Dr Mark Shackleton has spent the last 3-4 years based at the University of Michigan in a town called Ann Arbor, USA, developing expertise in melanoma cell biology. His long-term hope was always to return to Australia and to a research facility like Peter Mac that could support his work. He describes Australia as a great place to do research and a great place to raise a family.
Dr Shackleton is Medical Oncologist and Group Leader of the Melanoma Research Laboratory, Research Division at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.
Dr Shackleton was awarded a VESKI Innovation Fellowship in April 2010.
Dr. Shackleton was also awarded a 2010 NHMRC Achievement Award, which is given to the highest-ranked applicant in Australia for the NHMRC’s Career Development Award Level 1.
Research Project Title: Modelling human melanoma progression
Research Project Description: Victoria and Australia have among the highest rates of melanoma in the world, and yet melanoma remains one of the greatest challenges to manage for all but the smallest of tumours.
During my studies in the USA, I have developed a highly efficient method of growing human melanoma tumours in mice in a way that may be similar to progression of this disease in humans. I plan to establish this cutting edge technology in the Victorian cancer research community by founding the Melanoma Research Laboratory at Peter Mac.
Through this, my research program will identify fundamental mechanisms that cause melanoma to progress in patients, including key aspects of melanoma cell behaviour as well the genes that drive this behaviour.
In association with the Melbourne Melanoma Project and my related role in caring for melanoma patients at Peter Mac, I will also translate discoveries made about human melanoma growth in mice to the care of patients. This could result in improvement in our ability to predict melanoma behaviour in individual patients and in the selection of patients for promising new treatments.
Please click here to view Media Release of Dr Shackleton's Announcement as a VESKI Innovation Fellow.
To read Dr Shackleton's expanded profile and research description please click here.