51²è¹Ý

December 12, 2024

PhD cancer researcher wins global award

Elahe Minaei focusing on localised immunotheraphies to treat pancreatic cancer

A 51²è¹Ý (UOW) PhD candidate who is using revolutionary immunotherapies to target pancreatic cancer has been named the recipient of a global Rising Researcher Award.

Elahe Minaei, who is in the third-year of a PhD in  Targeted Cancer Therapeutics Research Laboratory at Molecular Horizons, is the Australian winner of the competition run by Promega, a biotechnology company based in the United States. Elahe, who was chosen from five Australian finalists, is one of 10 winners drawn from countries around the world, including Brazil, Belgium, Finland, and Italy.

The competition was decided by public votes, and, as the Australian winner, Elahe will visit the Promega headquarters in Wisconsin in the United States, to meet and present her project to the company’s Research and Development team.

“I am incredibly honored to be named the Australian winner of the Promega Rising Researchers Award. This recognition not only validates the hard work and passion I’ve poured into my research but also highlights the potential impact of innovative therapies in the fight against pancreatic cancer,” Elahe said.

“Having the opportunity to share my work with Promega’s Research and Development team is an exciting step toward translating these ideas into real-world treatments. This award fuels my motivation to push boundaries in cancer research and bring us closer to improving outcomes for patients facing this challenging disease."”

Elahe, who is supervised in her PhD by Associate Professor Vine-Perrow, , Aghmesheh, and , is developing targeted drug delivery that will act like a tool to raise a specialised army in the body, eradicating tumours without destroying the surrounding healthy cells.

Using revolutionary immunotherapies, her approach relies on the integral role that the immune system plays in the body. Immunotherapy is a type of treatment that uses one’s immune system to eradicate the cancer.

“Imagine immune cells as soldiers in an army. In leukaemia, the army has already started the fight against the cancer. But they’ve got to the point when they’re exhausted and outnumbered and sending ‘give up’ signals,” she said.

“Immunotherapy blocks those signals and reinvigorates immune systems, just like energy drinks packaged in the form of antibodies.

“On the other hand, we have pancreatic cancer, where the immune army hasn’t noticed the cancer calls because they’re too similar to the body’s own cells. In this scenario, immunotherapy, should aim at informing and weaponising the army and keeping them energised. That requires a combination of treatments that can be too toxic if given through the blood stream as they raise a large army everywhere in the body, attacking everything, including healthy organs. This can be fatal.

“But what if we could harness immune systems where they are needed? That is the purpose of my PhD,” Elahe said. 

Using a 3D printer, Elahe has devised unique, biocompatible and biodegradable implants. Loading them with multiple immunotherapies, she inserted the implants right next to the tumour for a targeted cancer treatment. The research is in the development phase, but Elahe said the early results are promising. The aim is to place these implants into the tumours of pancreatic cancer patients.

“The beauty of this localised approach is that it only raises an army where it needs to be, around the tumour. And because it’s localised immunotherapy, once the war is over, the remaining soldiers are more empowered.”

Since undertaking her PhD, Elahe has gained a reputation for being a gifted science communicator. It is not an easy feat in a field that is dominated by intricate and complicated scientific concepts that are often difficult for the wider public to grasp.

Elahe was also the overall winner and people’s choice winner of this year’s UOW Three-Minute Thesis competition, which encourages PhD candidates to distil their research into a short, punchy three-minute presentation.