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Street address: Level 11, KGV Building Missenden Road CAMPERDOWN NSW 2050 Postal address: Post Office Box M30 Missenden Road NSW 2050 Phone: (02) 9515-6111 Fax: (02) 9515-9610 |
Research Profiles
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Associate Professor Sandra O'Toole - pathologist and cancer researcher
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Clinical Associate Professor Sandra O'Toole has been working at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital for two and a half years, but has spent the last decade engaged in breast cancer research. Associate Professor O'Toole is studying how genes that influence development in embryos may play an important role in breast cancer and how blocking these genes may provide a promising new approach to treating the most aggressive types of breast cancer. The Hedgehog pathway is most active in the earliest stages of life where it directs the formation of organs and limbs. It typically lies dormant in adult years, but may be reactivated in some types of cancers. Associate Professor O’Toole has recently shown the Hedgehog pathway is associated with a particularly aggressive and difficult to treat type of cancer called ‘triple negative’ breast cancer. This type of breast cancer accounts for around 10 to 15 per cent of cases and tends to occur in younger women. With a multidisciplinary team of scientists and cancer specialists, Associate Professor O’Toole also showed that blocking this pathway significantly decreased the growth and spread of cancer cells and could be a new approach in treating this aggressive type of breast cancer. She is working with Associate Professor Jane Beith and Dr Alexander Swarbrick towards developing and testing treatments to block the Hedgehog pathway in breast cancer. It is hoped a clinical trial will start at Royal Prince Alfred soon. A grant from the Sydney Breast Cancer Foundation has allowed the establishment of a tissue bank of breast cancers which are studied to understand the gene changes that occur and how they may be used to better diagnose and treat this disease. Associate Professor O'Toole was inspired to start her career in breast cancer research after seeing the terrible impact breast cancer had on her mother. One of the most enjoyable aspects of research for her is working with a team of scientists, medical and surgical cancer specialists, to tackle challenges from all angles using basic and clinical science to find the right answers. |
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Professor Warwick Britton - Immunology
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The year was 1978, the location Nepal. Professor Warwick Britton began his research affair with with leprosy and tuberculosis. |
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Clinical Professor Jon Hyett - Obstetrics
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As a specialist in maternal and foetal medicine, Professor Jon Hyett looks after pregnancies that have a high risk of complication - either for the mother, or for the foetus. The group’s main research interest is to predict risk of pregnancy complication, either at an early stage (12 weeks), or immediately before delivery (at 36 weeks). The group is currently working on a way to predict the risk of pre-eclampsia, a disease harmful to both the mother and foetus. If a risk is found at 12 weeks’ pregnancy, simple treatments like aspirin may prevent the onset of this disease. Professor Hyett’s team is also leading the way in Australia with non-intrusive ways to screen pregnant women. A simple blood test can be used to define the foetus’ blood group by testing minute amounts of foetal DNA found in the mother. The group is on the cusp of a breakthrough by testing how this method may be used to screen for Down Syndrome, and other complications, at as early as 10 weeks into a pregnancy. Through a National Health and Medical Research Council grant, the group is also studying the effect of rotating babies that are badly positioned during labour to reduce the rate of caesarean sections. High risk obstetrics is a rewarding and diverse speciality for Professor Hyett who is constantly kept busy with the range of research needs this field demands. |
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Professor Paul Bannon - Heart and Lung Disease
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Among his many positions, Professor Paul Bannon is dedicated to a life of surgery and research – taking discoveries from the laboratory bench to the patient’s bedside. Professor Bannon completed his surgical training at Royal Prince Alfred and, under the guidance of the late Professor Douglas Baird, was encouraged to take up research and has never looked back. |
Professor Chris Semsarian - Cardiology
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In a fantastic example of collaboration between the University of Sydney, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and the Centenary Institute, Professor Chris Semsarian is leading a team that is embarking on breakthrough and internationally leading research. The team has been awarded two National Health and Medical Research Council grants. With a national success rate of 17 per cent, gaining two grants is testament of the calibre of the team and importance of their work. One of the grants will look at the link between genetically-based sudden cardiac death and epilepsy; the other continues work on the genetic basis in families with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The overarching goal with both research pieces is to discover new gene faults in cases of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and sudden death in epilepsy. Using the latest technology the team will look into all 23,000 genes, in the hope of making life changing discoveries for patients and families living with these conditions. Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy is the most common genetic heart disorder. In about 50 per cent of cases the gene abnormality is unknown, and tragically in some cases the first sign of disease is sudden death. Through the research, the team aims to identify gene faults and translate this into strategies to identify risk, treat patients accordingly, and most importantly prevent sudden death. The cause of sudden death in epilepsy remains a mystery, and yet is the most common cause of epilepsy-related death. The research is based on the notion that there is a gene which controls both electrical rhythms of the brain and heart, to find a link between heart disease and epilepsy. By delving deeper he hopes to learn much more about the condition. Professor Semsarian is hopeful that a life changing discovery will be made to help patients and their families cope with these conditions, and to make a lasting impact both at home and for the global community. Professor Semsarian was the recipient of the Royal Prince Alfred Foundation Medal for Excellence in Medical Research in 2009, and received the 2012 RT Hall Prize for Research, the highest award given by the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand each year. Both awards recognised his outstanding research into the clinical and genetic basis of heart disease in the young. |