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Dr Cath Drummond

Contact Details

Phone
+64 3 479 2785
Email
cath.drummond@otago.ac.nz

University Links

Position
Research Fellow
Department
Department of Pathology (Dunedin)
Qualifications
BSc(Hons) PhD
Research summary
The emergence of drug tolerant persistors in response to targeted cancer therapy
Teaching
  • Research Student Supervision: PGDip MLSc and PhD candidates
  • Tutor for ELM2 (clinical pathology) and PSCI 202 (Medicines and Disease)
  • Guest lecturer for PATH 302
Memberships
  • Associate Member, American Association for Cancer Research 2016 to present
  • Associate Investigator, Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Discovery (MWC) 2019 to present

Research

My research programme is focused on two main areas.

Understanding the phenomenon of drug tolerance in cancer

Many melanoma and lung cancer patients frequently show dramatic responses when treated with targeted therapies (kinase inhibitors). Unfortunately, these responses are short-lived and patients relapse with resistant tumours. Together with Dr Glen Reid, I am investigating the ability of cancer cells to shift to drug-tolerant states, allowing their initial survival – and eventual resistance – following treatment with targeted therapies. This work is funded by a Marsden project grant.

Identifying small molecule inhibitors of p53 variants

Despite oncogenic p53 variants being reported in multiple tumour types, there are no known inhibitors of p53 variants. In addition, little is known about their regulation and therefore how to inhibit their activity. Together with Professor Antony Braithwaite I am investigating how to inhibit these oncogenic variants of p53. This work is funded by the Prostate Cancer Foundation of New Zealand.

Additional details

There are several research projects available, ranging from honours and master’s to PhD. Interested graduate and postgraduate students are encouraged to make contact to further discuss these projects.

  1. Too much of a good thing? A potential role for untranslated p53 mRNA in cancer biology. Level: honours / master’s
  2. A phoenix from the ashes: The role of dying cancer cells in the emergence of drug tolerance. Level: honours / master’s
  3. Inhibiting adaptive mutability to prevent the emergence of drug resistance. Level: honours / master’s
  4. The impact of KRAS expression levels on the emergence of drug tolerance in lung cancer. Level: honours / master’s

Publications

Mehta, S., Campbell, H., Drummond, C. J., Li, K., Murray, K., Slatter, T., … Braithwaite, A. W. (2021). Adaptive homeostasis and the p53 isoform network. EMBO Reports, 22, e53085. doi: 10.15252/embr.202153085

Langdon, C. G., Gadek, K. E., Garcia, M. R., Evans, M. K., Reed, K. B., Bush, M., … Drummond, C. J., … Hatley, M. E. (2021). Synthetic essentiality between PTEN and core dependency factor PAX7 dictates rhabdomyosarcoma identity. Nature Communications, 12, 5520. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-25829-4

Eiholzer, R. A., Mehta, S., Kazantseva, M., Drummond, C. J., McKinney, C., Young, K., … Fleming, N., Morrin, H. R., Reader, K., Royds, J. A., Landmann, M., Petrich, S., … Taha, A., Hung, N. A., Slatter, T. L., & Braithwaite, A. W. (2020). Intronic TP53 polymorphisms are associated with increased Δ133TP53 transcript, immune infiltration and cancer risk. Cancers, 12(9), 2472. doi: 10.3390/cancers12092472

Kazantseva, M., Mehta, S., Eiholzer, R. A., Gimenez, G., Bowie, S., Campbell, H., Reily-Bell, A. L., … Ray, S., Drummond, C. J., Reid, G., … Wiles, A., Morrin, H. R., Reader, K. L., Hung, N. A., Baird, M. A., Slatter, T. L., & Braithwaite, A. W. (2019). The Δ133p53β isoform promotes an immunosuppressive environment leading to aggressive prostate cancer. Cell Death & Disease, 10, 631. doi: 10.1038/s41419-019-1861-1

Ladds, M. J. G. W., Pastor-Fernández, A., Popova, G., van Leeuwen, I. M. M., Eng, K. E., Drummond, C. J., … Laín, S. (2018). Autophagic flux blockage by accumulation of weakly basic tenovins leads to elimination of B-Raf mutant tumour cells that survive vemurafenib. PLoS ONE, 13(4), e0195956. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0195956

Langdon, C. G., Gadek, K. E., Garcia, M. R., Evans, M. K., Reed, K. B., Bush, M., … Drummond, C. J., … Hatley, M. E. (2021). Synthetic essentiality between PTEN and core dependency factor PAX7 dictates rhabdomyosarcoma identity. Nature Communications, 12, 5520. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-25829-4

Journal - Research Article

Eiholzer, R. A., Mehta, S., Kazantseva, M., Drummond, C. J., McKinney, C., Young, K., … Fleming, N., Morrin, H. R., Reader, K., Royds, J. A., Landmann, M., Petrich, S., … Taha, A., Hung, N. A., Slatter, T. L., & Braithwaite, A. W. (2020). Intronic TP53 polymorphisms are associated with increased Δ133TP53 transcript, immune infiltration and cancer risk. Cancers, 12(9), 2472. doi: 10.3390/cancers12092472

Journal - Research Article

Kazantseva, M., Mehta, S., Eiholzer, R. A., Gimenez, G., Bowie, S., Campbell, H., Reily-Bell, A. L., … Ray, S., Drummond, C. J., Reid, G., … Wiles, A., Morrin, H. R., Reader, K. L., Hung, N. A., Baird, M. A., Slatter, T. L., & Braithwaite, A. W. (2019). The Δ133p53β isoform promotes an immunosuppressive environment leading to aggressive prostate cancer. Cell Death & Disease, 10, 631. doi: 10.1038/s41419-019-1861-1

