co-Directors Professor Benjamin Hogan of the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and Professor Natasha Harvey of Adelaide University, along with experts across Australia, the United States and United Kingdom, the CRE aims to develop critical baseline knowledge to improve understanding and treatment of these long-overlooked conditions.

Lymphoedema is a debilitating soft tissue disease caused by an impairment of the lymphatic system, which leads to fluid build-up in the surrounding tissue. Lymphoedema can be an inherited disorder or acquired following a trauma such as surgery, infection or radiation therapy.

Building on decades of research in lymphatic biology, the CRE team will deepen understanding of how lymphatic vessels develop, the genetic causes of inherited lymphoedema, and the factors that increase the risk of acquired disease. This work will also explore new approaches to lymphatic regeneration, with the aim of improving outcomes for people living with lymphoedema.

Their world-leading expertise will help facilitate the identification of therapeutic candidate molecules, a step towards new treatment pathways for these diseases, where options are currently limited.

Lymphoedema impacts as many as 300,000 Australians at any one time. Its global prevalence and clinical burden have long been disregarded, with patients experiencing profoundly debilitating and compounding symptoms.

Associate Professor Ramin Shayan notes that the Centre of Research Excellence “represents a world-first milestone in improving understanding of lymphoedema and lymphatic diseases, and offers hope for new therapies that will significantly improve quality of life for patients.”

Associate Professor Shayan has collaborated with Dr Karnezis on numerous high impact papers published in journals such as Nature, Cancer Cell and Nature Communications. In addition to his research background, with a PhD in lymphatic biology, Associate Professor Shayan has also established a world-leading clinical practice in both lymphoedema microsurgery and ablative surgery. He has performed the largest single surgeon series of lymphaticovenous anastomosis (LVA) in the world, reaching over 560 cases. LVA was a procedure invented by the late Bernard O’Brien, after whom SVI’s O’Brien Department is named.