The laboratory’s principal focus is on the molecular genetics of melanoma, a topic Professor Hayward has been researching for more than 30 years. They aim to identify cancer genes and study the way in which defects in these genes are associated with cancer predisposition or development. With improved understanding of the genetic events underlying cancer susceptibility, better ways of diagnosing or treating cancers will be discovered. The other complementary key area of interest centres on applying a range of high throughput ‘omics’ technologies to comprehensively characterize the genomic landscape of the various melanoma subtypes.
CURRENT RESEARCH
- played key roles in the identification of CDK4, MITF, POT1, ACD and TERF2IP as familial melanoma susceptibility genes
- contributed significantly to many genome-wide association studies for melanoma and the associated phenotypic risk traits of pigmentation and naevi
- contributed to the understanding of key somatic mutations that drive melanocytic neoplasia, including roles in the seminal findings of BRAF mutations in naevi, and novel driver mutations in cutaneous, acral, mucosal and uveal melanoma
Staff
- Dr Peter Johansson, Research Officer
- Dr Kelly Brooks, Research Officer
- Dr Ken Dutton-Regester, Research Officer
- Madeleine Stark, Research Assistant
- Jane Palmer, Research Nurse
- Hayley Hamilton, Research Nurse
- Vaishnavi Nathan, PhD student
- Natasa Broit, PhD student
- Matthew D’Mellow, MPhil student
Internal Collaborators
- Professor Nick Martin
- Professor David Whiteman
- Dr Jason Lee
- Dr Stuart Macgregor
- Associate Professor Matthew Law
- Dr Michelle Teng
- Dr Nic Waddell
- John Pearson
External Collaborators
- Members of the Melanoma Institute Australia
- Members of GenoMEL, International Melanoma Genetics Consortium
- Dr Kevin Brown, National Cancer Institute
- Jeffrey Trent, Translational Genomics Research Institute
- Dr Andrew Barbour, University of Queensland Department of Surgery/Princess Alexandra Hospital
- NHMRC
- Melanoma Research Alliance
- Cure Cancer Australia
STUDENT PROJECTS
No Student Projects