Peter Georgeson awarded Cancer Council Victoria Fellowship

Peter Georgeson, of Associate Professor Dan Buchanan’s Colorectal Oncogenomics Group in the University of Melbourne Centre for Cancer Research and Department of Clinical Pathology, has been awarded a 12-month fellowship from Cancer Council Victoria.

Peter’s project—titled “Linking gut bacteria to the development of colorectal cancer using multi-omic profiling”—will use genomics to identify individuals at risk of developing bacteria-associated bowel cancer.

Peter said that the incidence of colorectal cancer in people under 50 years has been increasing globally, with the cause of the increasing prevalence unknown.

“If we can identify individuals at high risk of developing colorectal cancer, outcomes could be substantially improved by offering routine screening, which is proven to the development of and deaths from the disease.”

“Gut microbiota has long been suspected of involvement in colorectal cancer tumourigenesis, but there are currently no means to detect or differentiate bacteria-associated colorectal cancer from other non-bacterial causes.”

“By addressing these knowledge gaps, we will better understand who is at risk of developing bacteria-driven colorectal cancer, provide opportunities for targeted intervention and/or therapies, and enable precision prevention of colorectal cancer.”

“Potentially identifying a new, non-inherited sub-type of colorectal cancer will significantly alter the landscape, providing novel insights into its origins and potentially enabling targeting of the many currently unexplained colorectal cancers.”

Peter said he was grateful for the vital support provided by the Cancer Council Victoria Fellowship.

"This fellowship will enable me to be a world leader in this novel area of cancer research and offer the opportunity to make an impact on the prevalence of colorectal cancer."