Dr Veronika Bandara

Dr Veronika Bandara

Research Fellow

School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Science

College of Health

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD (as Co-Supervisor) - email supervisor to discuss availability.

Post-doctoral researcher in molecular biology, with extensive laboratory experience, well developed written and oral communication skills, time management skills, and a strong team spirit. I’m seeking to utilise my knowledge and experience to make a positive contribution in solving health related biological problems.

Current Projects: 

2023-present

Currently, I am playing a lead role in three CAR-T immunotherapy projects.

  • I am leading the research team testing and validating three new CAR-T targets, including a CAR-T product targeting ovarian cancer. 
  • I am leading the investigation of LGR5 CAR-T cells against deadly neuroblastoma, a paediatric cancer. 
  • I am co-leading the investigation of CAR-T cell therapy for paediatric brain and central nervous system cancers. 

2019-2023

I led the development and the initial testing of a CAR-T cell targeting LGR5 (Leucine rich G protein receptor-5) which was funded by Carina Biotech Ltd. LGR5 CAR-T was successfully developed as a therapy for colorectal cancer and has obtained FDA approval for a phase I clinical trial, which started in December 2023 (NCT05759728). I developed and optimized a GMP CAR-T cell manufacturing protocol that routinely generates a large number of LGR5 targeting CAR-T cells with optimal characteristics. The valuable experience and insight gained during this process will be very helpful for future CAR-T cell translational work.

2016-2019

As part of the Cooperative Research Centre for Cell Therapy Manufacturing, I led the development of a novel chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) targeting non-functional P2X7 (nfP2X7) receptor, which is expressed on a wide range of cancers. I played a key role in the development and initial testing of this CAR-T cell. This project has resulted in intellectual property, and I am a joint inventor of the nfP2X7 CAR-T cell design and use patents. The successful development of this CAR-T cell led to the inception of Carina Biotech. This work is published in Nature Communications 2023.     

 

Previous projects:  Since joining Molecular Immunology Lab in 2015-2016 Validation of Special AT Rich Binding Protein 1(SATB1) promoter-enhancer interactions in human CD4+ T cells.

SATB1 is highly enriched in T cell lineages where it has multiple roles in T cell lineage commitment and differentiation. We have used a cutting edge molecular biology technique circular chromosome conformation capture- high throughput sequencing (4Cseq) to examine the long-range transcriptional regulation of SATB1. Using our analysis and prioritisation pipeline, we identified several clusters of novel long range interaction between the SATB1 promoter and regions that display active enhancer marks in CD4+ T cells. Critically, these contact regions are proposed to form a special regulatory element termed a super-enhancers in stimulated CD4+Tconv cells, contain FOXP3 binding sites in human regulatory T cells, and are located within autoimmune disease risk loci. We have tested a super enhancer regions in transient transfection assays in Jurkat T cells and find that in the absence of FOXP3 this enhancer region up-regulates the SATB1 promoter in response to stimulation, however this up-regulation is significantly repressed by the co-expression of FOXP3 in these cells in a DNA binding domain dependant manner. Together this data suggests that we have 1) identified a critical regulatory region and 2) identified how non-coding autoimmune-linked sequence variation may function at the molecular level. Currently we are preparing a manuscript to publish this work. These findings will lead to identify molecular mechanisms of how this region functions in healthy individuals and how this function maybe altered by autoimmune linked sequence variation- using primary human cells/ATAC-seq and mouse models

 

 

Date Position Institution name
2016 - ongoing University Postdoctoral Fellow University of Adelaide, Adelaide
2016 - ongoing Postdoctoral Researcher CRC for Cell Therapy Manufacturing
2015 - 2015 Research Officer University of Adelaide, Adelaide
2014 - 2015 Research Officer Flinders University, Adelaide
2006 - 2009 Research Assistant Women's and Children's Hospital, Adelaide

Language Competency
English Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review
Sinhala; Sinhalese Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review

Date Institution name Country Title
2010 - 2013 Flinders University, Adelaide Australia PhD
2008 - 2009 Flinders University, Adelaide Australia Bachelor of Science (Hons) (First class)
2003 - 2005 University of South Australia, Adelaide Australia Master of Business Administration and Management

