A/Prof Daniel Gough is Head of the STAT Cancer Biology research group in Hudson Institute’s Centre for Cancer Research. A biochemist and cancer biologist, A/Prof Gough’s research focuses on signal transduction pathways, which engage the Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription (STAT) proteins in normal development, and how these pathways are altered in childhood cancers.

After completing his BSc (2000) and BSc (Hons) (2001) in the Department of Pathology at the University of Melbourne, and PhD (2006) at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, A/Prof Gough moved to New York University in the USA for postdoctoral training with Professor David E Levy (Dr Louis A. Schneider Professor of Molecular Pathology and Professor of Microbiology, and Associate Dean for Collaborative Science). During this time, A/Prof Gough defined a mitochondrial and metabolic role for STAT3, which is necessary for cancers driven by Ras mutation. In 2012, A/Prof Gough was recruited to return to Australia to start his laboratory where he and his team use protein chemistry, molecular biology, animal models and human tissue to identify actionable alterations in cell signalling networks that drive cancers.

Selected publications

• Huynh J, Chand A, Gough DJ* and Ernst M* (2019) Therapeutically exploiting STAT3 activity in cancer – using tissue repair as a road map. Nat Rev Cancer 19:82-96 (*Co-senior authors).

• Leong TL, Gayevskiy V, Steinfort DP, De Massy MR, Gonzalez-Rajal A, Marini KD, Stone E, Chin V, Havryk A, Plit M, Irving LB, Jennings BR, McCloy RA, Jayesekara WSN, Alamgeer M, Boolell V, Field A, Russell PA, Kumar B, Gough DJ, Szczepny A, Ganju V, Rossello FJ, Cain JE, Pappenfuss AT, Asselin-Labat ML, Cowley MJ, Watkins DN (2019) Deep multi-region whole-genome sequencing reveals heterogeneity and gene-by-environment interactions in treatment-naïve, metastatic lung cancer. Oncogene 38:1661-1675.

• Guanizo AC, Fernando CD, Garama DJ, Gough DJ (2018) STAT3: a multifaceted oncoprotein. Growth Factors 36:1-14.

• Szczepny A, Carey K, McKenzie L, Jayasekara WSN, Rossello F, Gonzalez-Rajal A, McCaw AS, Popovski D, Wang D, Sadler AJ, Mahar A, Russell PA, Wright G, McCloy RA, Garama DJ, Gough DJ, Baylin SB, Burgess A, Cain JE, Watkins DN (2018) The tumor suppressor Hic1 maintains chromosomal stability independent of Tp53. Oncogene 37:1939-1948.

• Alamgeer M, Watkins ND, Banakh I, Kumar B, Gough DJ, Markman B, Ganju V (2018) A phase IIa study of HA-irinotecan, formulation of hyaluronic acid and irinotecan targeting CD44 in extensive-stage small cell lung cancer. Invest New Drugs 36:288-298.

• Litwak SA, Pang L, Galic S, Igoillo-Esteve M, Stanley WJ, Turatsinze JV, Loh K, Thomas HE, Sharma A, Trepo E, Moreno C, Gough DJ, Eizirik DL, de Haan JB, Gurzov, EN (2017) JNK Activation of BIM Promotes Hepatic Oxidative Stress, Steatosis, and Insulin Resistance in Obesity. Diabetes 66:2973-2986.

• Garama DJ, White CL, Balic JJ, Gough, DJ (2016) Mitochondrial STAT3: Powering up a potent factor. Cytokine Invited Review. 87:20-25.

• Garama DJ, Harris TJ, White CL, Rossello FJ, Abdul-Hay M, Gough DJ*, Levy DE* (2015) A Synthetic Lethal Interaction between Glutathione Synthesis and Mitochondrial Reactive Oxygen Species Provides a Tumor-Specific Vulnerability Dependent on STAT3. Mol Cell Biol 35(21):3646-3656. (* co-senior authors).

• Gough DJ, Marié IJ, Lobry C, Aifantis I, Levy DE (2014) STAT3 supports experimental K-RasG12D-induced murine myeloproliferative neoplasms dependent on serine phosphorylation. Blood 124:2252-2261.

• Gough DJ, Koetz L, Levy DE (2013) The MEK-ERK pathway is necessary for serine phosphorylation of mitochondrial STAT3 and Ras-mediated transformation. PLoS One 8:e83395.

• Gough DJ, Messina NL, Clarke CJP, Johnstone RW, Levy DE (2012) Constitutive type I interferon modulates homeostatic balance through tonic signaling. Immunity 36:166-174.

• Gough DJ, Messina NL, Gould JA, Hertzog PJ, Sabapathy K, Trapani JA, Levy DE, Clarke CJP, Johnstone RW (2010) Functional crosstalk between type I and II interferon through the regulated expression of STAT1. PLoS Biol 8:e1000361.

• Gough DJ, Corlett A, Schesslinger K, Wegrzyn J, Larner AC, Levy DE (2009) Mitochondrial STAT3 supports Ras-dependent oncogenic transformation. Science 324:1713-1716.