Alex Staudacher
Adelaide Medical School
Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
Dr Alex Staudacher
Postdoctoral Research Scientist, Translational Oncology Laboratory, SA Pathology.
In a bench to bedside effort, researchers in the Translational Oncology Laboratory are applying advances in immunotherapeutic technologies to the treatment of melanoma, ovarian, brain and lung cancers, which affect millions around the world. The two major technologies of interest are antibody therapies using antibody drug conjugates and radioimmunotherapy to target and kill cancer cells, and chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) for re-directing lymphocytes toward cancers.
We are developing pre-clinical and clinical approaches for the treatment of these cancers to aid in diagnosis, therapy monitoring and treatment. Much of our research is collaborative, working in association with the RAH Cancer Clinical Trials Unit and partnering with other laboratories within the Centre for Cancer Biology and SAHMRI as well as national and international collaborations.
Projects in our Laboratory cover the development of novel non-invasive imaging techniques to monitor responses to anti-cancer therapy, using radiolabelled antibodies to target and irradiate tumours from the inside out, identifying novel targets and payloads for antibody drug conjugate therapy and using the bodies own immune system to kill cancer cells through immunotherapy and CAR T-cell therapy.
Research Project 1
Title: Developing novel therapies for imaging and treating cancer
Project description:
Lung cancer and ovarian cancer are two cancer types with poor treatment outcomes. Antibodies, which specifically target tumour cells, can be harnessed for the detection and eradication of specific tumour cells. We are currently developing two novel antibodies which can be used as predictive markers of tumour response to treatment. We can also harness these antibodies to deliver potent drugs or radiation directly to the tumour site, resulting in greater tumour treatment with less off-target toxicity.
This project will focus on the in vitro and in vivo development of these two antibodies to firstly use them to predict treatment response to chemotherapy using live animal positron emission tomography (PET) and to then use these antibodies as a therapy to treat cancer as antibody drug conjugates or as radioimmunotherapy.
Research Project 2
Title: Non-invasive tracking of CAR T-cells to predict response to therapy
Project description: Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells are immune cells which have been reprogrammed to target and kill cancer cells. Currently, there is no real-time, non-invasive method to track these cells when they are re-infused back into the patient to understand how well they target the tumour. For this reason, we are developing new ways to radiolabel CAR T-cells that will allow them to be non-invasively tracked in mouse tumour models through positron emission tomography (PET).
This project will involve the development of novel CAR T-cells for treating solid tumours, in vitro validation, radiolabelling CAR T-cells for in vivo tracking and testing the anti-tumour efficacy of these CAR T-cells in mouse tumour models.
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Appointments
Date Position Institution name 2016 - ongoing Adjunct Research Associate University of South Australia 2014 - ongoing Affiliate Lecturer University of Adelaide -
Education
Date Institution name Country Title 2007 - 2011 Flinders University Australia PhD 2003 - 2006 Flinders University Australia Bachelor of Science (Hons) -
Research Interests
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Journals
Year Citation 2023 Wittwer, N. L., Staudacher, A. H., Liapis, V., Cardarelli, P., Warren, H., & Brown, M. P. (2023). An anti-mesothelin targeting antibody drug conjugate induces pyroptosis and ignites antitumor immunity in mouse models of cancer. Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer, 11(3), 16 pages.
Scopus6 WoS1 Europe PMC52023 Wittwer, N. L., Brown, M. P., Liapis, V., & Staudacher, A. H. (2023). Antibody drug conjugates: hitting the mark in pancreatic cancer?. Journal of Experimental and Clinical Cancer Research, 42(1), 16 pages.
Scopus12022 Staudacher, A. H., Li, Y., Liapis, V., & Brown, M. P. (2022). The RNA-binding protein La/SSB associates with radiation-induced DNA double-strand breaks in lung cancer cell lines. Cancer Reports, 5(8), e1543-1-e1543-11.
Scopus2 WoS2 Europe PMC12022 Nazarizadeh, A., Staudacher, A. H., Wittwer, N. L., Turnbull, T., Brown, M. P., & Kempson, I. (2022). Aluminium Nanoparticles as Efficient Adjuvants Compared to Their Microparticle Counterparts: Current Progress and Perspectives. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23(9), 15 pages.