Year Citation
2024 Bandara, V., Niktaras, V. M., Willett, V. J., Chapman, H., Lokman, N. A., Macpherson, A. M., . . . Ricciardelli, C. (2024). Engineered CAR-T cells targeting the non‐functional P2X purinoceptor 7 (P2X7) receptor as a novel treatment for ovarian cancer. Clinical & Translational Immunology, 13(5), e1512-1-e1512-17.
DOI Scopus7 WoS7 Europe PMC6
2023 Bandara, V., Foeng, J., Gundsambuu, B., Norton, T. S., Napoli, S., McPeake, D. J., . . . Barry, S. C. (2023). Pre-clinical validation of a pan-cancer CAR-T cell immunotherapy targeting nfP2X7.. Nat Commun, 14(1), 1-17.
DOI Scopus20 WoS21 Europe PMC18
2022 Elsemary, M. T., Maritz, M. F., Smith, L. E., Warkiani, M., Bandara, V., Napoli, S., . . . Thierry, B. (2022). Inertial microfluidic purification of CAR-T-Cell products. Advanced Biology, 6(1), 12 pages.
DOI Scopus8 WoS7 Europe PMC2
2020 Brown, C. Y., Sadlon, T., Hope, C. M., Wong, Y. Y., Wong, S., Liu, N., . . . Barry, S. C. (2020). Molecular Insights Into Regulatory T-Cell Adaptation to Self, Environment, and Host Tissues: Plasticity or Loss of Function in Autoimmune Disease. Frontiers in Immunology, 11(September), 1-17.
DOI Scopus15 WoS16 Europe PMC14
2018 Sadlon, T., Brown, C. Y., Bandara, V., Hope, C. M., Schjenken, J. E., Pederson, S. M., . . . Barry, S. C. (2018). Unravelling the molecular basis for regulatory T-cell plasticity and loss of function in disease. Clinical and Translational Immunology, 7(2), e1011-1-e1011-15.
DOI Scopus27 WoS23 Europe PMC21
2017 Bandara, K. V., Michael, M. Z., & Gleadle, J. M. (2017). MicroRNA Biogenesis in Hypoxia. MicroRNA, 6(2), 80-96.
DOI Scopus46 Europe PMC39
2014 Bandara, V., Michael, M., & Gleadle, J. (2014). Hypoxia represses microRNA biogenesis proteins in breast cancer cells. BMC Cancer, 14(1), 1-18.
DOI Scopus37 WoS35 Europe PMC31
2010 Bandara, V., Weinstein, S. A., White, J., & Eddleston, M. (2010). A review of the natural history, toxinology, diagnosis and clinical management of Nerium oleander (common oleander) and Thevetia peruviana (yellow oleander) poisoning. Toxicon, 56(3), 273-281.
DOI Scopus192 WoS145 Europe PMC90

