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Research

Reproducible Bioinformatics Analysis Workflows for Detecting IGH Gene Fusions in B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia Patients

B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (B-ALL) is characterised by diverse genomic alterations, the most frequent being gene fusions detected via transcriptomic analysis (mRNA-seq). Due to its hypervariable nature, gene fusions involving the Immunoglobulin Heavy Chain (IGH) locus can be difficult to detect with standard gene fusion calling algorithms and significant computational resources and analysis times are required. We aimed to optimize a gene fusion calling workflow to achieve best-case sensitivity for IGH gene fusion detection.

Research

Pre-Clinical Evaluation of the Hypomethylating Agent Decitabine for the Treatment of T-Cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma

T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-LBL) is a rare and aggressive lymphatic cancer, often diagnosed at a young age. Patients are treated with intensive chemotherapy, potentially followed by a hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Although prognosis of T-LBL has improved with intensified treatment protocols, they are associated with side effects and 10-20% of patients still die from relapsed or refractory disease. Given this, the search toward less toxic anti-lymphoma therapies is ongoing.

Research

Acute Leukaemia of Ambiguous Lineage Presenting as a Focal Bone Lesion: a Case Report

Acute leukaemia is the most common childhood malignancy. Almost all cases are classified as acute lymphoblastic leukaemia or acute myeloid leukaemia. Acute leukaemia of ambiguous lineage (ALAL) is a rare form of acute leukaemia that cannot be classified by a single lineage. Like other acute leukaemias, ALAL typically presents with nonspecific symptoms such as fatigue, fever, or bleeding.

Research

Defining the fetal origin of MLL-AF4 infant leukemia highlights specific fatty acid requirements

Infant MLL-AF4-driven acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a devastating disease with dismal prognosis. A lack of understanding of the unique biology of this disease, particularly its prenatal origin, has hindered improvement of survival. We perform multiple RNA sequencing experiments on fetal, neonatal, and adult hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells from human and mouse.

Research

Clinical Implications of Minimal Residual Disease Detection in Infants With KMT2A-Rearranged Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Treated on the Interfant-06 Protocol

Infant acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is characterized by a high incidence of KMT2A gene rearrangements and poor outcome. We evaluated the value of minimal residual disease (MRD) in infants with KMT2A-rearranged ALL treated within the Interfant-06 protocol, which compared lymphoid-style consolidation (protocol IB) versus myeloid-style consolidation (araC, daunorubicin, etoposide/mitoxantrone, araC, etoposide).

Research

Haemophilus influenzae remains the predominant otitis media pathogen in Australian children undergoing ventilation tube insertion in the PCV13 era

Understanding patterns of bacterial carriage and otitis media (OM) microbiology is crucial for assessing vaccine impact and informing policy. The microbiology of OM can vary with geography, time, and interventions like pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs). We evaluated the microbiology of nasopharyngeal and middle ear effusions in children living in Western Australia, 11 years following the introduction of PCV13.

Research

Microbiological and immunological factors predicting surgical outcomes for chronic otitis media

Lea-Ann Peter Ruth Kirkham Richmond Thornton PhD MBBS MRCP(UK) FRACP PhD Co-Head, Bacterial Respiratory Infectious Disease Group; Microbiology Lead,

Research

Angiogenesis-associated pathways play critical roles in neonatal sepsis outcomes

Neonatal sepsis is a major cause of childhood mortality. Limited diagnostic tools and mechanistic insights have hampered our abilities to develop prophylactic or therapeutic interventions. Biomarkers in human neonatal sepsis have been repeatedly identified as associated with dysregulation of angiopoietin signaling and altered arachidonic acid metabolism. 

News & Events

Minderoo Foundation funds vaccine trial to protect WA healthcare workers from COVID-19

At least 2,000 WA healthcare workers will help test whether an existing tuberculosis vaccine can reduce their chance of COVID-19 infection, lessen the severity of symptoms and boost immunity.