Researchers awarded $5m NHMRC Synergy Grant to improve immunotherapy against melanoma

The NHMRC-funded project will bring together researchers from across the University of Melbourne's biomedical precinct and partner organisations.

Researchers from the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences have been awarded a five-year, $5 million Synergy Grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) to develop a new program of work exploring interactions between microbiota and T cells to enhance melanoma immunotherapy.

The project is led by Professor Shahneen Sandhu, Consultant Medical Oncologist and Research Lead for the Melanoma Medical Oncology Service at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (Peter Mac) at the University of Melbourne. The team also includes Professor Sammy Bedoui and Dr Vanessa Marcelino, Professor Tony Papenfuss from WEHI, and Dr Lavina Spain and Professor Grant McArthur from Peter Mac.

“It’s inspiring to see researchers collaborating across the Doherty Institute, Peter Mac and WEHI. Ensuring a successful project across disciplines and organisations is both challenging and rewarding. It will be fantastic to see the innovative ways this team will improve treatments for cancer patients with melanoma, and the positive effects on our wider community,” said Professor Jane Gunn AO, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences.

Preliminary data, generated by Professor Bedoui, Dr Marcelino and Professor Sandhu, from cell culture assays, mice and melanoma patients receiving ICI drugs, suggests that immune system T cells are influenced by substances made when the bacteria, found in our gut, break down food. These substances, otherwise known as microbiota-derived metabolites (MDMs) influence how the immune system responds to melanoma.

The team’s goal is to understand how these metabolites enhance how T cells respond to melanoma and assess their potential to improve immunotherapy in the clinic.

"This field of research is still in its infancy, and we hope that new insights gained from our iterative, clinical, preclinical, and bioinformatic studies will translate into therapeutic interventions to improve patient outcomes.” Dr Marcelino said.