IDENTIFICATION, CHARACTERISATION AND ROLE OF LEADER CELLS IN OVARIAN CANCER PROGRESSION
Dr Maree Bilandzic, Research Group Head
Metastasis Biology & Therapeutics Laboratory
Hudson Institute of Medical Research,
Clayton, Victoria, Australia
RESEARCHER PROFILE
Filmed in Clayton, Victoria, Australia | December 2024
Dr. Maree Bilandzic is a molecular cancer biologist dedicated to advancing the understanding and treatment of ovarian cancer (OC). Her research addresses critical gaps in OC treatment by investigating the mechanisms behind metastasis, chemotherapy resistance, and tumour recurrence. By utilising innovative methodologies and disease-representative models, Dr. Bilandzic has pioneered the identification and characterisation of leader cells (LCs)—a unique, stem-like subpopulation within tumours that plays a crucial role in OC progression.
LCs facilitate “collective invasion,” enabling tumour cells to spread by interacting with their environment and influencing immune responses. Importantly, Dr. Bilandzic’s research demonstrated that these LCs are resistant to standard therapies and become more prevalent following treatment. Despite their significance, there are currently no targeted therapies for LCs, highlighting the urgent need for novel therapeutic strategies.
Her work focuses on meeting the unmet clinical needs of patients with metastatic and therapy-resistant OC. By disrupting LCs, Dr. Bilandzic’s team has shown enhanced chemosensitivity, limited tumor spread, and altered immune responses—demonstrating the therapeutic potential of targeting LCs.
She has over $3.5 million in commercial funding and additional support exceeding $2 million from organisations such as the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation, CASS Foundation, Fielding Foundation, Equity Trustees and Perpetual Impact grants. Dr. Bilandzic is well-positioned to expand her research into other epithelial cancers, aiming to develop effective treatments that can significantly improve patient outcomes across multiple cancer types. Key areas of focus include understanding LC roles in immune modulation, invasion, metastasis, and chemotherapy resistance.
-
World-first clinical trial improves patient outcomes for kidney transplants (2023)
A world-first clinical trial conducted at the Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) and at hospitals across Australia and New Zealand has identified the best fluid treatment to reduce the risk of patients requiring dialysis after a kidney transplant.
Around one in three people who receive a kidney transplant suffer delayed graft function, which means the transplant doesn’t work immediately and they require dialysis.
The lead-author of the study, was Royal Adelaide Hospital Nephrologist and University of Adelaide researcher, Dr Michael Collins.
-
Systems genetics to determine risk of developing diabetes complications
Professor Morahan invented the term “Systems Genetics” for the science field that examines how genetic variants can affect whole networks of genes and whole systems; there are now several laboratories and institutes of systems genetics around the world. He also developed the next-generation genetic resource, The Gene Mine, the most powerful of its type in the world, used globally in rapid mapping and identification of genes. Collaborators nationally and internationally have tested The Gene Mine for traits and diseases in which they specialise.
-
Infections and other lung diseases using models of human lung tissue grown from stem cells
Dr Rhiannon Werder is a Team Leader at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute leading a multidisciplinary team, combining expertise in stem cell biology and immunology, to develop new therapies for lung diseases. Her research centres around induced pluripotent stem cells to investigate respiratory diseases, spanning acute respiratory infections to chronic lung diseases. Using stem cells, Dr Werder’s team creates models of human lung tissue. With these models, Dr Werder is investigating how human-specific pathogens infect different regions of the lung, the ensuing immune responses, and how the lung repairs itself after infections, especially in people with preexisting lung diseases.
