Martin Lackmann
Associate Professor Martin Lackmann and his team of biomedical researchers spend their laboratory time working on the ultimate goal: a readily available drug to prevent or cure breast and other forms of cancer.
Researchers in the Protein Interaction and Cancer Research Laboratory investigate mechanisms that guide cells to their pre-determined positions during organ development and during tumour growth. The "global positioning system" in the body consists of proteins located on the surface of cells, which recognize and respond to cues in the surrounding environment and guide cell movement to the correct destination.
"We discovered that one of these cell surface proteins, which is involved in organ development during embryogenesis, is almost un-detectable in adults but re-appears frequently in a large number of patients with lung, colon, breast and prostate tumours, melanomas and leukemias.
"The protein is required for the growth and spreading of tumours by directing the formation of tumour blood vessels and the communication between tumour cells and surrounding connective tissue," Associate Professor Lackmann said.
Together with Australian collaborators Professor Lackmann's team developed an antibody that blocks this function and stops the growth of tumours in experimental animal models.
The research findings have attracted interest from a US-based BioPharmaceutical partner to direct and support the evaluation of a clinical grade version of this antibody for the treatment of cancer patients in clinical trials, commencing in 2010.