Scopus13 WoS8 Europe PMC52022 Staudacher, A. H., Liapis, V., Wittwer, N. L., Tieu, W., Lam, H. C., Leusen, J., & Brown, M. P. (2022). Fc gamma receptor is not required for in vivo processing of radio- and drug-conjugates of the dead tumor cell-targeting monoclonal antibody, APOMAB®. Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy, 151, 113090-1-113090-10.
2022 Hull, A., Li, Y., Bartholomeusz, D., Hsieh, W., Tieu, W., Pukala, T. L., . . . Bezak, E. (2022). Preliminary Development and Testing of C595 Radioimmunoconjugates for Targeting MUC1 Cancer Epitopes in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma. Cells, 11(19), 18 pages.
Scopus3 WoS3 Europe PMC32021 MacGregor, M., Safizadeh Shirazi, H., Chan, K. M., Ostrikov, K., McNicholas, K., Jay, A., . . . Vasilev, K. (2021). Cancer cell detection device for the diagnosis of bladder cancer from urine. Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 171, 12 pages.
Scopus21 WoS16 Europe PMC102021 Liapis, V., Tieu, W., Wittwer, N. L., Gargett, T., Evdokiou, A., Takhar, P., . . . Staudacher, A. H. (2021). Positron emission tomographic imaging of tumor cell death using zirconium-89-labeled APOMAB® following cisplatin chemotherapy in lung and ovarian cancer xenograft models. Molecular Imaging and Biology, 23(6), 914-928.
Scopus4 WoS3 Europe PMC12021 Reid, P., Staudacher, A. H., Marcu, L. G., Olver, I., Moghaddasi, L., Brown, M. P., & Bezak, E. (2021). Characteristic differences in radiation-induced DNA damage response in human papillomavirus-negative and human papillomavirus-positive head and neck cancers with accumulation of fractional radiation dose. Head and Neck, 43(10), 3086-3096.
Scopus1 WoS1 Europe PMC12021 Liapis, V., Tieu, W., Wittwer, N. L., Gargett, T., Evdokiou, A., Takhar, P., . . . Staudacher, A. H. (2021). Correction to: Positron Emission Tomographic Imaging of Tumor Cell Death Using Zirconium-89-Labeled APOMAB® Following Cisplatin Chemotherapy in Lung and Ovarian Cancer Xenograft Models (Molecular Imaging and Biology, (2021), 23, 6, (914-928), 10.1007/s11307-021-01620-1). Molecular Imaging and Biology, 23(6), 929.
2020 Liapis, V., Tieu, W., Wittwer, N., Gargett, T., Evdokiou, A., Takhar, P., . . . Staudacher, A. H. (2020). Positron Emission Tomographic imaging of tumor cell death using Zirconium-89-labeled APOMAB® Following Cisplatin Chemotherapy in Lung and Ovarian Cancer Xenograft Models.
2020 Liapis, V., Tieu, W., Wittwer, N., Gargett, T., Evdokiou, A., Takhar, P., . . . Staudacher, A. H. (2020). Positron Emission Tomographic imaging of tumor cell death using Zirconium-89-labeled APOMAB® following cisplatin chemotherapy in lung and ovarian cancer xenograft models.
2020 Reid, P., Staudacher, A. H., Marcu, L. G., Olver, I., Moghaddasi, L., Brown, M. P., & Bezak, E. (2020). Influence of the human papillomavirus on the radio-responsiveness of cancer stem cells in head and neck cancers. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 8 pages.
Scopus9 WoS7 Europe PMC62020 Reid, P., Staudacher, A. H., Marcu, L. G., Olver, I., Moghaddasi, L., Brown, M. P., . . . Bezak, E. (2020). Intrinsic Radiosensitivity Is Not the Determining Factor in Treatment Response Differences between HPV Negative and HPV Positive Head and Neck Cancers.. Cells, 9(8), 14 pages.
