Cancer biologist Dr Laura Genovesi is the recipient of a 2017 Early Career Fellowship to progress vital research into medulloblastoma, the most common type of malignant childhood brain cancer.
Dr Genovesi, from UQ’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience, is one of five recipients selected by an international panel of experts to receive a share in more than $1 million in research funding from Cure Brain Cancer Foundation.
Dr Genovesi said medulloblastoma is a leading cause of cancer-related death in children and those who survive can experience devastating side effects.
“Existing treatments are often ineffective. New treatments are greatly needed to improve the survival rates and quality of life for children with medulloblastoma.”
Dr Genovesi will receive $115,000 per year over the next three years, which will allow her to build on her previous research into identifying new treatments for medulloblastoma.
As part of an international team, Dr Genovesi previously examined the genetic code of medulloblastoma to predict whether these tumours responded to already-approved drugs.
“Through this analysis we were able to identify a treatment usually reserved for breast cancer was effective against medulloblastoma and caused rapid tumour regression,” Dr Genovesi said.
“Having identified the genetic networks driving medulloblastoma development, this funding will enable us to develop and test new targeted therapies that are effective against a range of subtypes of medulloblastoma.”
Video: How a genetic map is helping us develop more targeted treatments for brain cancer
Contact: IMB Communications – 07 3346 2134, 0418 575 247, communications@imb.uq.edu.au
