Targeting Cancer Cell Metabolism to Overcome Therapeutic Resistance in Paediatric Acute Myeloid Leukaemia

Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is a fatal blood cancer. Every year, 900 Australians are diagnosed with AML, of which 50 are below the age of 14. It is estimated that over the next ten years, 7,600 years of life will be lost due to AML in Australia, amounting to $1.43 billion in lost gross domestic product. In adults, the median 5-year survival is less than 30%, and in children, AML is responsible for more than half of the leukaemia deaths, while only making up 15% of all leukaemias. Resistance to conventional treatment is thus a major challenge within the field of AML. Moreover, current treatments are heavily based on chemotherapeutics and often cause detrimental short- and long-term health effects. Presently, patients undergo treatment based on their risk-based stratification, with high-risk patients receiving more intense treatment. While risk-based stratification is centred around established risk factors, this approach is far removed from individualised treatment, in which each patient receives specific treatment for their unique cancer. To achieve more effective and safer treatments for AML patients, there is an urgent need to 1) develop clinically suitable strategies to overcome treatment resistance in AML, and to 2) determine clinically applicable markers that can predict which patients are more likely to benefit from a particular treatment.

The aim of this project is to target the addiction of AML cells to a metabolic protein called NAMPT which plays a key role in treatment resistance. We will use OT-82, a novel targeted inhibitor drug of NAMPT that we recently developed in collaboration with Oncotartis Inc, to establish a novel combination therapy, composed of OT-82 with decreased doses of standard of care drugs, which can be implemented into clinical practice for adults and children with AML and has the potential to improve treatment outcome. In addition, we will determine biomarkers that can identify which patients will benefit from this approach.

How to Apply

Express your interest in this project by emailing Dr Klaartje Somers at klaartje.somers@unsw.edu.au. Include a copy of your CV and your academic transcript(s).