One in two Australians will be diagnosed with cancer by the age of 85, with more than 150,000 new cases diagnosed every year. While survival rates have increased significantly, cancer remains a leading cause of death: while around half of diagnosed cases are now successfully treated, cancer still kills more than 40,000 Australians annually.
The only way to change these statistics is high-quality prevention, early detection and new treatments informed by medical research.
Cancer is a complex and varied disease, which is why, at SVI, we approach it from multiple angles.
- Genome Stability
- Stem Cell Regulation
- Cancer & RNA Biology
- DNA Repair & Recombination
- DNA Damage & Cancer Therapy
- Lymphatic, Adipose & Regenerative Medicine
- Bioinformatics & Cellular Genomics
Genome Stability
We investigate the process of DNA repair, with applications in treatment of genetic disorders, cancer diagnosis and cancer therapy.
Lab head: Associate Professor Andrew DeansStem Cell Regulation
Our laboratory does discovery through to translational research, with an ultimate goal to improve therapies for patients with different diseases that affect blood cell production. We study how blood cell production is regulated, both by proteins made by the blood cells themselves and by proteins made by the bone marrow microenvironment, which is the factory where blood cells are produced.
Lab head: Professor Louise PurtonCancer & RNA Biology
We are interested in understanding the regulation of RNA and how this is important in normal development and cancer. It is now recognised that RNA is actively regulated at many levels, and this is important for the function both normal cells and in cancer.
Lab head: Professor Carl WalkleyDNA Repair & Recombination
Our vision is to translate basic knowledge of DNA repair pathways to treatments for cancer, bone marrow failure syndromes, and infertility.
Lab head: Associate Professor Wayne CrismaniDNA Damage & Cancer Therapy
We are developing new therapeutic approaches to target drug resistance in ovarian cancer and in the blood cancer multiple myeloma.
Lab head: Associate Professor Elaine SanijLymphatic, Adipose & Regenerative Medicine
As part of the Institute's O'Brien Department, we investigate and seek new treatments for Radiation Injury Bystander Effect (RIBE) in cancer patients and for lipoedema, a condition often misdiagnosed as obesity.
Lab head: Associate Professor Ramin Shayan Lab co-head: Dr Tara Karnezis Professor Marc AchenBioinformatics & Cellular Genomics
We focus on the challenges of analysing and interpreting large-scale biological data. Bringing together expertise in bioinformatics, statistics and machine learning, we develop new methods and software and collaborate closely with a wide range of colleagues on studies motivated by specific biologically-focused questions.
Lab head: Dr Davis McCarthy