Journal - Research Article

Drummond, C. J., Hanna, J. A., García, M. R., Devine, D. J., Heyrana, A. J., Finkelstein, D., … Hatley, M. E. (2018). Hedgehog pathway drives fusion-negative rhabdomyosarcoma initiated from non-myogenic endothelial progenitors. Cancer Cell, 33(1), 108-124. doi: 10.1016/j.ccell.2017.12.001

Journal - Research Article

Ladds, M. J. G. W., Pastor-Fernández, A., Popova, G., van Leeuwen, I. M. M., Eng, K. E., Drummond, C. J., … Laín, S. (2018). Autophagic flux blockage by accumulation of weakly basic tenovins leads to elimination of B-Raf mutant tumour cells that survive vemurafenib. PLoS ONE, 13(4), e0195956. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0195956

Journal - Research Article

Ladds, M. J. G. W., van Leeuwen, I. M. M., Drummond, C. J., Chu, S., Healy, A. R., Popova, G., … Laín, S. (2018). A DHODH inhibitor increases p53 synthesis and enhances tumor cell killing by p53 degradation blockage. Nature Communications, 9(1), 1107. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-03441-3

Journal - Research Article

Hanna, J. A., Drummond, C. J., Garcia, M. R., Go, J. C., Finkelstein, D., Rehg, J. E., & Hatley, M. E. (2017). Biallelic Dicer1 loss mediated by aP2-Cre drives angiosarcoma. Cancer Research, 77(22), 6109-6118. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.Can-17-1262

Journal - Research Article

Drummond, C. J., Esfandiari, A., Liu, J., Lu, X., Hutton, C., Jackson, J., … Lunec, J. (2016). TP53 mutant MDM2-amplified cell lines selected for resistance to MDM2-p53 binding antagonists retain sensitivity to ionizing radiation. Oncotarget, 7(29), 46203-46218. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.10073

Journal - Research Article

Darekar, S. D., Mushtaq, M., Gurrapu, S., Kovalevska, L., Drummond, C., Petruchek, M., … Kashuba, E. (2015). Mitochondrial ribosomal protein S18-2 evokes chromosomal instability and transforms primary rat skin fibroblasts. Oncotarget, 6(25), 21016-21028. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.4123

Journal - Research Article

Sachweh, M. C. C., Stafford, W. C., Drummond, C. J., McCarthy, A. R., Higgins, M., Campbell, J., … Laín, S. (2015). Redox effects and cytotoxic profiles of MJ25 and auranofin towards malignant melanoma cells. Oncotarget, 6(18), 16488-16506. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.4108

Journal - Research Article

McCarthy, A. R., Sachweh, M. C. C., Higgins, M., Campbell, J., Drummond, C. J., van Leeuwen, I. M. M., … Laín, S. (2013). Tenovin-D3, a novel small-molecule inhibitor of sirtuin SirT2, increases p21 (CDKN1A) expression in a p53-independent manner. Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, 12(4), 352-360. doi: 10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-12-0900

Journal - Research Article

Sachweh, M. C. C., Drummond, C. J., Higgins, M., Campbell, J., & Laín, S. (2013). Incompatible effects of p53 and HDAC inhibition on p21 expression and cell cycle progression. Cell Death & Disease, 4(3), e533. doi: 10.1038/cddis.2013.61

Journal - Research Article

Hardcastle, I. R., Liu, J., Valeur, E., Watson, A., Ahmed, S. U., Blackburn, T. J., … Drummond, C., … Lunec, J. (2011). Isoindolinone inhibitors of the murine double minute 2 (MFM2)-p53 protein-protein interaction: Structure-activity studies leading to improved potency. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 54(5), 1233-1243. doi: 10.1021/jm1011929

Journal - Research Article

Watson, A. F., Liu, J., Bennaceur, K., Drummond, C. J., Endicott, J. A., Golding, B. T., … Hardcastle, I. R. (2011). MDM2-p53 protein-protein interaction inhibitors: A-ring substituted isoindolinones. Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters, 21(19), 5916-5919. doi: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2011.07.084

Journal - Research Article

Woon, S.-T., Reddy, C. B., Drummond, C. J., Schooltink, M. A., Baguley, B. C., Kieda, C., & Ching, L.-M. (2005). A comparison of the ability of DMXAA and xanthenone analogues to activate NF-κB in murine and human cell lines. Oncology Research, 15(7-8), 351-364.

Journal - Research Article

Mehta, S., Campbell, H., Drummond, C. J., Li, K., Murray, K., Slatter, T., … Braithwaite, A. W. (2021). Adaptive homeostasis and the p53 isoform network. EMBO Reports, 22, e53085. doi: 10.15252/embr.202153085

Journal - Research Other

Drummond, C. J., & Hatley, M. E. (2018). A case of mistaken identity: Rhabdomyosarcoma development from endothelial progenitor cells. Molecular & Cellular Oncology, 5(4), e1448246. doi: 10.1080/23723556.2018.1448246

Journal - Research Other

Drummond, C. J., Finlay, G. J., Broome, L., Marshall, E. S., Richardson, E., & Baguley, B. C. (2011). Action of SN 28049, a new DNA binding topoisomerase II-directed antitumour drug: Comparison with doxorubicin and etoposide [Short report]. Investigational New Drugs, 29(5), 1102-1110. doi: 10.1007/s10637-010-9473-8

Journal - Research Other

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