Dr Kevin Fenix
Research Fellow
Adelaide Medical School
Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.
Dr Kevin Fenix, PhD is a research fellow located at the Basil Hetzel Institute for Translational Health Research the research arm of The Queen Elizabeth Hospital. As part of the Upper GI and ENT Surgery Departments, his current research utilises both patient samples and clinically relevant in vitro and in vivo models to find new treatment modalities for infections and cancer. Dr Fenix has successfully supervised Honours, Master and PhD students to completion and is a recipient of multiple competitive research grants to support his research.
My research interests include Cancer Immunotherapy, Cancer Biology, Immunobiology and Host/Microbe Interactions. This aligns with my affiliation with the Upper GI and ENT Surgery Departments at the Basil Hetzel Institute for Translational Health Research. Currently, I am identifying treatment modalities for Colorectal Cancer, Head and Neck Cancer and Chronic Rhinosinusitis.
Projects related to this work are available for HDR, Honours and Third Year Students. Potential students can apply for competitive scholarships for Honours, Masters and PhD (Top-Up) offered by the Basil Hetzel Institute.
Current projects include:
- Identifying distinct tumour-infiltrating immune cells with prognostic capacity for cancer metastasis and patient survival.
- Developing T cell-based therapies for cancer.
- Understanding and exploiting the tumour microbiome to develop new cancer treatments.
- Deciphering how the host-microbe interactions influence chronic rhinosinusitis.
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Appointments
Date Position Institution name 2018 - ongoing Postdoctoral Research Fellow The University of Adelaide -
Awards and Achievements
Date Type Title Institution Name Country Amount 2024 Fellowship Cancer Council SA Mid-Career Research Fellowship Cancer Council SA Australia - 2018 Fellowship The Hospital Research Foundation Early Career Fellowship The Hospital Research Foundation Australia - 2017 Award Dean’s Commendation for Thesis Excellence The University of Adelaide Australia - 2012 Scholarship Australian Postgraduate Award The University of Adelaide Australia - 2010 Research Award Derrick Rowley Prize for Honours in Microbiology and Immunology The University of Adelaide Australia - -
Language Competencies
Language Competency English Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review Filipino; Pilipino Can read, write, speak and understand spoken -
Education
Date Institution name Country Title 2017 University of Adelaide Australia PhD 2010 University of Adelaide, Adelaide Australia Bsc (Hons) 2009 University of Adelaide, Adelaide Australia Bsc (Biomedical Science) -
Research Interests
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Journals
Year Citation 2024 Man Ying Li, C., Li, R., Drew, P., Price, T., Smith, E., Maddern, G. J., . . . Fenix, K. (2024). Clinical application of cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cell therapy in colorectal cancer: current strategies and future challenges. Cancer Treatment Reviews, 122, 102665-1-102665-11.
Scopus2 Europe PMC12024 Connell, J. T., Yeo, K., Bouras, G., Bassiouni, A., Fenix, K., Cooksley, C., . . . Psaltis, A. J. (2024). Enhanced phylogenetic insights into the microbiome of chronic rhinosinusitis through the novel application of long read 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing*. Rhinology, 62(2), 152-162.
Scopus2 Europe PMC12024 Li, C. M. Y., Tomita, Y., Dhakal, B., Tin, T., Li, R., Wright, J. A., . . . Fenix, K. (2024). Generation and assessment of cytokine-induced killer cells for the treatment of colorectal cancer liver metastases. Cancer Immunology Immunotherapy, 73(1), 6-1-6-16.
2024 Sharma, A., Ren, X., Rosato, A., Sangiolo, D., Wang, Z., Tettamanti, S., . . . Schmidt-Wolf, I. G. H. (2024). Cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells, successes and challenges: report on the first international conference dedicated to the clinical translation of this unique adoptive cell immunotherapy. Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy, 73(2), 6 pages.
2024 Yeo, K., Li, R., Wu, F., Bouras, G., Mai, L. T. H., Smith, E., . . . Fenix, K. (2024). Identification of consensus head and neck cancer-associated microbiota signatures: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 16S rRNA and The Cancer Microbiome Atlas datasets. Journal of Medical Microbiology, 73(2), 001799-1-001799-18.
Scopus1 Europe PMC12024 Li, C. M. Y., Briggs, M. T., Lee, Y. R., Tin, T., Young, C., Pierides, J., . . . Fenix, K. (2024). Use of tryptic peptide MALDI mass spectrometry imaging to identify the spatial proteomic landscape of colorectal cancer liver metastases.. Clinical and Experimental Medicine, 24(1), 17 pages.
2024 Houtak, G., Nepal, R., Bouras, G., Shaghayegh, G., Bennett, C., Finnie, J., . . . Vreugde, S. (2024). Staphylococcus aureus Biofilm-Secreted Factors Cause Mucosal Damage, Mast Cell Infiltration, and Goblet Cell Hyperplasia in a Rat Rhinosinusitis Model. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 25(6), 3402-1-3402-22.
Scopus1 Europe PMC12024 Shaghayegh, G., Cooksley, C., Bouras, G., Panchatcharam, B. S., Feizi, S., Javadian, S., . . . Vreugde, S. (2024). S. aureus biofilm properties correlate with immune B cell subset frequencies and severity of chronic rhinosinusitis. Clinical Immunology, 263, 110221-1-110221-16.
Scopus1 Europe PMC12024 Yeo, K., Connell, J., Bouras, G., Smith, E., Murphy, W., Hodge, J. -C., . . . Fenix, K. A. (2024). A comparison between full-length 16S rRNA Oxford nanopore sequencing and Illumina V3-V4 16S rRNA sequencing in head and neck cancer tissues. Arch Microbiol, 206(6), 248-1-248-14.
