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Contact Details

Phone
+64 3 364 0544
Email
logan.walker@otago.ac.nz

University Links

Position
Research Professor
Department
Department of Pathology and Biomedical Science (Christchurch)
Qualifications
MSc, PhD
Research summary
Cancer research

Research

Professor Logan Walker's primary research is focused on understanding how genetic changes cause an increased risk of cancer and/or affect tumour pathology.

Genetic variation and breast cancer development

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women yet for most women the genetic changes underlying their disease remain undetermined or poorly understood. This research aims to determine the clinical and biological impact of:

  • DNA sequence variants in known breast cancer susceptibility genes (eg. BRCA1 and BRCA2)
  • DNA copy number variants across the genome, in breast cancer development

    • The New Zealand Familial Breast Cancer Study

    The New Zealand Familial Breast Cancer Study commenced in 2013 with the key goal of better understanding DNA sequence changes in genes that alter the risk of developing breast cancer. Genetic testing of breast cancer susceptibility genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, has become common practice for patients with a strong family history of the disease. However, a significant proportion of tests result in the detection of a genetic change for which disease association is not known. This study will address this important issue through collaborative links with the international scientific consortia, ENIGMA (Evidence-based Network for the Interpretation of Germline Mutant Alleles) and CIMBA (Consortium of Investigators of Modifiers of BRCA1/2).

    The role of germline copy number variation in endometrial cancer risk and development

    Endometrial cancer is the most common gynaecological cancer in New Zealand and the incidence is increasing as the population ages. Mutations in the mismatch repair genes MLH1, MSH2, MSH6 and PMS2 are known to confer increased risk in a proportion of endometrial cancer cases. There are several other genes encoding proteins that act in the mismatch repair pathway, but evidence for the involvement of these and other genes in endometrial cancer susceptibility is currently limited. We are utilising large genetic datasets to identify common and rare genetic changes in these genes that are associated with endometrial cancer risk.

    Molecular markers of prognosis for colorectal cancer patients

    Colorectal cancer (CRC) prognosis is currently predicted by clinicopathological stage which confers significant prognostic variability. Substantial progress has occurred in the understanding of the molecular basis of CRC. Molecular techniques offer promise in improving staging and therefore targeting of therapy. However, limitations in current technology have seen few molecular biomarkers implemented in clinical practice. The Mackenzie Cancer Research Group are using a powerful new mRNA in situ hybridisation technology (RNAscope) that measures RNA in histologically preserved cells while overcoming limitations of existing techniques. This research aims to establish RNAscope as a valid method to identify mRNA markers for CRC prognosis.

    Publications

    Stylianou, C. E., Wiggins, G. A. R., Lau, V. L., Dennis, J., Shelling, A. N., Wilson, M., Sykes, P., … Pearson, J., & Walker, L. C. (2024). Germline copy number variants and endometrial cancer risk. Human Genetics. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1007/s00439-024-02707-9 Journal - Research Article

    Parsons, M. T., de la Hoya, M., Richardson, M. E., Tudini, E., Anderson, M., Berkofsky-Fessler, W., … Wiggins, G. A. R., … Walker, L. C., … Spurdle, A. B. (2024). Evidence-based recommendations for gene-specific ACMG/AMP variant classification from the ClinGen ENIGMA BRCA1 and BRCA2 Variant Curation Expert Panel. American Journal of Human Genetics, 111(9), 2044-2058. doi: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2024.07.013 Journal - Research Article

    Richardson, M. E., Holdren, M., Brannan, T., de la Hoya, M., Spurdle, A. B., Tavtigian, S. V., … Walker, L. C., … Couch, F. J. (2024). Specifications of the ACMG/AMP variant curation guidelines for the analysis of germline ATM sequence variants. American Journal of Human Genetics. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2024.08.022 Journal - Research Article

    Davidson, A., Morley-Bunker, A., Wiggins, G., Walker, L., Harris, G., Mukundan, R., & kConFab Investigators. (2024). Deep learning segmentation of chromogenic dye RNAscope from breast cancer tissue. Journal of Imaging Informatics in Medicine. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1007/s10278-024-01301-9 Journal - Research Article

    Davidson, A., Morley-Bunker, A., Wiggins, G., Walker, L., Harris, G., Mukundan, R., & kConFab Investigators. (2024). Grey level texture features for segmentation of chromogenic dye RNAscope from breast cancer tissue. In R. Su, Y.-D. Zhang & A. F. Frangi (Eds.), International Conference on Medical Imaging and Computer-Aided Diagnosis (MICAD 2023): Lecture notes in electrical engineering (Vol. 1166). (pp. 72-82). Singapore: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-981-97-1335-6_7 Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Full paper

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