Dr Katrina Sweeney, PhD
Position:
- Dr, Australian Prostate Cancer Research Centre - Queensland, QUT, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation
Credentials:
- Dr at Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation
Biography:
Dr Sweeney completed her BSc (Hons) in Molecular Cell Biology in 2002 at University College London, UK. After gaining experience in the public and private sector she undertook a MSc in Molecular Biology and Pathology of Viruses at Imperial College London and worked under Professor Paul Farrell to study the role of the Epstein-Barr virus EBNA-2 protein in mediating cell growth and survival. This led to a fascination in virology and cancer-related research. Between 2006 and 2009 Dr Sweeney worked as a Research Assistant at Barts Cancer Institute at Queen Mary, University of London within the Prostate Cancer Gene Therapy group led by Professor Nick Lemoine and Dr Gunnel Halldén. Here she gained valuable experience combining her interest of virology with translational cancer research. In 2009 she commenced a PhD within the same research group and investigated the molecular mechanisms underlying the synergistic interactions between a novel cancer-selective adenovirus targeting the androgen receptor and chemotherapeutic drugs. After completing her PhD in 2013, she joined Imperial College London as a Postdoctoral Research Associate and developed an inducible lentivirus system to knockdown an RNA-binding protein, implicated in the progression of ovarian cancer. Dr Sweeney joined the Australian Prostate Cancer Centre-Queensland (APCRC-Q) at QUT, as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with Dr Brett Hollier and A/Prof Elizabeth Williams. Her current project involves examining ZEB1-mediated adaptive plasticity of prostate cancer cells in the context of the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in response to AR/androgen targeted therapy.
Best publications:
V Adam, M Ekblad, K Sweeney, H Muller, K Busch, C Johnsen, N Kang, N Lemoine, G Halldén. Synergistic and Selective Cancer Cell Killing Mediated by the Oncolytic Adenoviral Mutant AdΔΔ and Dietary Phytochemicals in Prostate Cancer Models. Human Gene Therapy. 23(9):1003-15, 2012.
D Oberg, E Yanover, V Adam, K Sweeney, N Lemoine, G Halldén. Improved potency and selectivity of an oncolytic E1ACR2 and E1B19K-deleted adenoviral mutant in prostate and pancreatic cancers. Clinical Cancer Research. 16(2):541-553, 2010.
Leitner S, K Sweeney, D Oberg, D Davies, E Miranda, N Lemoine, G Halldén. Oncolytic Adenoviral Mutants with E1B19K Gene Deletions Enhance Gemcitabine-induced Apoptosis in Pancreatic Carcinoma Cell and Anti-Tumour Efficacy In vivo. Clinical Cancer Research 15(5): 1730-1740, 2009.
SC Cheong, Y Wang, J.H. Meng, R Hill, K Sweeney, D Kirn, N Lemoine, G Halldén. E1A-expressing adenoviral E3B mutants act synergistically with chemotherapeutics in immunocompetent tumor models. Cancer Gene Therapy. 15(1): 40-50, 2008.
K Sweeney. Angiogenesis Inhibitors: An upcoming therapy for cancer and wet age-related macular degeneration. Drug Discovery Today. 10(20):1346-1348. 2005.
prostate cancer.
