Elyse Page

School of Biomedicine

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.

Dr Elyse Page is an early career postdoctoral research fellow with the leukaemia research group at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI). She completed her PhD in 2020 with a Dean’s Commendation. Dr Page leads the Down Syndrome acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) research, and genetically modified organism (GMO) studies in SAHMRI’s Blood Cancer Program. Her current research focuses on predisposing factors to leukaemia development, gene therapy for precision medicine cancer treatments, and the role of the gut microbiome in leukaemia progression and response to therapy. Dr Page’s long-term goal is to use creative cell and in vivo models to determine predisposing factors for Down Syndrome leukaemia development and implement novel treatment strategies with less toxicity than standard-of-care chemotherapy.

My Research
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Children with Down Syndrome (DS) have a 20-fold increased risk of developing acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. While chemotherapy is the most effective treatment for childhood leukaemia, children with DS experience treatment related toxicity, and lower survival rates. Therefore, there remains an urgent need to design new treatment strategies. It is essential to understand how the different genetic mutations or abnormally expressed proteins drive the growth of DS leukaemia. This research will investigate why children with DS are more likely to develop leukaemia and the key genetic interactions involved in the generation of a DS leukaemic cell. This information will help us to identify new therapeutic targets and discover which drugs may aid in the cure of disease. Importantly, many drugs that target these genetic abnormalities are in use for other diseases and are safe. Through the use of a targeted therapy, there is the potential to decrease the dosage of the toxic chemotherapy to improve treatment efficacy for children with DS leukaemia.

Project 1

Title: Identifying the mechanism of cooperation between HMGN1 and CRLF2 in Down Syndrome acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

Description: The key objective is to identify the mechanism by which the increased dosage of HMGN1leads to leukaemic transformation in DS-ALL patients. I have previously demonstrated that HMGN1cooperates with CRLF2 for leukaemic transformation and that neither lesion alone is sufficient for the development of leukaemia. However, the mechanism by which this occurs, and the protein/epigenomic interaction of HMGN1 & CRLF2+ cells remain elusive.

Projects available for: Honours and HDR

Location: SAHMRI

Research project start: Semester 1

Max Number of Students: 1

Category: Wet Lab

Special Requirements: Police Clearance

Project 2

Title: Investigating the role of the gut microbiota on acute lymphoblastic leukaemia development and progression

Description: The composition and function of the gut microbiota strongly influences numerous functions of the immune and metabolic systems. In childhood ALL, there is evidence, from a number of small clinical studies, that the microbiome plays a role in treatment efficacy/toxicity. However, to date, no study has directly assessed these relationships. Recent studies have also demonstrated that disruption of the gut microbiota was observed in children with ALL at the time of diagnosis, suggesting the importance of the microbiota in disease pathogenesis. Cause and/or effect are difficult to prove in clinical studies, particularly when chemotherapy and antibiotics, both of which impact the microbiota, are integral to treatment protocols. In this study, we will address these significant questions in patient material and carefully constructed and controlled novel pre-clinical models, which will enable us to directly assess if the microbiota plays a critical role in the response to ALL therapy.

Projects available for: HDR

Location: SAHMRI

Research project start: Semester 1 or 2

Max Number of Students: 1

Category: Wet Lab

Special Requirements: Police Clearance

Appointments

Date	Position	Institution name
2022 - 2024	Affiliate Lecturer	University of Adelaide
2021 - 2024	Affiliate Associate Lecturer	University of Adelaide
2020 - ongoing	Postdoctoral Research Fellow	SAHMRI

Education

Date Institution name Country Title

2020 University of Adelaide Australia Doctor of Philosophy

2016 University of Adelaide Australia Bachelor of Sciences (Advanced)
Research Interests

Cancer Cell Biology Cancer Genetics Gene and Molecular Therapy Haematology Oncology and Carcinogenesis

Date	Institution name	Country	Title
2020	University of Adelaide	Australia	Doctor of Philosophy
2016	University of Adelaide	Australia	Bachelor of Sciences (Advanced)

