Dr Jennette Sakoff

Dr Jennette Sakoff
Research Program:
Project Grant
2016 Project Grant
Project Grant
2016 Project Grant
Project Grant
2015 Project Grant
Project Grant
2015 Project Grant
Travel Grant
2014 Travel Grant
Project Grant
2013 Project Grant
Project Grant
2011 Project Grant
Project Grant
2011 Project Grant
Project Grant
2010 Project Grant
Project Grant
2006 Project Grant
HMRI Award for Early Career Research
2000 HMRI Award for Early Career Research
Project Grant
2000 Project Grant
Project Grant
1998 Project Grant

What are your research interests?

Cancer is now the largest cause of disease in Australia, surpassing cardiovascular disease. Although we are making advances in treatment, prevention and screening more than 13,000 people die of this disease each year in NSW. Better treatments are needed more than ever.

Why did you get into research?

I have always wanted to help people. I have always had a strong desire to know how things worked. I have always enjoyed the challenge of problem solving. Combining all of these is the driving force behind my research.

What would be the ultimate goal for your research?

To make a difference.

Biography

Dr Jennette Sakoff is Head of the Experimental Therapeutics Group in the Department of Medical Oncology at the Calvary Mater Newcastle. The aim of her research group is to provide better outcomes for people with cancer. Thus the focus of Dr Sakoff’s research is to develop new and innovative chemotherapy options and to better manage toxicity associated with current chemotherapy treatments.

Dr Sakoff has discovered a group of small molecules that selectively kill breast cancer cells grown in the laboratory while having little to no effect on other tumour types or on healthy normal breast cells. Dr Sakoff has also discovered that patients with short telomeres are more likely to experience life-threatening haematological toxicity following chemotherapy treatment. 

Dr Sakoff has published numerous peer-reviewed articles in these fields including front cover acknowledgments and artwork in the journal of Medicinal Chemistry Communications and the European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry.  Dr Sakoff has presented at many national and international conferences including the American Association for Cancer Research, World Cancer Congress, World Congress in Clinical Nutrition, Science of Nutrition in Medicine, and the World Congress on Advances in Oncology.  

She has been awarded the Early Career Researcher of the Year from HMRI (2000) and a Research Training Fellowship from the International Union Against Cancer (UICC; 2001). Dr Sakoff has received international, national and state competitive funding from the James S McDonnell Foundation (USA), NHMRC, ARC, Cancer Council NSW, Cancer Institute NSW, HMRI and Calvary Mater Newcastle Granting Schemes.

Key to Dr Sakoff’s success is the establishment of strong national and local research collaborations including but not limited to the University of Newcastle (Chemistry and Clinical Pharmacology), Calvary Mater Newcastle (Haematology), Children’s Medical Research Institute, and the University of Western Sydney. 

Future Focus

Dr Sakoff is currently working towards improving our understanding of how breast cancer cells respond to chemotherapy treatment. Dr Sakoff is now expanding her studies to provide better outcomes for patients with brain cancer including the development of novel therapies and better management of temozolomide/radiation treatment in patients with glioblastoma.

Specialised/Technical Skills

Dr Sakoff’s research facilities at the Calvary Mater Newcastle Hospital provides state-of-the-art equipment including robotics and expertise for the study of pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, pharmacogenomics, combination analysis, drug screening, drug detection and cell biology studies.

Dr Sakoff’s laboratory cultures many cancer cell lines including those derived from colon, breast, brain, skin, bone, prostate, pancreas, ovary, lung, neuronal cells, and blood. These cell lines are used to test the anti-cancer ability of compounds that are either synthesised in the laboratory, commercially available or harvested from natural sources. 

Affiliations

2016

EphA2 as a circulating biomarker for GBM progression – a pilot study
Project Grant
Researchers:

Dr Jennette Sakoff, Dr Mike Fay; Dr James Lynam

Description:

Annually there are 2,000 new cases of brain cancer in Australia. Prognosis for people with brain cancer is dire. Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common brain tumour, the most lethal and difficult to treat. 

more
Defining and predicting clinical toxicity in GBM patients undergoing temozolomide-radiation treatment: A multivariate study.
Project Grant
Researchers:

Dr James Lynam, Dr Jennette Sakoff, Professor Jenny Martin, Dr Lisa Lincz, Dr Mike Fay, Giovana Celli Marchett, Dr Peter Galettis

Description:

Annually there are 2,000 new cases of brain cancer in Australia. Prognosis for people with brain cancer is dire. It is the highest cause of death in 0-39 age group with a 5-year survival rate of 19%. Brain cancer results in 5,000 hospitalisations per year (average stay 12.5 days, the longest of any cancer) and has the highest lifetime cost per patient of $1.89m [1].

more

2015

Defining and predicting clinical toxicity in GBM patients undergoing temozolomide-radiation treatment: A multivariate study.
Project Grant
Researchers:

Dr James Lynam, Jennette Sakoff, Jenny Martin, Lisa Lincz, Mike Fay, Giovana Celli Marchett, Peter Galettis

Description:

Annually there are 2,000 new cases of brain cancer in Australia. Prognosis for people with brain cancer is dire. It is the highest cause of death in 0-39 age group with a 5-year survival rate of 19%. Brain cancer results in 5,000 hospitalisations per year (average stay 12.5 days, the longest of any cancer) and has the highest lifetime cost per patient of $1.89m.

more
The development of new drugs that selectively target breast cancer
Project Grant
Researchers:
Description:

More than 3,000 women die of breast cancer each year in Australia.

more

2014

An Investigation on the Consensus Between Different Genomic and Transcriptomic Results in Breast Cancer
Travel Grant
Researchers:

Ms Heloisa Milioli, Pablo Moscato, Jennette Sakoff 

Description:

The Breast Cancer Translational Research Laboratory J.C. Heuson based at Institut Bordet, in Brussels, uses several molecular approaches to gain a better understanding of breast tumorigenesis, metastasis, and drug resistance.

more

2013

Enhancing radiation effects for the treatment of brain cancer
Project Grant
Researchers:

Dr Jennette Sakoff, Jayne Gilbert, Adam McCluskey 

Description:

A new compound to improve the outcomes of brain cancer in children

more

2011

Mitotane pharmacodynamics in Adrenocortical Cancer in children and adults
Project Grant
Researchers:
Identification of a novel target for the treatment of hormone positive breast cancer - HMRI Breast Cancer Research Grant
Project Grant
Researchers:

Dr Jennette Sakoff, Dr J Gilbert, Professor Adam McCluskey
 

2010

New small molecules for the treatment of neuroblastoma
Project Grant
Researchers:

Dr Carole Gilbert, Jennette Sakoff, Megan Chircop 

2006

Overcoming radiation resistance in malignant melanoma
Project Grant

2000

A counter-intuitive anticancer treatment
Project Grant
Researchers:

Dr Jennette SakoffDr Stephen Ackland and Dr Adam McCluskey

 

Award for Early Career Research - Jennette Sakoff
HMRI Award for Early Career Research
Researchers:

1998

Cantharidin
Project Grant
Researchers:

Dr Jennette SakoffDr Stephen Ackland, Dr Adam McCluskey.