"Imaging of dying cells in the body"
Professor Philip Hogg, Director of the UNSW Cancer Research Centre
Wednesday 7 May 2008, 6.30 for 7 pm
Conference Room 1, Darlington Centre, City Road
ABSTRACT
Professor Hogg and his team have shown that some disulphide bonds have evolved to control how proteins work by breaking or forming in a precise way. He has called these bonds 'allosteric disulphides '.
Application of this basic research has led to the development of a novel class of cancer drugs and a cell death imaging agent. The lead cancer drug is currently being trialled in cancer patients. The imaging agent non-invasively detects dying and dead tumour cells. The agent could be used, for instance, to assess the efficacy of cancer therapy. The technology has been licensed to Pharma for clinical development.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
Professor Philip Hogg graduated with a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Queensland in 1987. Following post-doctoral work in the USA and Sweden, he returned to Sydney in1991.He is now Director of the UNSW Cancer Research Centre and will lead adult cancer research in the new Lowy Cancer Research Centre that is currently being built on the UNSW campus.