Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma researchers from Australia & Germany get $25,000 grant

Griffith University’s Institute for Glycomics and Germany’s Bremen University have received funding from Universities Australia to continue a research exchange programme to develop a novel dual-functional drug delivery system to treat non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

Researchers at the Institute for Glycomics led by Associate Professor Thomas Haselhorst will work closely with Professor Sørge Kelm and his research team from Bremen University in Germany.

Their research will aim to develop a drug delivery system that targets B lymphoma cells that simultaneously trigger an increased drug uptake, causing rapid cell death.

The research partnership will receive the $25,000 grant from Universities Australia to enable knowledge transfer between researchers and scientists from both countries.

This research, targeting the sixth most common type of cancer in Australia could lead to the discovery of alternative treatments for patients with B-cell lymphomas.

Haselhorst, commenting on this research said that it will help to develop the next generation of lymphoma treatments. In addition, it will also foster the mobility of PhD and MSc students by providing opportunities to incorporate complementary experimental expertise in their research projects.

He added that researchers will be using state-of-the-art methods and glycotechnology to provide an excellent opportunity to open new possibilities in disease control.

Kelm said that this partnership opens a new avenue for knowledge transfer to take place between both countries.

“It is important for young scientists, PhD students, and post-doctorates to be involved in this type of exchange as it will have a huge impact on their research careers,” said Kelm.

Director of the Institute for Glycomics, Mark von Itzstein expressed his pleasure at this new international collaboration, as it is in line with the institute’s internationalisation strategy to promote collaborative research with German and other world-leading scientists.

Von Itzstein said, “Associate Professor Haselhorst and Professor Kelm have a longstanding collaboration spanning more than a decade, so it will be exciting to see what results their combined research expertise will deliver in our ongoing fight against Lymphoma.”

Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma is a type of blood cancer that affects the lymphatic system. Around 5,000 people are diagnosed with lymphoma in Australia each year and approximately 85% of these cases are considered a type of non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.

Patients with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma develop lymphomas that occur when developing B and T-lymphocytes undergo a malignant change and multiply in an uncontrolled way. These abnormal lymphocytes, called lymphoma cells, form collections of cancer cells called tumours, in lymph nodes and other parts of the body.