Journals

Year	Citation
2023	Thomson, A. J., Rehn, J. A., Heatley, S. L., Eadie, L. N., Page, E. C., Schutz, C., . . . White, D. L. (2023). Reproducible Bioinformatics Analysis Workflows for Detecting IGH Gene Fusions in B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia Patients. Cancers, 15(19), 4731-1-4731-13. DOI Scopus3 Europe PMC1
2022	Page, E. C., Heatley, S. L., Eadie, L. N., McClure, B. J., de Bock, C. E., Omari, S., . . . White, D. L. (2022). HMGN1 plays a significant role in CRLF2 driven Down Syndrome leukemia and provides a potential therapeutic target in this high-risk cohort. Oncogene, 41(6), 797-808. DOI Scopus13 WoS5 Europe PMC10
2022	Shirazi, P. T., Eadie, L. N., Heatley, S. L., Page, E. C., François, M., Hughes, T. P., . . . White, D. L. (2022). Exploring the oncogenic and therapeutic target potential of the MYB-TYK2 fusion gene in B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Cancer Gene Therapy, 29(8-9), 1140-1152. DOI Scopus6 WoS2 Europe PMC5
2022	Forgione, M. O., McClure, B. J., Page, E. C., Yeung, D. T., Eadie, L. N., & White, D. L. (2022). TP53 loss‑of‑function mutations reduce sensitivity of acute leukaemia to the curaxin CBL0137.. Oncol Rep, 47(5), 1-7. DOI Scopus1 Europe PMC1
2022	Heatley, S. L., Page, E. C., Eadie, L. N., McClure, B. J., Rehn, J., Yeung, D. T., . . . White, D. L. (2022). Case Report: Precision Medicine Target Revealed by In Vitro Modeling of Relapsed, Refractory Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia From a Child With Neurofibromatosis. Frontiers in Oncology, 12, 851572-1-851572-6. DOI Scopus1 WoS1 Europe PMC1
2021	Tavakoli Shirazi, P., Eadie, L. N., Page, E. C., Heatley, S. L., Bruning, J. B., & White, D. L. (2021). Constitutive JAK/STAT signaling is the primary mechanism of resistance to JAKi in TYK2-rearranged acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Cancer Letters, 512, 28-37. DOI Scopus10 WoS8 Europe PMC6
2021	Downes, C. E. J., McClure, B. J., Bruning, J. B., Page, E., Breen, J., Rehn, J., . . . White, D. L. (2021). Acquired JAK2 mutations confer resistance to JAK inhibitors in cell models of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. NPJ Precision Oncology, 5(1), 1-13. DOI Scopus15 WoS8 Europe PMC10
2018	Page, E. C., Heatley, S. L., Yeung, D. T., Thomas, P. Q., & White, D. L. (2018). Precision medicine approaches may be the future for CRLF2 rearranged Down Syndrome Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia patients. Cancer Letters, 432, 69-74. DOI Scopus5 WoS4 Europe PMC3

Conference Papers

Year	Citation
2021	Page, E. C., Heatley, S. L., Rehn, J., Yeung, D. T., Thomas, P. Q., & White, D. L. (2021). <i>HMGN1</i> expression Predisposes Down Syndrome Patients to Develop <i>P2RY8-CRLF2</i> acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. In BLOOD Vol. 138 (pp. 4 pages). Atlanta, GA: AMER SOC HEMATOLOGY. DOI

Conference Items

Year	Citation
2022	Thomson, A., Rehn, J., Heatley, S., Eadie, L., McClure, B., Page, E., . . . White, D. (2022). Benchmarking the detection rate of IGH gene fusions in B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia. Poster session presented at the meeting of Australian Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Society (ABACBS) Conference.
2020	Page, E., Heatley, S., Thomas, P., & White, D. (2020). Inducible Knockout of HMGN1 in an In Vivo xenograft Model Reduces Down Syndrome Leukemic Burden and Increases Survival Outcomes. Poster session presented at the meeting of 62nd ASH ANNUAL MEETING AND EXPOSITION.
2020	Page, E., Heatley, S., Thomas, P., & White, D. (2020). HMGN1 is necessary for Down Syndrome leukaemic cell proliferation and cooperates with CRLF2 for leukaemic transformation. Poster session presented at the meeting of The 59th ASMR National Scientific Conference.
2019	Page, E. C., Heatley, S. L., Yeung, D. T., Thomas, P. Q., & White, D. L. (2019). A Novel Role for <i>HMGN1</i> in Down Syndrome Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Poster session presented at the meeting of BLOOD. Orlando, FL: AMER SOC HEMATOLOGY. DOI
2018	Page, E. C., Heatley, S. L., Thomas, P., & White, D. L. (2018). Precision medicine approaches may be the future for CRLF2 rearranged Down Syndrome Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia. Poster session presented at the meeting of ASMR.

Cancer Council Beat Cancer Early Career Research Fellowship 2024-2027

MRFF E/MCR Grant 2023

Simone Family Fellowship 2021

SAHMRI Seed Funding 2021

Guest Lecturer in Biochemistry III: Cancer, stem cells and development

Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)

Date	Role	Research Topic	Program	Degree Type	Student Load	Student Name
2024	Co-Supervisor	Identifying Predictors of CNS involvement in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia	Doctor of Philosophy	Doctorate	Full Time	Mr Luke Jacob Quinlan
2023	Co-Supervisor	Exploring the impact of the gut microbiota on the clinical scenario in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia patients	Doctor of Philosophy	Doctorate	Full Time	Miss Cate Viktorija Cheney
2022	Co-Supervisor	Investigation of current, innovative treatments and the roles of secondary genomic lesions in BCR-ABL1 positive leukaemias	Doctor of Philosophy	Doctorate	Full Time	Mr Elias Lagonik

Email: elyse.page@adelaide.edu.au

Elyse Page

Appointments

Education

Research Interests

Journals

Conference Papers

Conference Items

Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)

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