Dr Heather Lee of the University of Newcastle has developed a new way to research single cancer cells, in order to find out why some cancers come back after chemotherapy.
Dr Lee's research is currently in acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive form of blood cancer. She uses a technique she developed with colleagues in Cambridge which aims to read the genetic sequence of individual cells.
"There is quite a lot of evidence now that cancer can come back because rare cell types present in the cancer have special properties that allow them to survive chemotherapy," said Dr Lee.
The goal is to figure out why some cancer cells resist treatment and Dr Lee hopes the research will lead to a new, more effective drug treatment for people suffering from leukemia.
"We are trying to understand how this cancer can come back after successful therapy so that we can stop this from happening," said Dr Lee.
In recognition of her leadership in this research, Dr Lee has been awarded one of two $50,000 Metcalf Prizes from the National Stem Cell Foundation of Australia.
She said that she is "incredibly grateful for the support offered by the award," as well as the support she has gotten from the Newcastle research community and Newcastle as a whole.
Dr. Heather Lee (Photo credit: Hunter Medical Research Institute)
