CID presentation- TODAY: "Getting on the Nerves of Cancer”.

Presented by Dr Erica Sloan, cancer biologist at Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and a Senior Lecturer at Monash University Faculty of Pharmacy.  

12:00-13:00 TODAY in the Medicine Seminar Room Located on Level 5, Block E MMC.

Dr Sloan’s research investigates neural regulation of the tumour microenvironment and the impact of chronic stress on cancer progression.  Her research aims to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms of neural-tumour dynamics, with the overarching goal to identify novel targets for pharmacological intervention of cancer metastasis and biomarkers of early cancer progression. Her research demonstrated that sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity enhances metastasis from mammary tumours to distant target tissues.  SNS-enhanced metastasis occurred through beta-adrenergic signalling pathways and was dependent on recruitment of macrophages to the primary mammary tumour. To investigate the impact of pharmacological interventions targeted against neural-tumour interactions - including immunotherapy, small molecular inhibitors and adrenergic antagonists – her lab uses advanced optical imaging technology and microscopy for real-time analyses of tumour responses in preclinical trials.  Dr Sloan holds adjunct positions at Peter MacCallum Cancer Center, Melbourne and University of California, Los Angeles.