Dr Peter Molloy: On top of the world in Sapporo, Japan, February 2004, as part of an Australian biotechnology delegation.

Brown paper packages began arriving at Dr Peter Molloy’s Sydney laboratory in November last year.

They signalled the start of an exciting new phase of work for the CSIRO molecular biologist, science focussed on improving early diagnosis of colorectal or bowel cancer, Australia’s second deadliest cancer.

For the 55-year-old expert in DNA methylation, those brown packages contain more than clinical samples from hospitals in Adelaide.

They mark the transition of his project in the CSIRO’s North Ryde laboratories from the technology development phase to the translational end of evaluating clinical utility. 

“There’s a lot of excitement in seeing this coming to fruition,” Dr Molloy said.

The project forms part of a Preventative Health National Research Flagship stream focussed on creating new and sensitive ways to diagnose early stage colorectal cancer and ultimately to identify people at risk of the disease before it occurs. 

The parcels of tissue and blood samples and soon faecal samples, which now arrive regularly, are also the key to the international competitiveness of the project. 

“Our clinical linkages allow us to circumvent many steps that would often be taken in other laboratories.   Access to the clinical perspective, advice, data and of course samples has helped us fast track our work to clinical evaluation,” Dr Molloy said.

Partnerships

Partnerships with world leading clinicians such as Dr Graeme Young at Flinders University of South Australia and the University of Melbourne’s Professor Finlay Macrae have been pivotal to the project.

“We are building teams across and outside of CSIRO.  It’s the level and breadth of effort we’ve been able to bring to bear on questions, that have been most attractive to our external partners.  Without the Flagship this would not have happened,” he said.

Dr Molloy’s research involves analyzing multiple genes in small samples of DNA for the presence or absence of a specific chemical modification, cytosine methylation, a tool often used by cells to silencing the expression of genes.

DNA methylation has many functions in normal cells, including suppression of 'tumor causing' genes and regulation of tissue specific genes. DNA methylation changes have been shown to play a role in the initiation and progression of cancer cells.

“Methylation is pivotal to all genome-related work, and I have a particular focus on identifying changes in methylation patterns in the DNA that might be diagnostic for cancer,” Dr Molloy said.

Dr Molloy has been with the CSIRO for the past 24 years, advancing his research interests in the field of molecular genetics, gene structure and control of gene expression, particularly in the areas of promoter function and DNA methylation.

After completing his PhD at Monash University’s Department of Biochemistry, Dr Molloy was awarded a James Hudson Brown Memorial postdoctoral Fellowship at Yale Medical School in 1975.

He went on to receive the Walter Winchell-Damon Runyon- Fellowship and a Queen Elizabeth II Fellowship.  Returning to Australia and Adelaide University’s Biochemistry Department on this latter fellowship, his love of science also provided another spin-off, in the form of his wife, Dr Sue Clark, who today is a world leader in DNA methylation research based at Sydney’s Garvan Institute of Medical Research. They have three children aged 15 to 20 years.

Dr Peter Molloy: working hard in the Flagship and in the kitchen, with wife Sue and daughter Laura

Prostate cancer research

Dr Molloy joined the Preventative Health National Research Flagship at its inception in 2003, after a 10-year research focus on prostate cancer diagnosis and therapy.

This included characterisation of enhancers involved in prostate-specific gene expression, development of gene therapy approaches to prostate cancer treatment and characterisation of DNA methylation changes in prostate cancer, leading to the trialling of a new molecular diagnostic test for prostate cancer.

“The most exciting day was when we got the first demonstration that we had identified a prostate-specific gene switch,” he said.

“We were able to use this in a gene therapeutic, developed by CSIRO, FH Faulding & Co Limited (Now Mayne Pharma) and the Oncology Research Centre, Prince of Wales Hospital, to switch on a gene in a prostate cells only and thereby produce a targeted chemotherapy for the treatment of prostate cancer that has shown efficacy in animal models of the disease.”

Dr Molloy saw the move from prostate cancer to colorectal cancer as a natural transition in his ongoing quest to translate science into making people’s lives better.

“I want to see the assays that we develop used to catch cancer early so that people’s lives are improved as a result,” he said.

“Along the way I want to do some good science, some interesting science”.

“One of the real positives about the Preventative Health Flagship is its focus on improving the health of the Australian community.  If it were for purely commercial purposes it would not be as fulfilling.”

Synergies

One exciting spin-off of the current research is the efficiencies created by being able to use clinical samples for a variety of Flagship research projects.

Dr Trevor Lockett, Novel Diagnostics Stream Leader for the Preventative Health Flagship, said the samples being used for Dr Molloy’s work were being used for three different projects in novel diagnostics.

“The integrated approach of the Flagship work has allowed us, in partnership, to make the best use possible of the invaluable clinical samples, know-how and expertise provided by our clinical collaborators,” Dr Lockett said.

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The Preventative Health Flagship is a CSIRO initiative and part of the National Research Flagships program that aims to deliver scientific solutions to advance Australia's most important national objectives. One of the largest scientific initiatives ever mounted in Australia, it aligns closely with the Federal Government's National Research Priorities. The initiative brings together our national research resources to deliver breakthroughs in fields ranging from healthcare to light metals and the environment.

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