Leading SCS haematologist awarded prestigious VCA Fellowship

Leading haematologist Dr George Grigoriadis was recently awarded a prestigious Victorian Cancer Agency Clinical Research Fellowship for his ongoing research into the role of inflammation in the different stages of myelodysplastic syndromes. 

The competitive grant of $800,000 over four years will also enable Dr Grigoriadis to identify patients who may benefit from treatment with anti-inflammatory agents.

“Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a group of blood cell diseases characterised by anaemia, recurrent infections and bleeding culminating in the development of acute leukaemia,” said Dr Grigoriadis.

“An unresolved and important question in MDS is whether survival is improved with drugs that reduce inflammation observed in this disease.”

MDS arise from a defective haematopoietic stem cell (HSC) as a result of heterogeneous somatic mutations that are cell intrinsic. This in turn leads to ineffective haematopoiesis, marrow failure, immune dysregulation, and/or transformation to overt leukaemia.

“Although identification of molecular targets and subsequent development of therapeutics is essential to eliminate MDS-causing clones and improve outcome, understanding of the evolution of the disease and the impact the microenvironment including the innate and adaptive immune systems has in the transformation from low to high risk is critical to improved outcome,” said Dr Grigoriadis.

MDS occur principally in older adults with a median age of 70 years with an annual incidence of >20/100,000.