Many disciplines to address evasion of treatment
Assistant Research Fellow Jody Hazlett preserves samples in liquid nitrogen for future breast cancer research.
The Centre for Translational Cancer Research has investigators trained in many disciplines, ranging from biology and chemistry to oncology and surgery. As tumours have multiple ways of evading treatment and becoming resistant to chemotherapy, we need multiple ways to target the cancer throughout its progression. This requires drugs being targeted to many proteins which have diverse functions.
Three avenues of approach
Medicinal chemistry involves integrating approaches to increase effectiveness and minimise harm.
- Better drug accessibility to cells
- Lower required dose and increased drug safety
- Target drugs to cancer cells only
D4 network
Diagnostics, Drugs, Devices and Discovery, the D4 network at Otago is working alongside CTCR to target cancer treatments.
Bioactive Molecules
Using natural products as a start point for synthesis of compounds with significant biological activity, the Hawkins group are focusing on bioactive molecules.
Clinical trials
Clinical trials play an vital role on the pathway to offering a new drug. We work with Cancer Trials New Zealand.
Cancer Trials NZ website
Related topics
Research personnel
- Dr Sarah Baird
- Professor Mik Black
- Dr Nick Fleming
- Dr Allan Gamble
- Dr Khaled Greish
- Professor Parry Guilford
- Associate Professor Bill Hawkins
- Professor Sarah Hook
- Associate Professor Julia Horsfield
- Dr Chris Jackson
- Professor Rhonda Rosengren
- Professor Katrina Sharples
- Professor Joel Tyndall
- Associate Professor Sarah Young
Our postgraduate students
Hawkins Group
- Mitch Clark (master's student0
- Richard Lamb (PhD student)
- Alex Craig (PhD student)
- Sinan Gai (PhD student)
- Brooke Swaney (PhD student)
- Robert Smith (PhD student)