Children's Cancer Centre

The research laboratories of the Children's Cancer Centre are within the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital and affiliated with the University of Melbourne Department of Paediatrics.

Proudly supported by

Australian Cancer Research Foundation has committed $1 million to fund our innovative research to make discoveries in the fight against childhood cancer.

Apoptosis Laboratory

Cell death (apoptosis) is a physiological process which removes non-functional and dangerous cells from the body, during development and adult life. This process impinges on cancer in two ways. Apoptosis is used to remove precancerous cells, so alterations in the apoptotic pathways can contribute to the initiation of cancer. Secondarily, chemotherapy and radiotherapy kill tumour cells by triggering an apoptotic response, so tumour cells with defective apoptotic pathways can be resistant to currently available cancer treatment regimes. The Apoptosis Laboratory works to characterise cell death pathways in normal and cancerous cells. Our research focuses largely on tumour types with poor prognosis, which are resistant to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Current projects include molecular definition of apoptotic pathways in glioma, analysing in vitro sensitivity of ex vivo cancer cells to chemotherapy drugs and potential novel anti-cancer agents. We are also identifying and characterising apoptotic regulators with potential roles in cancer, spinal muscular atrophy and other diseases.