Project title: In-vitro Testing of a Novel Treatment Intervention for Anaplastic, Treatment-Emergent Neuroendocrine Prostate Cancer
Supervisory Team:
Principal Supervisor: Dr. Brett Hollier
Associate Supervisors: Prof. Colleen Nelson, Dr. Jennifer Gunter and Dr. Charles Bidgood
Project description: Treatment-emergent neuroendocrine prostate cancer (tNEPC) is a highly aggressive, anaplastic form of prostate cancer with no effective curative treatments. Accordingly, there is an urgent clinical need to find novel therapeutic targets and/or strategies to improve the survival outcomes of men harbouring tNEPC. Recent research has highlighted the overexpression of the Facilitates Chromatin Transcription (FACT) complex in anaplastic tumours, particularly those exhibiting a neuroendocrine phenotype. CBL0137, a small molecule curaxin, has emerged as a promising therapeutic agent capable of targeting FACT function. Therefore, my study aims to assess the effect of CBL0137 as a novel targeted treatment for tNEPC, both as a monotherapy and as a co-therapy alongside the standard platinum-based chemotherapy, cisplatin. This project also conducts a comprehensive multi-omic investigation into the molecular mechanisms enacted by CBL0137.
Short bio: Sayuri Herath is a PhD candidate in the Adaptive Dynamics in Advanced and Persistent Tumours (ADAPT) Laboratory at the Australian Prostate Cancer Research Centre – Queensland (APCRC-Q), Queensland University of Technology. Her research focuses on identifying and evaluating novel therapeutic targets and strategies to improve treatment outcomes for poorly differentiated, highly aggressive anaplastic prostate cancer. Sayuri’s work focuses on using ex-vivo patient-derived xenograft organoid (PDXO) models to investigate anti-tumour responses to innovative monotherapies and combination treatments.
Education to date:
BSc (Hons) Medical Laboratory Sciences (University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka)
M.Phil (University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka)