QIMR Berghofer “Masterswitch” cancer researcher Associate Professor Michelle Wykes has detailed exciting progress on a promising therapy to target advanced bowel cancer, at an event to mark the Institute’s 80th anniversary on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
The event is the latest in a series of celebrations across regional Queensland to thank the community for its support of QIMR Berghofer’s pioneering medical research in its milestone 80th year.
More than 120 donors, local MPs & Councillors, and health and education partners from the Sunshine Coast region gathered with leading QIMR Berghofer scientists at The Wharf Mooloolaba.
A/Professor Wykes, Group Leader of QIMR Berghofer’s Molecular Immunology Lab, provided an update on the development of a potential new type of immunotherapy to target the most common form of bowel cancer, Micro Satellite Stable (MSS) bowel cancer.
Stemming from her discovery of the “Masterswitch” antibody, extensive preclinical tests in the lab found it can turn on a key type of immune cell, known as dendritic cells, which organise the body’s critical T cells to recognise and attack cancer cells.
She presented this research as part of the QIMR Berghofer delegation that recently attended the world’s premier biotech event, BIO 2025, in Boston.
“We have now advanced this research to the point where we have optimised the antibodies from our original drug prototype, which is a critical final step towards preparing it for a clinical trial in humans,” A/Professor Michelle Wykes said.
“We could not have reached this stage without the generous support of the community, including the wonderful donors from the Sunshine Coast."
QIMR Berghofer’s Professor Juliet French also showcased some of the other groundbreaking research underway in the Institute’s Cancer Research Program, including a clinical trial of a new drug combination for the deadliest form of breast cancer, a trial testing leukaemia tumour samples for genetic mutations to personalise treatments for patients, and the development of cutting edge CAR T cell therapies for certain types of blood cancer.
QIMR Berghofer CEO and Director Professor Fabienne Mackay outlined the crucial role the Sunshine Coast region has had in supporting the Institute’s groundbreaking research over the past 80 years.
These special ties include the series of landmark studies spanning two decades from the mid-1980s, when hundreds of volunteer participants from Nambour helped QIMR Berghofer researchers prove that regular daily sunscreen use can prevent skin cancers, including deadly melanomas.
These findings were a ‘game changer’ for public health, and helped provide the scientific basis for skin cancer prevention policies and campaigns around the world to this day, such as the “Slip, Slop, Slap” campaign.
QIMR Berghofer was established by an Act of Parliament in 1945 to investigate the fevers and infectious diseases affecting Queenslanders.
From humble beginnings, it has grown to become one of Australia’s leading medical research institutes working across four key research program areas of Cancer, Infection and Inflammation, Population Health, and Brain and Mental Health.