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BBiomedSc(Hons) projects completed at the University of Otago, Christchurch

Centre for Free Radical Research

Project  Primary supervisor
Characterising the role of peroxidasin in breast cancer Dr Martina Paumann-Page
Identification of key peptide regions in the amyloid state of the tumour suppressor p16 Dr Christoph Goebl
The interaction of neutrophils and amyloid-ß in Alzheimer’s disease  Dr Leon Smyth
Vitamin C as an Epigenetic Therapeutic for Acute Myeloid Leukaemia  Professor Margreet Vissers
Peroxiredoxins as biomarkers of oxidative stress in metastatic melanoma cells Professor Mark Hampton
Mycobacterial resistance to neutrophil oxidants  Professor Mark Hampton
Intracellular redox changes during TNFα-mediated necroptosis  Professor Mark Hampton
Investigating the pro-apoptotic properties of portimine Professor Mark Hampton
Inactivation of a thiol-dependent enzyme by urate hydroperoxide Professor Tony Kettle
Measurement of mitochondrial dysfunction in humans Dr Andree Pearson
Involvement of mitochondria and peroxiredoxin in TNF-mediated necroptosis Professor Mark Hampton
The effect of cell metabolism on epigenetic processes in cancer cells Professor Margreet Vissers
Functional consequences of lowering mitochondrial peroxiredoxin 3 expression Professor Mark Hampton
Neutrophil activation in inflammatory bowel disease Professor Richard Gearry
Inhibiting the pro-inflammatory cytokine MIF Professor Mark Hampton
Assessing a blood biomarker of lung infection Professor Christine Winterbourn

Gene Structure and Function Laboratory

Project  Primary supervisor
Allelic diversity of the pharmacogene CYP2D6 in Māori and Pasifika Dr Simran Maggo
Targeted enrichment and Nanopore sequencing of RNA transcripts from breast cancer risk genes Professor Martin Kennedy
Diagnostic applications of a Nanopore sequencing device Professor Martin Kennedy
Impact of G-quadruplex structures and DNA methylation on allelic drop-out during in vitro amplification of imprinted genes Professor Martin Kennedy
Establishment and validation of a telomere length assay Professor Martin Kennedy
Does promoter variation in the USP46 gene influence antidepressant response? Professor Martin Kennedy

Inflammation Research Group

Project Primary supervisor
Hydrogen sulfide: Investigation into the effects of different H2S donors on the upregulation of inflammatory cytokines Professor Madhav Bhatia

The Infection Group

Project Primary supervisor
Characterising the relationship between Legionella longbeachae and their amoebal hosts: Implications for Legionnaires' disease prevention  Dr Sandy Slow
A novel strategy to prevent bacterial biofilm formation using methylthioadenosine-nucleosidase inhibitors Professor Steve Chambers
Detecting 2-aminoacetophenone and pyocyanin from clinical strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Dr Amy Scott-Thomas

Mackenzie Cancer Research Group

Project Primary supervisor
Investigating the relationship between ascorbate and the differentiation of monocytes in an in-vitro melanoma model Assoc Professor Margaret Currie
Gene modification of breast cancer cells for cancer imaging  Assoc Professor Gabi Dachs
Copy number variants and familial breast and ovarian cancer risk Assoc Prof Logan Walker
Can vitamin C reduce metastases in a mouse model of breast cancer? Assoc Professor Gabi Dachs
Measuring markers of immune response in patients treated with Nivolumab (Opdivo) or Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) Assoc Professor Margaret Currie
The influence of exercise and hyperlipidaemia on breast cancer Assoc Professor Gabi Dachs
Development of a metabolic syndrome model of breast cancer Assoc Professor Gabi Dachs
Does fat provide energy for breast tumour cell invasion and metastasis? Assoc Professor Margaret Currie
Exploring molecular links between obesity and breast cancer Assoc Professor Logan Walker
Evaluating molecular markers of breast tumour progression Assoc Professor Logan Walker
Gene transfer to restore vitamin C synthesis in human cell line Assoc Professor Gabi Dachs
Immune suppression and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma tumour biology Assoc Professor Margaret Currie
Myeloid-serived suppressor cells, tumour angiogenesis and cancer progression Assoc Professor Margaret Currie

Molecular Pathology

Project Primary supervisor
Development of an assay for interferon beta bioavailability in relapsing-remitting MS patients Professor Steve Brennan

Christchurch Heart Institute

Project Primary supervisor
Evaluation of The Four-and-a-half LIM 2 (FHL2) Single Polypeptide As A Potential Biomarker of Cardio-Renal Syndrome (CRS) Professor Chris Pemberton

Surgery

Project Primary supervisor
Nutritional immunity: Butyrate and colon carcinogenesis Assoc Professor Jacqui Keenan
Bacterial lipopolysaccharide and immune activation in colorectal cancer Assoc Professor Jacqui Keenan
Aspirin’s role in preventing E-cadherin cleavage by the carcinogenic Bacteroides fragilis toxin  Assoc Professor Jacqui Keenan