Diamantina Institute Research Projects
http://www.di.uq.edu.au/research-projects
Cancer
Name
Dr Marcel
Dinger
Project Details
 Characterisation of transcriptomic and epigenetic
complexity in skin cancer-associated loci
 Identification of novel long noncoding RNAs in skin
cancer by whole transcriptome sequencing
 Translation of next generation sequencing technology
for clinical diagnostic and prognostic applications
 Application of personal and skin cancer genome
sequencing for guiding treatment and modifying
lifestyle

Professor Ian
Frazer




Associate
Professor
Brian
Gabrielli
Dr Angus
Harding

Identifying the molecular basis for defective
checkpoints in melanoma.
Targeting defective cell cycle responses to ultraviolet
radiation and TopoII inhibitors in melanoma.
Defining the molecular changes in moles
underpinning morphological changes detectable by
non-invasive imaging techniques to improve their
diagnostic and prognostic ability for early stage
melanoma.
Phone
+61 7 3176 6728
Email
m.dinger@uq.edu.au
Phone
+61 7 3346 1905
Email
wendy.freeman@tri.edu.au
Phone
+61 7 3176 7129
Email
briang@uq.edu.au
Phone
+61 7 3176 5285
Email
a.harding1@uq.edu.au

Combining computer models and clinical data to
understand, treat and prevent brain cancer

Cancer microvesicles as a source of biomarkers and
novel target of anti-cancer therapy
Systems biology approach to understand lipid raft and
Phone
caveolin function in health and disease
+61 7 3176 7456
Discovery and validation of novel salivary and blood
Email
biomarkers for head and neck cancers using lectin
m.hill2@uq.edu.au
magnetic bead array-mass spectrometry, LeMBA-MS
(with Dr Chamindie Punyadeera)
NPM functions associated with acute myeloid

Dr Michelle
Hill
Regulation of effector T cells by the innate immune
response
Immunotherapy for virus associated skin cancer
Cervical cancer control in Vanuatu
Contact


1
Name
Dr Graham
Leggatt
Project Details
leukemia (with Dr Kerry Inder)




Dr Ali Naderi



Associate
Professor
Nicholas
Saunders




Dr Fiona
Simpson


Dr James
Wells



Contact
Trafficking of T cells to cancerous skin
Immunotherapy of skin tumours after
lymphodepletion
T cell function in normal and cancerous skin tissue
Phone
+61 7 3176 5281
Email
g.leggatt@uq.edu.au
Functional studies of molecular mechanisms in breast
Phone
cancer
+61 7 3176 5285
Biological and therapeutic studies of molecular
Email
apocrine breast cancer
a.naderi@uq.edu.au
Understanding the molecular basis for the control of
squamous differentiation
Understanding how these processes are dysregulated
during the development of oral and skin cancers
Exploiting this knowledge in the development of
novel treatments for skin cancers and oral cancer
Interrogating chemotherapeutic sensitivity
Identifying novel strategies to treat metastatic
osteosarcoma
Epidermal growth factor trafficking in squamous cell
carcinoma and its impact on patient treatment with
anti-EGFR inhibitors
Girdin, Daple and Gipie, the HkRP family in
trafficking and Oncogenesis
Immunotherapy for the treatment of established skin
cancer
Requirements for the initiation and treatment of NonMelanoma skin cancer
Immunophenotyping squamous skin cancer
Immunological identifiers of skin pathology
Phone
+61 7 3176 5984
Email
nsaunders@uq.edu.au
Phone
+61 7 3176 7456
Email
f.simpson@uq.edu.au
Phone
+61 7 3176 5315
Email
j.wells3@uq.edu.au
Autoimmunity
Name
Dr Antje
Blumenthal
Project Details
 Innate immune recognition of Mycobacterium
tuberculosis and other pathogens
 Molecular mechanisms of macrophage
functions
 Regulators of immune responses during
infection and inflammation
 Discovery of novel anti-microbials against
Contact
Phone
+61 3176 2926
Email
a.blumenthal@uq.edu.au
2
Name
Project Details
tuberculosis



Professor Matt
Brown





Dr Emma
HamiltonWilliams



Dr Tony Kenna



Dr Stephen
Mattarollo





Dr Ray Steptoe


Genetics of common bone and joint diseases
Osteoporosis
Interethnic mapping of common human
diseases; ankylosing spondylitis, rheumatoid
arthritis, schizophrenia
ENU mutagenesis and models of
musculoskeletal diseases
Gene deserts involved in ankylosing
spondylitis
Genetics of multiple sclerosis
Novel gene-mapping approaches using nextgeneration sequencing
A novel role for the interleukin-2 pathway in
humans and mouse models of type 1 diabetes
Genetic control of intestinal microflora in type
1 diabetes susceptibility
Impaired Regulatory T cell function in type 1
diabetes
Contact
Phone
+61 7 3176 5954
Email
di.director@uq.edu.au
Phone
+61 7 3176 5392
Email
e.hamiltonwilliams@uq.edu.au
Functional characterisation of genetic variants Phone
in the IL23R pathway associated with
+61 7 3176 5832
ankylosing spondylitis
Email
t.kenna@uq.edu.au
NKT cell immune adjuvant-based therapeutic
vaccination in a mouse model of B cell
lymphoma.
Combination immunotherapies against
haematological malignancies.
Mechanisms of tumor resistance against
Phone:
immune-based therapies.
+61 7 3176 6943
Susceptibility of autoimmune-prone mice to
Email
tumor development.
s.mattarollo@uq.edu.au
Impact of endocytosis inhibitors on monoclonal
antibody-based immunotherapeutics against
cancer.
Localized immune suppressive mechanisms in
HPV-associated pre-cancers.
Cellular and molecular pathways of T-cell
tolerance
Prevention and reversal of autoimmune
diabetes
Novel methods of gene delivery for tolerance
Immunotherapy of allergies and anaphylaxis
Phone
+61 7 3176 5393
Email
r.steptoe@uq.edu.au
3
Name
Dr Gethin
Thomas
Project Details
 Gene expression profiling in ankylosing
spondylitis
 Identification of novel genes in skeletal disease
through large-scale ENU mouse mutagenesis
 Novel treatment approaches to prevent joint
fusion in ankylosing spondylitis
 Elucidation of basis for “gene desert”
associations with ankylosing spondylitis

Professor
Ranjeny Thomas






Professor Peter
Visscher


Understanding the molecular control of
dendritic cell function in tolerance
Initiation of inflammatory arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis antigen-specific therapy
Type 1 (Juvenile) Diabetes Innate Immunity:
mouse models and human longitudinal study
Use of statins to reduce atherosclerosis in early
rheumatoid arthritis
Heritability of gene expression
Statistical methods and applications using SNP
data to test whether risk factors for disease are
causative
Understanding the genetic architecture of
complex traits
through analysis of DNA sequence data
Development and application of risk prediction
models for
common diseases
Contact
Phone
+61 7 3176 2755
Email
gethin.thomas@uq.edu.au
Phone
+61 7 3176 5365
Email
ranjeny.thomas@uq.edu.au
Phone
+61 7 3346 1814
Email
peter.visscher@uq.edu.au
4