Program Overview

Cancer Molecular Pathology Program

The Cancer Molecular Pathology Program is mediated by the Pathology Team in the School of Medicine and Dentistry, aiming to support the clinical community by contributing to research, clinical service, and education. The multidisciplinary research team has strong collaborations with national and international research centres in the Asia-Pacific regions and Europe.

Clinical Services

The School of Medicine and Dentistry provides a unique opportunity for clinicians and scientists to collaborate on medical research projects. The research team provides consultancy and diagnostic pathology services to the clinical communities in Australia and overseas.

Research Areas

The program focuses on several research areas, including:

• Thyroid cancer and endocrine tumours molecular pathology
• Colorectal cancer molecular pathology
• Oral, esophageal and head-neck cancer molecular pathology
• Basic research in cancer pathology and others

Thyroid Cancer and Endocrine Tumours Molecular Pathology

Endocrine tumours affect mainly females and may have significant systemic effects. The morphologies of these cancers are diverse, and making a definite diagnosis often needs the work of specialists. The research team works on genetic profiles, pathological classification, and prognostic markers studies in thyroid and other endocrine lesions.

Colorectal Cancer Molecular Pathology

Colorectal cancer is amongst the most common malignancy found in the Western world and usually ranks high in incidence and mortality among malignancies in those countries. The research focuses on studying novel tissue-based prognostic indicators at the molecular level.

Oral, Esophageal and Head-Neck Cancer Molecular Pathology

Oral, esophageal and head
eck cancer is the sixth most common cancer worldwide with a global annual incidence of 500,000. The research studies this group of cancers by animal experiments, cell line cultures, gene profiling, and clinicopathological correlations to understand the biological behaviour and reveal the underlying mechanisms of cancer progression and therapy resistance.

Basic Research in Cancer Pathology and Others

The pathology team promotes, supports, and accommodates basic research in cancer pathology and other health disciplines that can result in advances in medical knowledge and increase patient outcomes and quality of life.

Education

The Pathology Research Team is a dynamic hub of innovation and leadership in medical and pathology education. The team offers a vibrant and up-to-date learning environment for medical students, junior doctors, and research scientists. Under the expert guidance of Professor Alfred Lam and Associate Professor Vinod Gopalan, the team actively supervises a large cohort of higher degree research (HDR) students, particularly in the fields of medical and pathology education.

Team Members

The team is led by:

• Professor Alfred Lam
• Associate Professor Vinod Gopalan

School of Medicine and Dentistry

The school is located at:

• Parklands Drive, Southport Gold Coast Griffith University QLD 4222
• Sunshine Coast University Hospital Sunshine Coast Health Institute 6 Doherty Street Birtinya, QLD 4575

School Executive

The school executive includes:

• Head of School Professor Julian Archer
• DHoS (L&T) A/Professor Bernadette Sebar
• DHoS (R) Professor Chris Carty
• Acting Dean (Dentistry) - Professor Roy George
• Dean (Medicine) - Professor S Niru Nirthanan
• School Manager Lisa Cotterell