Associate Professor Daniel Gough, Victorian Cancer Agency Mid-Career Fellow

Associate Professor Daniel Gough is a member of the STAT Cancer Biology Research group in the Centre for Cancer Research.

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Dr Daniel Gough from the STAT Cancer Biology Research Group at Hudson Institute

Areas of interest

Inflammation and cancer Lung cancer

Research group

STAT Cancer Biology

Biography

“Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer related deaths. I interrogate fundamental changes within the tumour and the interaction between the tumour and the immune system to inform new lung cancer therapies.” A/Prof Daniel Gough.

Most lung cancer patients are treated with drugs that leverage the immune system to fight their cancer. While the initial response to these therapies is usually positive, over time patients almost always become resistant. 

A/Prof Gough is a biochemist and cancer biologist with expertise in understanding fundamental mechanisms regulating tumour and immune signalling controlling cell function. He has made seminal findings defining the mechanisms controlling the altered metabolism in cancer and immune cells.

A/Prof Gough’s research provides critical insights into the tumour-immune ecosystem, with the goal of providing new treatment approaches. His research focus is on discovering how the disruption of intracellular signalling networks, primarily through the critical STAT family of proteins, drives lung cancer.

Fundamental biochemical alterations in tumours are defined in A/Prof Gough’s lab using sophisticated protein chemistry, functional genomics, molecular biology and drug screening. These are interrogated in pre-clinical models of lung cancer to identify targetable alterations.

A/Prof Gough’s research projects underway include

  • Identifying mechanisms of platinum resistance and identifying drugs to combat resistant lung cancer.
  • Defining the role(s) of the tumour-immune interaction in controlling primary and metastatic lung cancer.

A/Prof Gough works closely with clinical and commercial collaborators to identify new drugs for the treatment of lung cancer.

A/Prof Gough defined a mitochondrial and metabolic role for STAT3, which is necessary for cancers driven by Ras mutation, while completing his post-doctoral training at New York University, USA with Professor David E Levy (Dr Louis A. Schneider Professor of Molecular Pathology and Professor of Microbiology, and Associate Dean for Collaborative Science).

Education

2006-2012Post-doctoral FellowNew York University School of Medicine  USA
2006PhDUniversity of Melbourne, Peter MacCallum Cancer CentreAustralia
2001BSc (Hons)University of MelbourneAustralia

Awards and Fellowships

2018-2022Mid-Career Fellowship  Victorian Cancer Agency
2015Seymour and Vivian Milstein Young Investigator AwardInternational Cytokine and Interferon Society  
2014-2017Career Development FellowshipNHMRC
2010-2013Special FellowLeukemia and Lymphoma Society

Affiliations

Adjunct Research FellowMonash University

Google scholar ORCID

Publication highlights