Scopus7 WoS6 Europe PMC42020 Staudacher, A. H., Liapis, V., Tieu, W., Wittwer, N., & Brown, M. P. (2020). Tumour-associated macrophages process drug and radio-conjugates of the dead tumour cell-targeting APOMAB® antibody. Journal of Controlled Release, 327, 779-787.
Scopus7 WoS6 Europe PMC62020 Liapis, V., Tieu, W., Rudd, S. E., Donnelly, P. S., Wittwer, N. L., Brown, M. P., & Staudacher, A. H. (2020). Improved non-invasive positron emission tomographic imaging of chemotherapy-induced tumor cell death using Zirconium-89-labeled APOMAB®. EJNMMI Radiopharmacy and Chemistry, 5(1), 27-1-27-15.
Scopus9 WoS9 Europe PMC42019 Staudacher, A. H., Li, Y., Liapis, V., Hou, J. J. C., Chin, D., Dolezal, O., . . . Brown, M. P. (2019). APOMAB antibody-drug conjugates targeting dead tumor cells are effective in vivo. Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, 18(2), 335-345.
Scopus15 WoS15 Europe PMC82019 Reid, P., Marcu, L. G., Olver, I., Moghaddasi, L., Staudacher, A. H., & Bezak, E. (2019). Diversity of cancer stem cells in head and neck carcinomas: The role of HPV in cancer stem cell heterogeneity, plasticity and treatment response. Radiotherapy and Oncology, 135, 1-12.
Scopus22 WoS19 Europe PMC152018 Staudacher, A. H., Liapis, V., & Brown, M. P. (2018). Therapeutic targeting of tumor hypoxia and necrosis with antibody α-radioconjugates. Antibody Therapeutics, 1(2), 55-63.
Scopus172018 Reid, P., Wilson, P., Li, Y., Marcu, L., Staudacher, A., Brown, M., & Bezak, E. (2018). Experimental investigation of radiobiology in head and neck cancer cell lines as a function of HPV status, by MTT assay. Scientific Reports, 8(1), 7 pages.
Scopus8 WoS8 Europe PMC22017 Reid, P., Wilson, P., Li, Y., Marcu, L. G., Staudacher, A. H., Brown, M. P., & Bezak, E. (2017). In vitro investigation of head and neck cancer stem cell proportions and their changes following X-ray irradiation as a function of HPV status. PLoS ONE, 12(10), 16 pages.
Scopus18 WoS17 Europe PMC122017 Staudacher, A. H., & Brown, M. P. (2017). Antibody drug conjugates and bystander killing: is antigen-dependent internalisation required?. British Journal of Cancer, 117(12), 1736-1742.
Scopus274 WoS215 Europe PMC1522016 Ormsby, R., Staudacher, A., Blyth, B., Bezak, E., & Sykes, P. (2016). Temporal responses to X-radiation exposure in spleen in the pKZ1 mouse recombination assay. Radiation Research, 185(6), 623-629.
Scopus3 WoS3 Europe PMC22016 Al Darwish, R., Staudacher, A. H., Li, Y., Brown, M. P., & Bezak, E. (2016). Development of a transmission alpha particle dosimetry technique using A549 cells and a Ra-223 source for targeted alpha therapy. Medical Physics, 43(11), 6145-6153.
Scopus10 WoS9 Europe PMC72015 Al Darwish, R., Staudacher, A., Bezak, E., & Brown, M. (2015). Autoradiography imaging in targeted alpha therapy with Timepix detector. Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine, 2015, 612580-1-612580-7.
Scopus13 WoS7 Europe PMC62015 Pishas, K., Adwal, A., Neuhaus, S., Clayer, M., Farshid, G., Staudacher, A., & Callen, D. (2015). XI-006 induces potent p53-independent apoptosis in Ewing sarcoma. Scientific Reports, 5(1), 11465-1-11465-16.
Scopus19 WoS16 Europe PMC162015 Pishas, K. I., Adwal, A., Neuhaus, S. J., Clayer, M. T., Farshid, G., Staudacher, A. H., & Callen, D. F. (2015). Erratum: XI-006 induces potent p53-independent apoptosis in Ewing sarcoma (Scientific Reports (2015) 5:11465) doi: 10.1038/srep11465). Scientific Reports, 5(1), 1 page.
