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Contact Details

Phone
64 3 479 9258
Email
anita.dunbier@otago.ac.nz

University Links

Position
Associate Professor
Department
Department of Biochemistry
Qualifications
BSc(Hons) PhD
Research summary
Molecular oncology

Research

Research in our laboratory focuses on molecular aspects of cancer with particular emphasis on understanding the genotypic and phenotypic determinants of resistance to endocrine therapy in breast cancer.

Current projects

Investigation of genes involved in breast cancer susceptibility and response to therapy

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women, accounting for more than 400,000 deaths per year worldwide. Over three quarters of women diagnosed with breast cancer receive anti-oestrogen therapy. We aim to investigate the role of three newly identified genes in breast cancer. We have found that these genes are turned on in breast cancer at the same time as the oestrogen receptor. They also appear to be involved in the way breast cancers respond to treatment and may contribute to genetic susceptibility to breast cancer. We aim to determine why these genes are turned on together and how they then influence the rate at which cancer cells grow. We will also investigate how these genes influence a woman's risk of breast cancer and the way in which she will respond to treatment. Understanding the role of these genes will help to ensure patients receive the most appropriate treatment and to develop more effective therapies.

How do immune cells help breast cancers to evade therapy?

The majority of breast cancers require the hormone oestrogen to grow. Drugs that act by preventing the production of oestrogen are the most effective treatment currently available for this type of cancer. However, these drugs do not work well for all patients. Our previous research suggests that attracting immune cells to the cancer site may cause the cancer to keep growing during therapy. This project aims to identify which immune cells are recruited to breast cancer cells during treatment and how the cancer cells signal to recruit them to the tumour. This research will help us to identify how breast cancers can evade therapy and to identify potential new drugs which could be used in combination with hormonal therapy to improve breast cancer treatments in the future.

Positions available

Enquires about projects from prospective graduate students and postdoctoral fellows are welcome.

Suitably qualified students, from all countries, are eligible to apply for a University of Otago PhD scholarship (continually assessed) which covers tuition fees and provides a generous emolument for living expenses. If you are interested in this possibility please also make contact with me early on.

Awards

  • Anita Dunbier
    2014, University of Otago Early Career Award for Distinction in Research
  • Anita Dunbier
    2013, OSMS Emerging Researcher Award
    For outstanding research achievement where the awardee has held a PhD for between five and ten years and an appointment at Otago for at least two years.

Publications

van der Werf, J., Chin, C. V., Dunbier, A., & Fleming, N. (2023). Influence of SNP rs1800795 on macrophage polarisation, colitis, and response to emerging therapies. Proceedings of the Genetics Otago (GO) Annual Symposium & Workshops. Retrieved from https://blogs.otago.ac.nz/go Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

McGuinness, C. F., Black, M. A., & Dunbier, A. K. (2023). Restriction site associated DNA sequencing for tumour mutation burden estimation and mutation signature analysis. Cancer Medicine. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1002/cam4.6711 Journal - Research Article

Bull, D., Hazlett, J., McLellan, A., & Dunbier, A. (2023). Development and characterisation of immunocompetent models for metastatic oestrogen receptor positive breast cancer. Molecular Oncology, 17(Suppl. 1), (pp. 513-514). doi: 10.1002/1878-0261.13471 Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Bull, D., Hazlett, J., McLellan, A., & Dunbier, A. (2022). Investigating the role of immunotherapy in the treatment of metastatic oestrogen receptor positive breast cancer. Proceedings of the Genetics Otago (GO) Annual Symposium. Retrieved from https://blogs.otago.ac.nz/go Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Siemonek, A., Van Huffel, S., Gimenez, G., Weeks, R., Horsfield, J. A., Antony, J., & Dunbier, A. (2022). Unraveling the mechanisms involved in the co-regulation of breast cancer associated genes at the 6q25.1 locus. Proceedings of the Genetics Otago (GO) Annual Symposium. Retrieved from https://blogs.otago.ac.nz/go Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

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