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  • Members of the ECU Melanoma Research Group

    Members of the ECU Melanoma Research Group

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Translational Melanoma Research Group

Melanoma is one of Australia’s most common cancers with over 13,000 new diagnoses per year in Australia. In one out of ten patients, the melanoma diagnosis comes too late, as the melanoma has already spread throughout the body, drastically diminishing the chances of survival. With more than 1,700 Australians dying every year from melanoma - one every 5 hours, we urgently require a better understanding of how the melanoma spreads and why certain tumours respond to current treatment while others are resistant to treatment.

As part of the Centre for Precision Health, our research aims to develop non-invasive blood-based tests to enable personalised cancer monitoring and facilitate therapeutic decisions. Our focus is on the analysis of biomarkers such as circulating tumour cells (CTCs), circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA), extracellular vesicles and autoantibodies.

Historically, our research has focused on melanoma biomarkers. Given the interest across the oncology field in liquid biopsies, we are now applying our expertise for research projects in lung, ovarian, breast and other cancers.

We use cutting-edge methods such as droplet digital PCR, next-generation sequencing, microfluidic devices and single-cell RNA sequencing that allow sensitive measurement of these rare cells and DNA mutations. Translational projects explore the relationship between these biomarkers and disease progression, drug resistance, tumour genetic evolution and treatment outcomes, to further their clinical implications and define their specific context of use.

Group Leader

Professor Elin Gray

Contact details: e.gray@ecu.edu.au

Research Team

  • Dr Leslie Calapre Beasley, Postdoctoral Scientist, Centre for Precision Health
  • Ms Anna Reid, Trial Coordinator, Centre for Precision Health
  • Ms Antonella Cogoni, Senior Research Assistant, Centre for Precision Health
  • Ms Jessica Gornall, Research Assistant, Harry Perkins Medical Research Institute
  • Ms Sharon Middleton Admin Coordinator, cancer cohort study, Centre for Precision Health

Collaborating researchers

  • Dr Aaron Beasley, Centre for Precision Health
  • Dr Vivian Chua, Centre for Precision Health
  • Dr Pauline Zaenker, Centre for Precision Health
  • Helen Rizos, Macquarie University
  • Jonas Nilsson, Sahlgrenska Center for Cancer Research, Sweden
  • Jason Waithman, Harry Perkins Medical Research Institute

HDR students

  • Lidia Medhin (PhD,
  • Nikayla Batohi (PhD)
  • Manjot Singh (PhD)
  • Dr Aesha Gandhi (PhD)

Current projects

  • Cancer Blood Biomarkers Cohort Study
  • Extracellular vesicles-derived signature of response to immuno-oncology (EnVISION)
  • ctDNA-guided clinical management of melanoma
  • Western Australian Melanoma Initiative (WAMI)
  • Enabling advanced single cell cancer genomics in WA
  • Integrated multimodal precision liquid biopsy to enhance melanoma and non-small-cell lung cancer (IMPLEMENT)
  • Understanding the heterogeneity of circulating melanoma cells
  • cEVsig: A novel liquid biopsy for predicting and enhancing immunotherapy response
  • Liquid biopsy for personalised monitoring of melanoma patients
  • Extracellular vesicles as a biomarker of drug resistance
  • Liquid biopsy to predict and monitor response to neoadjuvant therapy in high grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC)
  • Blood based biomarkers of response to immunotherapy in advanced lung cancer

For ways to support us or for more information, contact Professor Elin Gray

Postgraduate student project opportunities

For more information see the Centre for Precision Health graduate opportunities webpage

Key publications

Selected publications from the last 5 years

  1. Sheriff S, Saba M, Patel R, Fisher G, Schroeder T, Arnolda G, Luo D, Warburton L, Gray E, Long G, Braithwaite J, Rizos H, Ellis LA. A scoping review of factors influencing the implementation of liquid biopsy for cancer care. J Exp Clin Cancer Res. 2025 Feb 12;44(1):50. doi: 10.1186/s13046-025-03322-w.
  2. Denisenko E, de Kock L, Tan A, Beasley AB, Beilin M, Jones ME, Hou R, Muirí DÓ, Bilic S, Mohan GRKA, Salfinger S, Fox S, Hmon KPW, Yeow Y, Kim Y, John R, Gilderman TS, Killingbeck E, Gray ES, Cohen PA, Yu Y, Forrest ARR. Spatial transcriptomics reveals discrete tumour microenvironments and autocrine loops within ovarian cancer subclones. Nat Commun. 2024 Apr 3;15(1):2860. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-47271-y.
  3. Warburton L, Reid A, Amanuel B, Calapre L, Millward M, Gray E. Detectable ctDNA at the time of treatment cessation of ipilimumab and nivolumab for toxicity predicts disease progression in advanced melanoma patients. Front Oncol. 2023 Dec 19;13:1280730. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1280730.
  4. Beasley AB, de Bruyn DP, Calapre L, Al-Ogaili Z, Isaacs TW, Bentel J, Reid AL, Dwarkasing RS, Pereira MR, Khattak MA, Meniawy TM, Millward M, Brosens E, de Klein A, Chen FK, Kiliҫ E, Gray ES. Detection of metastases using circulating tumour DNA in uveal melanoma. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol. 2023 Nov;149(16):14953-14963. doi: 10.1007/s00432-023-05271-3.
  5. Asante DB, Mohan G, Acheampong E, Ziman M, Calapre L, Meniawy TM, Gray ES and Beasley AB. Genetic analysis of heterogeneous subsets of circulating tumour cells from high grade serous ovarian carcinoma patients. Sci Rep. 2023; 13(1):2552 10.1038/s41598-023-29416-z.
  6. Abed A, Law N, Calapre L, Lo J, Bhat V, Bowyer S, Millward M, Gray ES. Human leucocyte antigen genotype association with the development of immune-related adverse events in patients with non-small cell lung cancer treated with single agent immunotherapy. Eur J Cancer. 2022 Sep;172:98-106. doi: 10.1016/j.ejca.2022.05.021.
  7. Marsavela G, McEvoy AC, Pereira MR, Reid AL, Al-Ogaili Z, Warburton L, Khattak MA, Abed A, Meniawy TM, Millward M, Ziman MR, Calapre L, Gray ES. Detection of clinical progression through plasma ctDNA in metastatic melanoma patients: a comparison to radiological progression. Br J Cancer. 2022 Feb;126(3):401-408. doi: 10.1038/s41416-021-01507-6.

More publications by the team

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