Scopus1 WoS12014 Penfold, S., Brown, M., Staudacher, A., & Bezak, E. (2014). Monte Carlo simulations of dose distributions with necrotic tumor targeted radioimmunotherapy. Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 90, 40-45.
Scopus8 WoS6 Europe PMC32014 Staudacher, A., Bezak, E., Borysenko, A., & Brown, M. (2014). Targeted [alpha]-therapy using 227Th-APOMAB and cross-fire antitumour effects: preliminary in-vivo evaluation. Nuclear Medicine Communications, 35(12), 1284-1290.
Scopus18 WoS17 Europe PMC102014 Brown, M., & Staudacher, A. (2014). Could bystander killing contribute significantly to the antitumor activity of brentuximab vedotin given with standard first-line chemotherapy for Hodgkin lymphoma?. Immunotherapy, 6(4), 371-375.
Scopus11 WoS9 Europe PMC72014 Al-Ejeh, F., Staudacher, A., Smyth, D., Darby, J., Denoyer, D., Tsopelas, C., . . . Brown, M. (2014). Postchemotherapy and tumor-selective targeting with the la-specific DAB4 monoclonal antibody relates to apoptotic cell clearance. Journal of Nuclear Medicine, 55(5), 772-779.
Scopus15 WoS14 Europe PMC82014 Staudacher, A., Al-ejeh, F., Fraser, C., Darby, J., Roder, D., Ruszkiewicz, A., . . . Brown, M. (2014). The La antigen is over-expressed in lung cancer and is a selective dead cancer cell target for radioimmunotherapy using the la-specific antibody APOMAB®. EJNMMI Research, 4(1), 2-1-2-13.
Scopus22 WoS20 Europe PMC132014 AL Darwish, R., Bezak, E., Staudacher, A., & Brown, M. (2014). EP-1839: Application of timepix for autoradiography imaging in targeted alpha therapy. Radiotherapy and Oncology, 111, S302-S303.
2010 Staudacher, A., Blyth, B., Lawrence, M., Ormsby, R., Bezak, E., & Sykes, P. (2010). If bystander effects for apoptosis occur in spleen after low-dose irradiation in vivo then the magnitude of the effect falls within the range of normal homeostatic apoptosis. Radiation Research, 174(6), 727-731.
Scopus12 WoS11 Europe PMC62010 Blyth, B. J., Azzam, E. I., Howell, R. W., Ormsby, R. J., Staudacher, A. H., & Sykes, P. J. (2010). An adoptive transfer method to detect low-dose radiation-induced bystander effects in vivo. Radiation Research, 173(2), 125-137.
Scopus13 WoS14 Europe PMC9 -
Conference Papers
Year Citation 2022 Staudacher, A. H., Liapis, V., Wittwer, N. L., Wheatcroft, M. P., & Brown, M. P. (2022). Clinical translation of the dead cancer cell-targeting antibody chimeric DAB4 (chDAB4) as a theranostic tool for diagnosing cancer treatment responses. In EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MEDICINE AND MOLECULAR IMAGING Vol. 49 (pp. S466). Barcelona, SPAIN: SPRINGER. 2016 Pishas, K., Neuhaus, S., Clayer, M., Farshid, G., Staudacher, A., & Callen, D. (2016). XI-006 induces potent p53-independent apoptosis in Ewing sarcoma. In CLINICAL CANCER RESEARCH Vol. 22 (pp. 2 pages). Salt Lake, UT: AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH.
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Conference Items
Year Citation 2013 Staudacher, A. H., & Brown, M. P. (2013). Synergistic anti-cancer response to chemotherapy and <SUP>177</SUP>Lu-labelled APOMAB<SUP>®</SUP> radioimmunotherapy in a preclinical model of lung cancer. Poster session presented at the meeting of EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MEDICINE AND MOLECULAR IMAGING. Lyon, FRANCE: SPRINGER.
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Past Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name 2014 - 2017 Co-Supervisor Investigation of Timepix Radiation Detector for Autoradiography and Microdosimetry in Targeted Alpha Therapy Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Ruqaya Omar G Al Darwish
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