Postgraduate study in Cancer

Radiotherapy, while an important treatment route for many cancers, doesn’t work for all patients. One approach to improve effectiveness is to combine it with radiosensitising drugs that make cancer cells more vulnerable to radiation by targeting their crucial growth and survival mechanisms.

Growth hormone is essential for normal health and development, but abnormal levels in tumours are implicated in the progression and spread of some cancers. Dr Jo Perry's lab has shown that an approach that blocks growth hormone signalling might be a novel radiosensitising strategy with the potential to improve outcomes for patients. Take part in this research and you could investigate different approaches for targeting hormone receptors and investigate the cancers most responsive to this treatment.

• Use of a novel conjugation approach to generate a long-acting growth hormone receptor antagonist. (Project filled)
• Determine the efficacy of growth hormone receptor antagonism in hepatocellular carcinoma spheroid culture models. (Project filled)

You can get a scholarship to assist with your study. See what’s on offer for Liggins Institute students.

Contact Dr Jo Perry to find out more about the projects on offer or to apply.

j.perry@auckland.ac.nz