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Pfizer Australia Research Fellowships Investing in innovation “Having a Pfizer Fellowship enabled me to ramp up my research activities and move toward riskier programs with the potential for higher returns.” Associate Professor Ricky Johnstone Pfizer Australia Research Fellow, 2005-9 Cancer is a leading cause of death in Australia. Assoc Prof Johnstone’s research ultimately aims to inform the design of new chemotherapeutic drugs and allow their use to be tailored to the individual patient. Assoc Prof Johnstone is a cancer researcher who is interested in determining the molecular events underpinning cancer cell death initiated by chemotherapeutic-drugs and deciphering how tumours become multidrug resistant. Assoc Prof Johnstone’s research focuses on inhibitors of the enzyme histone deacetylase (HDACi) – novel chemotherapeutic drugs that regulate gene transcription by altering the structure of chromatin. He has contributed significantly to the understanding of structurally diverse HDACi and his clinical colleagues at the Peter Mac have recently initiated clinical trials of two HDACi in the treatment of T cell lymphoma. Assoc Prof Johnstone uses genetically manipulated mouse tumour models to identify which apoptotic proteins and pathways are necessary for the therapeutic effects of HDACi, either alone or in combination with other novel small molecule chemotherapeutics. Using microarray gene expression profiling, Prof Johnstone has identified genes involved in apoptosis that are regulated differently in tumours and normal cells, providing a molecular basis for the selective effect of HDACi on tumour tissue. It is hoped that Assoc Prof Johnstone’s research will ultimately inform the design of new chemotherapeutic drugs and their use in personalised medicine. The Pfizer Australia Research Fellowship allowed Assoc Prof Johnstone to extend his program to include preclinical studies on mouse models of human cancers that take many months to complete, but are essential in his approach toward clinical trials. He explains, “Five-year fellowships are rarely granted in Australia, and it is even more unusual for the fellowship to cover not only the researcher’s salary and infrastructure support, but also the salary of a research assistant.” Mice injected with lymphomas were treated with HDACi before measurement of fluorodeoxglucose (FDG) uptake by PET imaging. The circled areas indicate the decrease in FDG signal after HDACi treatment. Each year Pfizer awards more than AU$3 million in research grants and fellowships to basic biomedical scientists and early stage clinical researchers. The funding aims to encourage leaders in biomedical research to establish careers in Australia, fostering the continued development of Australia as a world-class source of innovation and ideas. Pfizer Australia Research Fellowships Investing in innovation Assoc Prof Ricky Johnstone – career highlights Pfizer Australia Research Fellowships at a glance • Aim to support the development of the Australian scientific community • Awarded annually to outstanding biomedical scientists with the potential to become global leaders in their field of research • Allow the successful applicant to continue their research at an Australian university or institution, by providing a five-year grant of AU$1 million covering salary, travel and other establishment costs For further information visit www.research.pfizer.com.au or email Assoc Prof Johnstone gained his PhD from the University of Melbourne in 1993 and was awarded a prestigious CJ Martin Postdoctoral Scholarship from the National Health and Medical Research Council that allowed him to continue training at Harvard University in Boston, USA. On returning to Australia in 1996, Assoc Prof Johnstone teamed up with Drs Joe Trapani and Mark Smyth at the Austin Research Institute (now the Burnet Institute) before joining the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in 2000. He is now the Head of Peter Mac’s Gene Regulation Laboratory and a principal fellow of the Department of Pathology, University of Melbourne. He is also a key member of the Translational Oncology Research Collaborative Hub (TORCH) to which Pfizer has contributed AU$15 million in support of research in molecular imaging, cancer genomics and early stage clinical trials. Since 2005, Assoc Prof Johnstone has leveraged the outcomes of his fellowship-related research, being named as chief or co-chief investigator on grants totalling more than AU$17 million. He has published more than 30 research papers and supervised five PhD students and three Honours students. He is also consistently invited to speak at national and international conferences. Assoc Prof Johnstone enjoyed complete academic freedom in his research program funded by the Pfizer Australia Research Fellowship program. He notes that, “The Fellowship gave me the autonomy I needed to extend the size and scope of my research.” Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre • The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre is Australia’s only public hospital solely dedicated to cancer and one of an elite group of hospitals world-wide to have its own integrated cancer research program and laboratories • Collaborating with Peter Mac through the Research Fellowship program is an important part of Pfizer Australia’s commitment in contributing to Australia’s exceptional research capabilities • For further information regarding Peter Mac visit www.petermac.org [email protected] Pfizer Australia Pty Limited. ABN 50 008 422 348. 38-42 Wharf Road, West Ryde NSW 2114 Australia. T 02 9850 3333