Cholesterol metabolism-dependent control of tumour-associated macrophage function

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Ovarian cancer has one of the poorest survival rates and is difficult to diagnose and treat. Immune cells called macrophages can fight cancer cells, but instead they appear to help ovarian cancer cells spread around the body. This project aims to determine one of the mechanisms by which macrophages promote tumour growth, and explore possible treatments to block this. Our lab has developed recent new insights into how cholesterol metabolism of macrophages might control their inflammatory function. We think this is relevant for ovarian cancer because patients who have high expression of enzymes involved in cholesterol metabolism are more likely to die than patients with low expression. The student will use cutting-edge cancer models (3D organoids, mouse transplant) to test how cholesterol metabolism of macrophages affects the growth and spread of ovarian cancer. The student will be co-supervised by basic discovery scientists with expertise in macrophage biology and cancer immunology (Drummond, Caamano), as well as clinical oncologist (Leung) to develop a clinically-relevant project that uses a bench-to-bedside approach to make new discoveries in the pathogenesis of a deadly cancer.