Dr Alex Swarbrick
Senior Research Officer, Group Leader, Tumour Progression Group, Cancer Program, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, & Conjoint Lecturer, UNSW
Email: a.swarbrick"at"garvan.org.au
Research Group: Tumour Progression
Alex joined Garvan In January 2007 after undertaking postdoctoral studies in the laboratory of Nobel Laureate J. Michael Bishop at the University of California, San Francisco. His lab investigates the protein coding genes and microRNAs controlling the self renewal, differentiation and metastasis of cancer cells.
He aims to expand the basic understanding of cancer progression to allow the development of better therapeutic strategies for hard-to-treat cancers. His lab uses a range of model systems, including 2D and 3D cell culture, animal models and human tissues. They also collaborate closely with our colleagues in the Cancer Research Program who bring expertise in signal transduction, anatomical pathology, tissue banking and developmental biology.
Awards
2007 Sydney University Medal for Excellence in Medical Research
2005 CJ Martin Fellowship from the NHMRC
2004 Murdoch Fellowship from the American Australian Association
2003 Moredzadeh Fellowship for cancer research
2002 St Vincents and Mater Health primary award for excellence in research
Career opportunities
We are always looking for talented, ambitious students and postdocs to join our group. Please contact Alex directly for further information.
Major Collaborations
- A/Professor Andrei Goga, UCSF, California, USA; Professors Murray Norris and Michelle Haber, Children’s Cancer Research Institute, Sydney; Professor David Kaplan, Sick Kids Hospital, Toronto, Canada: MicroRNAs targeting the p53 tumour suppressor
- Professor Neil Watkins, Monash Medical Research Institute, Melbourne : The role of Hedgehog genes in basal-like breast cancer
- A/Professor Alana Welm, Hunstman Cancer Institute, Utah, USA: The role of ID genes in breast cancer progression and metastasis
- Dr Rob Brink, Garvan Institute: Role of the TRAF proteins in Myeloma.
Current Funding
Alex Swarbrick, Neil Watkins and Sandra O’Toole. Dissecting the function of the Hedgehog-Patched pathway in breast cancer progression.NHMRC Project grant, 2009-2012
Alex Swarbrick. Defining the role for Id1 in breast cancer metastasis. Cancer Council Project Grant, 2008-May 2010
Alex Swarbrick. Breast cancer stem cells, self renewal and metastasis. National breast Cancer Foundation Novel Conept Award. 2008-2009
Alex Swarbrick, Fabienne Mackay, Samuel Breitt, Marie Dziadek, Murray Norris, Chris Ormandy. An IVIS® Lumina II in vivo Imaging System for live imaging of mouse models of cancer. Cancer Institute NSW Epuipment Grant. 2009
Alex Swarbrick. The role of the miR-379-656 microRNA cluster in cancer. Cancer Institute NSW Early Career Fellowship 2009-2011
Alex Swarbrick. Defining the molecular pathways controlling breast cancer self renewal, differentiation and metastasis. National Breast Cancer Foundation Early Career Fellowship. 2012
Publications
Caldon, C. E., Swarbrick, A., Lee, C. S. L., Sutherland, R. L., & Musgrove, E. A. (2008) The Helix-Loop-Helix Protein Id1 Requires Cyclin D1 to Promote the Proliferation of Mammary Epithelial Cell Acini. Cancer Res 68, 3026-3036.
Butt, A., Caldon, C. E., McNeil, C., Swarbrick, A., Sutherland, R., & Musgrove, E. (2007) in Endocrinology of Cancer, eds. Bernstein, L. & Santen, R. (Landes Bioscience).
Swarbrick, A., Åkerfeldt, M. C., Lee, C. S. L., Sergio, C. M., Caldon, C. E., Hunter, L.-J. K., Sutherland, R. L., & Musgrove, E. A. (2005) Regulation of cyclin expression and cell cycle progression in breast epithelial cells by the helix-loop-helix protein Id1. Oncogene 24, 381-389
Kairouz, R., Parmar, J., Lyons, R., Swarbrick, A., Musgrove, E. A., & Daly, R. J. (2004) Hormonal regulation of the Grb14 signal modulator and its role in cell cycle progression of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. Journal of Cellular Physiology 203, 85-93.
Carroll, J. S., Lynch, D. K., Swarbrick, A., Renoir, J.-M., Sarcevic, B., Daly, R. J., Musgrove, E. A., & Sutherland, R. L. (2003) p27Kip1 induces quiescence and growth factor insensitivity in tamoxifen-treated breast cancer cells. Cancer Res. 63, 4322-4326.
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