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Former fellows, where are they now? – Dr Wei Deng

The Sydney Vital Flagship Fellow scheme gives emerging researchers the opportunity to develop their own research program over a period of twelve months, with mentorship from leaders in translational cancer research and access to Sydney Vital’s research infrastructure. We wanted to check in with some of our former fellows and see where they have taken their research careers since the fellowship.

Dr Wei Deng has come far since her fellowship with Sydney Vital. The nano-oncology researcher was the 2017-2018 Flagship 3 fellow, where she worked with flagship leaders Prof Alexander Engel, Prof Ewa Goldys and Prof Zdenka Kuncic.

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Former fellows, where are they now? – Dr Hilary Byrne

The Sydney Vital Flagship Fellow scheme gives emerging researchers the opportunity to develop their own research program over a period of twelve months, with mentorship from leaders in translational cancer research and access to Sydney Vital’s research infrastructure. We wanted to check in with some of our former fellows and see where they have taken their research careers since the fellowship.

Dr Hilary Byrne’s research career is a perfect model of the translational research pathway, from basic science to clinical trials via animal studies. Starting with a PhD focusing on computer simulation of radiation interactions at the sub-cellular scale, the physicist shifted to small animal research with her 2018-2019 Sydney Vital Nano-oncology Flagship Fellowship project, with her main focus remaining on radiotherapy.

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Former fellows, where are they now? – Dr Yaser Hadi Gholami

The Sydney Vital Flagship Fellow scheme gives emerging researchers the opportunity to develop their own research program over a period of twelve months, with mentorship from leaders in translational cancer research and access to Sydney Vital’s research infrastructure. We wanted to check in with some of our former fellows and see where they have taken their research careers since the fellowship.

Physicist Dr Yaser Hadi Gholami’s passion for making a difference is palpable when he talks about his work: “It’s not just science for science’s sake, it’s science for humanity. That’s what I really love about it. We’re not just physicists, we’re not just nerds, we actually do something that will hopefully serve the community and humanity at large,” he says.

Yaser was the Sydney Vital Nano-oncology Flagship Fellow from 2019 to 2020. He now works as a radiation physicist and physics lecturer at the School of Physics at the University of Sydney, where he is also a postdoctoral research fellow at the Faculty of Medicine and Health working with Sydney Vital Director Professor Dale Bailey.

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New study uses light-activated proteins to fight cancer

An exciting study outlining the development of a new tool for photodynamic therapy (PDT), a selective and minimally invasive cancer treatment, has been published by SV Research Scholar Awardee Dr Dennis Diaz and SV member Dr Andrew Care.

Titled “Bioengineering a Light-Responsive Encapsulin Nanoreactor: A Potential Tool for In Vitro Photodynamic Therapy,” the study was recently published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, a leading journal in the field of nanoscience, and gives a glimpse into how naturally-occurring proteins can be re-programmed to treat cancer.

In a world first, the Care Research Group demonstrated the use of modified protein nanocompartments, called encapsulins, for the successful delivery of a light-activated therapeutic protein that induces tumour cell death.

“By creatively combining the fields of synthetic biology and nanomedicine, we are able to take proteins away from their ‘everyday jobs’ and reprogram them for non-natural applications, like cancer therapy,” Group Leader Dr Care says. “Here, we’ve taken tiny protein nanocompartments that naturally serve as organelles inside bacteria and developed them into biologically-derived tools for PDT.”

To kill tumour cells, first-author Dr Diaz explains, PDT relies on photosensitising agents. When these are triggered by light, they start converting the normal oxygen inside cells into a toxic form of oxygen called ROS (reactive oxygen species). “In this study, we engineered protein nanocompartments to encapsulate photosensitising proteins and deliver them into tumour cells. When we then hit the nanocompartments with light, their protein cargo transformed normal oxygen within the cells into toxic ROS, which killed the tumour cells,” she says.

According to the team, “this technology has significant potential in the personalised treatment of cancers, not only as tool for PDT, but also as a customisable delivery platform for a wide range of therapeutic cargos.”

Dr Diaz and Dr Care talked about the potential of protein-based nanoparticles on Vitalcast two years ago, when they were at the outset of the research journey that led to this publication – listen to the episode here.

Image: A light-activatable ROS-generating encapsulin nanocompartment for in vitro photodynamic therapy (PDT). (a) Diagram showing the cellular delivery, activation and phototoxic effect of encapsulin nanocompartments (Enc) loaded with mini-Singlet Oxygen Generator (Enc-mSOG). Photosensitizing Enc-mSOG enters tumor cells via endocytosis. Upon photoexcitation with blue light, internalized Enc-mSOG converts intracellular O2 into cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) that induces tumor cell death. (b) Confocal microscopy showing the internalization of fluorescent-labelled Enc (green) by A549 lung cancer cells. (c) Live-cell microscopy of a ROS-sensor (pink) in live A549 cells pre-incubated with Enc or Enc-mSOG and then non-irradiated (Dark) or irradiated with a blue laser (Light). (d) Intracellular ROS levels inside live A549 cells after each treatment; measurements given as normalized integrated density (NI). (e) Cytotoxicity: A549 viability after incubation without (control) or with Enc or Enc-mSOG for different time periods in the dark. Cell viability subsequently determined by MTT assay. (f) Phototoxicity (i.e. in vitro PDT): A549 viability after incubation without (control) or with Enc or Enc-mSOG for different durations in the dark, followed by activation with blue laser light. Cell viability later quantified via MTT assay. Scale bars = 25 µm. Adapted from Diaz et al. ACS Appl Mater Inter 2021 13 (7), 7977-7986.

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Sydney Vital Contributes In World-First Cancer Trial

A world-first trial of a next-generation cancer treatment which uses a tailored does of radioactive copper to target tumours is underway at Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH). This new treatment approach had been developed in conjunction with Sydney Vital and Clarity Pharmaceuticals.

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Flagship 2 collaboration paper wins 2nd prize in the International-Atom Indonesia Best Paper Awards

A team of international collaborators under Sydney Vital’s Flagship 2, has won the 2nd prize in the 2nd International-Atom Indonesia Best Paper Awards 2018 (I-AIBPA 2018)

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The Latest Developments in Immunotherapy – Basic Science, Transalational and Clinical: Immuno-Oncology Symposium

On Thursday, 29th November, Sydney Vital hosted an Immuno-Oncology Symposium, which aims at bringing up the Latest Developments in Immunotherapy- Basic Science, Translational and Clinical.

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Grace Lim Awarded Sydney Vital Travel Award

Ms Grace Lim, the PhD student under our Thyroid Cancer TCE (Translational Centre of Excellence), was awarded a Sydney Vital Travel Grant to attend and present her research study at this year’s annual meeting of the American Thyroid Association.

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Sydney/NSW Thyroid Cancer Interest Group – November Case Discussion Meeting

On Thursday, 9th November, we were proud to present our second Thyroid Cancer Interest Group this year with our sponsor- Eisai Australia.

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Dr Andrew Care Awarded Early Career Fellowship from Cancer Institute NSW

Dr Andrew Care has been a member of Sydney Vital since 2017 and this year was awarded a 2018 Early Career Fellowship from the Cancer Institute NSW.

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