Dr Toby Trahair
BSc(Med) Hons I MBBS Hons I PhD FRACP
Dr Toby Trahair is a Conjoint Lecturer in the School of Women’s & Children’s Health, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW. He has appointments as a staff specialist in paediatric haematology and oncology at the Kids Cancer Centre, Sydney Children’s Hospital and a Clinical Research Fellow at the Children’s Cancer Institute.
Dr Toby Trahair is a paediatric haematologist & oncologist who has practiced as a Staff Specialist at the Kids Cancer Centre since 2006. In addition, Toby is a clinical research fellow at Children's Cancer Institute with 15 years of postdoctoral experience, commencing with a post-doctoral fellowship at the Stem Cell Research Laboratory, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre before moving to CCI in 2006.
Toby is involved in clinical trials research as the lead Australian investigator on the international SIOPEN trial for high risk neuroblastoma and an investigator on the early phase I/II Ceritinib trial for children and teenagers with ALK-rearranged malignancies. Dr Trahair has served as executive treasurer on the Executive Council of the Australian and New Zealand Children's Haematology and Oncology Group (ANZCHOG) since 2010.
Toby has active research interests in the management of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia including techniques of minimal residual disease detection, mechanisms and models of drug resistance in ALL, haematopoietic stem cell transplantation, ALK rearranged tumours and personalised therapy for high risk tumours. He currently supervises PhD students, the ERASE project which is identifying clinical and genetic risk factors for treatment-related side effects in ALL patients.
Current research projects include:
- Predictive clinical and genetic factors for the side effects of chemotherapy in children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (The ERASE and ASSET projects). A collaborative project with Prof G Marshall, Dr L Dalla-Pozza & Dr Marion Mateos. A project funded by the Kids Cancer Alliance and supported by the Australian and New Zealand Children’s Haematology & Oncology Group.
- Finding new treatments for ALK+ve inflammatory myofibroblastic tumours. A collaborative project with Dr Karen MacKenzie at the Children’s Cancer Institute. A project supported by the Rory Williams Fund.
- Developing xenograft models of high risk neuroblastoma. A project in collaboration with Dr Jamie Fletcher, Children’s Cancer Institute and funded by the Kids Cancer Alliance.
- Publications
- Media
- Grants
- Awards
- Research Activities
- Engagement
- Teaching and Supervision
Grants & Fellowship Support
- 2005 National Health and Medical Research Council Australian Biomedical (Peter Doherty) Training Fellowship, “Ex vivo expansion of human umbilical cord blood stem and progenitor cells”, Amount awarded $264,000
- 2007 Sylvia and Charles Viertel Charitable Foundation Clinical Investigatorship, “Differentiation trapping to identify mutations in cellular genes which contribute to the development of the children’s cancer neuroblastoma”. Amount awarded $60,000
- 2007 Clive and Vera Ramciotti Foundation Establishment Gift, “Identification of mutations in cellular genes which contribute to the development of neuroblastoma using retroviral gene trap mutagenesis in mouse embryonic stem cells”. Amount awarded $30,000
- 2007 Cancer Institute NSW Clinical Research Fellowship, “Gene trapping to identify mutations in cellular genes which contribute to the development of embryonal cancers in children”. Amount awarded $323,289
- 2007 Sydney Children’s Hospital Foundation Grant, “Gene trap mutagenesis to identify mutations in cellular genes which contribute to the development of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia”. Amount awarded $50,000
- 2012 Kids Cancer Alliance. Project Grant “Predictive clinical and genetic risk factors for the side-effects of chemotherapy in children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukaermia”. Amount awarded $380,000. Role: Chief Investigator A
- 2014 Kids Cancer Alliance. Project Grant “Establishment of patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models for high risk neuroblastoma” Amount Awarded: $300,000. Role Chief Investigator B
- 2016 National Health & Medical Research Council Project Grant APP1102172 “A Phase I Study of PiggyBac CD19 Specific Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cells for Therapy of Persistent and Relapsed B-cell Leukaemia and Lymphoma Post Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation (The CARTELL Study)”. Amount awarded: $357,589.80. Role Chief Investigator F.
Current Research
- 2008-13 Functional mutagenesis to identify genes associated with glucocorticoid resistance in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia
- 2010- Coordinating clinical investigator for SIOPEN high risk neuroblastoma clinical trial (SIOPEN HR NBL-1)
- 2010- High density microarrays to identify targets for minimal residual disease detection
- 2014- Finding new treatments for ALK+ve inflammatory myofibroblastic tumours
- 2014- Establishment of patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models for high risk neuroblastoma
- 2013- The ASSET (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia Subtype and Side-Effects from Treatment) study
- 2014- Personalised Medicine Program, Kids Cancer Centre & Children’s Cancer Institute
My Research Supervision
Current PhD Students under supervision
- 2013- Dr Marion Mateos. Project title: ERASE: Evaluation of Risk of ALL Treatment-related Side-Effects. Children’s Cancer Institute & School of Women’s and Children’s Health, University of New South Wales.
- 2016- Ms Ashleigh Fordham. Project title: “New treatments for paediatric ALK-rearranged inflammatory myofibroblastic tumours” Children’s Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Centre, University of New South Wales