About Dr Aparna Rao
The need
New treatments like targeted therapies and immunotherapy have significantly improved the outlook for people with melanoma. However, some patients still face challenges, and melanoma remains a serious concern in Australia, causing the death of one person every six hours due to metastatic disease.
The research
A promising area of melanoma research is cancer metabolism, which explores how melanoma cells use energy. This research project aims to better understand how changes in metabolism are linked to the diversity of melanoma tumours.
To achieve this, advanced technology like mass spectrometry will be used to examine the metabolism of melanoma in patients. This will be combined with transcriptomic evaluation, which studies the genetic information of tumours at the single-cell level and in their specific locations in the tumour environment.
The impact
The aim is to develop markers that can predict which patients are likely to experience a relapse, identify those who would benefit the most from additional treatment, and explore new drugs that target the metabolism of melanoma cells, ultimately enhancing the outcomes for individuals dealing with melanoma.
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