Year Citation
2024 Foeng, J., Tyllis, T., Abbott, C., McPeake, D., Thompson, E., Bandara, V., . . . McColl, S. (2024). Preclinical in vivo characterization underpinning LGR5-targeting CAR-T cells as a cancer immunotherapy. In CANCER RESEARCH Vol. 84 (pp. 2 pages). CA, San Diego: AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH.
DOI
2023 Bandara, V., Gundsambuu, B., Napoli, S., Foeng, J., McPeake, D., Tylis, T., . . . Barry, S. (2023). From bench to bedside: GMP manufacturing and testing of an LGR5-targeting CAR-T against colorectal cancer. In CANCER RESEARCH Vol. 84 (pp. 2 pages). CA, San Diego: AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH.
DOI WoS1
2023 Tyllis, T., Abbott, C., McPeake, D., Foeng, J., Bandara, V., Gundsambuu, B., . . . McColl, S. (2023). Development of a flow cytometry-based assay for measuring specific CAR expression on LGR5-targeting CAR-T cells. In CANCER RESEARCH Vol. 83 (pp. 2 pages). Orlando, FL: AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH.
DOI
2023 Bandara, V., Gundsambuu, B., Napoli, S., Mills, S., Thompson, E., Tan, L., . . . Barry, S. C. (2023). Development and in vitro validation of an LGR-5 targeting CAR-T against colorectal cancer. In CANCER RESEARCH Vol. 83 (pp. 2 pages). Orlando, FL: AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH.
DOI WoS1
2023 McPeake, D., Tyllis, T., Abbott, C., Foeng, J., Bandara, V., Gundsambuu, B., . . . McColl, S. (2023). In vivo efficacy of LGR5-targeting CAR-T cell therapies developed for the treatment of colorectal cancer. In CANCER RESEARCH Vol. 83 (pp. 2 pages). Orlando, FL: AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH.
DOI
2023 Thompson, E. J., Bandara, V., Gundsambuu, B., Napoli, S., Mills, S., Foeng, J., . . . Bonder, C. S. (2023). Assessing LGR5 expression levels on colorectal cancer tissue samples for use in LGR5-targeting CAR-T cell therapy clinical trial. In CANCER RESEARCH Vol. 83 (pp. 2 pages). Orlando, FL: AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH.
DOI WoS1
2022 Rad, E. R., Foeng, J., McPeak, D., Tyllis, T., Abbott, C., Bandara, V., . . . McColl, S. (2022). ADAM10-targeting CAR-T cells inhibit colon cancer cell growth <i>in vivo</i>. In CANCER RESEARCH Vol. 82 (pp. 2 pages). LA, New Orleans: AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH.
2022 Wang, W., Bandara, V., Lokman, N., Napoli, S., Gundsambuu, B., Oehler, M., . . . Ricciardelli, C. (2022). LGR5 CAR-T cells: A novel potential treatment against high grade serous ovarian cancer.. In CANCER RESEARCH Vol. 82 (pp. 2 pages). LA, New Orleans: AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH.
2022 Bandara, V., Mills, S., Thompson, E., Tan, L., Gundsambuu, B., Napoli, S., . . . Barry, S. (2022). Pre-clinical validation of a LGR5-targeting CAR-T against colorectal cancer.. In CANCER RESEARCH Vol. 82 (pp. 1 page). LA, New Orleans: AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH.
2022 Thompson, E. J., Bandara, V., Sadlon, T., Gundsambuu, B., Tan, L. Y., Ricciardelli, C., . . . Bonder, C. S. (2022). Real-time cytotoxicity assays as a pre-clinical screening tool for LGR5-targeting CAR-T cells for treatment of solid tumors. In CANCER RESEARCH Vol. 82 (pp. 1 page). LA, New Orleans: AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH.
2022 Thompson, E. J., Bandara, V., Sadlon, T., Gundsambuu, B., Tan, L. Y., Ricciardelli, C., . . . Bonder, C. S. (2022). Real-time cytotoxicity assays as a pre-clinical screening tool for LGR5-targeting CAR-T cells for treatment of solid tumors.. In CANCER RESEARCH Vol. 82 (pp. 1 page). LA, New Orleans: AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH.
2022 McPeake, D. J., Tyllis, T. S., Foeng, J., Bandara, V., Abbott, C. A., Gundsambuu, B., . . . McColl, S. R. (2022). <i>In vivo</i> characterization of a novel CAR-T cell therapy directed towards LGR5 for the treatment of colorectal cancer.. In CANCER RESEARCH Vol. 82 (pp. 2 pages). LA, New Orleans: AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH.
2022 McPeake, D. J., Tyllis, T. S., Foeng, J., Bandara, V., Abbott, C. A., Gundsambuu, B., . . . McColl, S. R. (2022). In <i>vivo</i> characterization of a novel CAR-T cell therapy directed towards LGR5 for the treatment of colorectal cancer. In CANCER RESEARCH Vol. 82 (pp. 2 pages). LA, New Orleans: AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH.
2022 Bandara, V., Mills, S., Thompson, E., Tan, L., Gundsambuu, B., Napoli, S., . . . Barry, S. (2022). Pre-clinical validation of a LGR5-targeting CAR-T against colorectal cancer. In CANCER RESEARCH Vol. 82 (pp. 1 page). LA, New Orleans: AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH.
2022 Wang, W., Bandara, V., Lokman, N., Napoli, S., Gundsambuu, B., Oehler, M., . . . Ricciardelli, C. (2022). LGR5 CAR-T cells: A novel potential treatment against high grade serous ovarian cancer. In CANCER RESEARCH Vol. 82 (pp. 2 pages). LA, New Orleans: AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH.
2022 Rad, E. R., Foeng, J., McPeak, D., Tyllis, T., Abbott, C., bandara, V., . . . McColl, S. (2022). ADAM10-targeting CAR-T cells inhibit colon cancer cell growth <i>in vivo</i>.. In CANCER RESEARCH Vol. 82 (pp. 2 pages). LA, New Orleans: AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH.
  • (2024-2026) CIB WCH foundation Bloom grant: CAR-T therapy for brain and central nervous system cancers ($1.8 million).
  • (2024-2025) CIA Channel 7 children’s research foundation grant: LGR5 targeting CAR-T cells against deadly neuroblastoma, a paediatric cancer ($100,000).
  • (2024) CIC Beat cancer Ovarian cancer grant ($ 84,000)
  • (2017-2024) Novel CAR-T cell development funded by Carina Biotech

I am very interested in contributing to building up the future generation of scientists. I am currently co-supervising and mentoring three PhD students working on CAR-T cell related projects.

Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
2025 Co-Supervisor Preclinical evaluation of GAD65-specific chimeric antigen receptor T regulatory cells (CAR Tregs) for the prevention of type 1 diabetes. Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Ms Daniella Penko
2025 Co-Supervisor Preclinical evaluation of GAD65-specific chimeric antigen receptor T regulatory cells (CAR Tregs) for the prevention of type 1 diabetes. Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Daniella Penko
2024 Co-Supervisor Investigating dual targeting CAR-T cells for the treatment of brain tumours Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Abbey Rose Marshall
2024 Co-Supervisor Investigating dual targeting CAR-T cells for the treatment of brain tumours Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Abbey Rose Marshall
2022 Co-Supervisor Optimisation of Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cells for Pan Solid Tumour Immunotherapy Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Jieren Zheng
2022 Co-Supervisor Optimisation of Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cells for Pan Solid Tumour Immunotherapy Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Jieren Zheng

Date Topic Presented at Institution Country
2019 - 2019 In vitro and in vivo evaluation of non-functional P2X7 protein (nfP2X7) as a CAR T target for the treatment of solid tumours. Australian and New Zealand Society for Immunology University of Adelaide Australia

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