CMRF MacKinlay PhD Fellowship 2008
The Canterbury Medical Research Foundation is please to announce the appointment of
Kasia Mackenzie as the CMRF MacKinlay PhD 2008 Fellow 2008.
CMRF and the Mackinlay Charitable Trust is funding Kasia for the next 2 years at $60,000 per year with working expenses of $3,500 per year.
For further details read the full article
Project: "Why are skin cancers more aggressive in renal transplant patients". Kasia is a plastic and reconstructive surgery trainee currently undertaking full time research leading to PhD. She is interested in molecular mechanisms associated with development of skin cancers in kidney transplant patients.
Development of powerful immunosuppressive agents has added years to the lives of kidney transplant patients. However, this advance has been associated with increased risk of nonmelanoma skin cancers. In renal transplant patients, squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and basal cell carcinoma (BCC) account for over 90% of all skin cancers, and these tumours grow faster and have greater metastatic potential than in immunocompetent individuals. Skin cancers are one of the commonest causes of death in kidney transplant patients.
We propose that increased tumour angiogenesis (blood vessel formation) underlies the aggressive behaviour of nonmelanoma skin cancers in renal transplant patients. My PhD research will investigate angiogenic proteins in skin cancer from both patients who are not immunosupressed and renal transplant patients using immunohistochemistry, Western blot and Enzyme Linked Immuno-Assays (ELISAs). We will develop a primary tumour culture model, and use this together with endothelial cell culture models to identify angiogenic factors secreted by SCC, measure their effects on endothelial cells, and investigate cellular response to the anti-angiogenic agents.
