Professor Ricky Johnstone is Head of the Gene Regulation Laboratory and has directed his research along a translational pathway that fully integrates fundamental cancer and immunological research, pre-clinical development and testing of novel therapeutic regimes and, in collaboration with clinical colleagues at Peter Mac, the initiation of new clinical trials using agents under investigation in his lab. His research program has three major themes:
- Defining the molecular events underpinning anti-cancer drug action and resistance;
- Dissecting the role of altered epigenetics and transcription in tumour onset and progression and targeting epigenetic and transcription elongation enzymes to treat cancer;
- Integrating epigenetic- and immune-based therapeutics to provide more potent and durable therapeutic outcomes.