Project: The role of growth factor immunosurveillance in human cancers
Barrow group
Growth factor surveillance is a new mode of cancer immunosurveillance in which the immune system responds to growth factors overexpressed by cancer cells. However, definitive proof that growth factor surveillance plays a role in immune responses to human cancers remains to be determined. Our transcriptional analysis has implicated natural killer (NK) cell recognition of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-D in the control of GBM. In collaboration with the Mantamadiotis group, the Barrow group is developing novel immunohistochemical methods to assess the role of NK cells and PDGF-D in overall survival of glioma patients in addition to other cancers that express PDGF-D.
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Barrow group
3 vacancies
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.
Barrow group Current Projects
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Immunosurveillance pathways in brain cancer
PhD/MPhil, Master of Biomedical Science, Honours
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Molecular basis for growth factor regulation of natural killer cell function in cancer
PhD/MPhil, Master of Biomedical Science, Honours
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The role of growth factor immunosurveillance in human cancers
PhD/MPhil, Master of Biomedical Science, Honours
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Mining The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) to identify novel tumour surveillance pathways and targets for immune checkpoint blockade.
PhD/MPhil, Master of Biomedical Science, Honours
Research degrees at the Doherty Institute are administered by the University of Melbourne.