Scopus12024 Li, R., Liu, S., Yeo, K., Edwards, S., Li, M. Y., Santos, R., . . . Smith, E. (2024). Diagnostic and prognostic significance of circulating secreted frizzled-related protein 5 in colorectal cancer. Cancer Medicine, 13(11), 11 pages.
Europe PMC12024 Connell, J. T., Bouras, G., Yeo, K., Fenix, K., Cooksley, C., Bassiouni, A., . . . Psaltis, A. J. (2024). Characterising the allergic fungal rhinosinusitis microenvironment using full-length 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and fungal ITS sequencing. Allergy: European Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 13 pages.
2024 Yeo, K., Wu, F., Li, R., Smith, E., Wormald, P. -J., Valentine, R., . . . Fenix, K. (2024). Is Short-Read 16S rRNA Sequencing of Oral Microbiome Sampling a Suitable Diagnostic Tool for Head and Neck Cancer?. Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland), 13(10), 826.
2023 Ying Li, C. M., Tomita, Y., Dhakal, B., Li, R., Li, J., Drew, P., . . . Fenix, K. (2023). Use of cytokine-induced killer cell therapy in colorectal cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
2023 Dhakal, B., Li, C. M. Y., Ramezanpour, M., Houtak, G., Li, R., Bouras, G., . . . Fenix, K. (2023). Proteomic characterisation of perhexiline treatment on THP-1 M1 macrophage differentiation. Frontiers in Immunology, 14, 13 pages.
Scopus3 WoS1 Europe PMC32023 Houtak, G., Nepal, R., Bouras, G., Shaghayegh, G., Bennett, C., Finnie, J., . . . Vreugde, S. (2023). <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>biofilm secreted factors cause mucosal damage, mast cell infiltration and goblet cell hyperplasia in a rat rhinosinusitis model.
2023 Dhakal, B., Tomita, Y., Drew, P., Price, T., Maddern, G., Smith, E., & Fenix, K. (2023). Perhexiline: Old Drug, New Tricks? A Summary of Its Anti-Cancer Effects. Molecules, 28(8), 3624.
Scopus6 WoS1 Europe PMC22023 Li, C. M. Y., Tomita, Y., Dhakal, B., Li, R., Li, J., Drew, P., . . . Fenix, K. A. (2023). Use of cytokine-induced killer cell therapy in patients with colorectal cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer, 11(4), e006764-1-e006764-17.
Scopus6 WoS4 Europe PMC62023 Shaghayegh, G., Cooksley, C., Bouras, G., Nepal, R., Houtak, G., Panchatcharam, B. S., . . . Vreugde, S. (2023). Staphylococcus aureus biofilm properties and chronic rhinosinusitis severity scores correlate positively with total CD4+ T-cell frequencies and inversely with its Th1, Th17 and regulatory cell frequencies. Immunology, 170(1), 120-133.
Scopus4 Europe PMC22023 Krishnan, S. T., Winkler, D., Creek, D., Anderson, D., Kirana, C., Maddern, G. J., . . . Voelcker, N. H. (2023). Staging of colorectal cancer using lipid biomarkers and machine learning. Metabolomics, 19(10), 11 pages.
Scopus6 Europe PMC42022 Dhakal, B., Li, C. M. Y., Li, R., Yeo, K., Wright, J. A., Gieniec, K. A., . . . Fenix, K. (2022). The Antianginal Drug Perhexiline Displays Cytotoxicity against Colorectal Cancer Cells In Vitro: A Potential for Drug Repurposing. Cancers, 14(4), 16 pages.
Scopus10 WoS7 Europe PMC92022 Mahnaz, R., Harrison, B., Hon, K., Gohar, S., Hadi, R., Aaron, F. K., . . . Sarah, V. (2022). Characterization of human nasal organoids from chronic rhinosinusitis patients.. Biology open, 11(8), 1-8.
Scopus1 WoS12021 Tyllis, T. S., Fenix, K. A., Norton, T. S., Kara, E. E., McKenzie, D. R., David, S. C., . . . Comerford, I. (2021). CXCR5⁺CD8⁺ T cells shape antibody responses In Vivo following protein immunisation and peripheral viral infection. Frontiers in Immunology, 12, 626199-1-626199-14.
Scopus12 WoS8 Europe PMC92021 Balakrishnan, B., Liang, Q., Fenix, K., Tamang, B., Hauben, E., Ma, L., & Zhang, W. (2021). Combining the anticancer and immunomodulatory effects of astragalus and shiitake as an integrated therapeutic approach. Nutrients, 13(8), 16 pages.
Scopus22 WoS11 Europe PMC92020 Whyte, C. E., Osman, M., Kara, E. E., Abbott, C., Foeng, J., McKenzie, D. R., . . . McColl, S. R. (2020). ACKR4 restrains antitumor immunity by regulating CCL21. Journal of Experimental Medicine, 217(6), 1-S4.
Scopus25 WoS18 Europe PMC202020 Goggin, R., Bennett, C., Ramezanpour, M., Hu, H., Fenix, K., Bassiouni, A., . . . Vreugde, S. (2020). Association between viral infection and increased mucosal eosinophils and CD8<sup>+</sup>CD103<sup>+</sup> T cells in chronic rhinosinusitis. International Forum of Allergy and Rhinology, 10(8), 978-980.
2020 Fenix, K., Wijesundara, D. K., Cowin, A. J., Grubor-Bauk, B., & Kopecki, Z. (2020). Immunological Memory in Imiquimod-Induced Murine Model of Psoriasiform Dermatitis.. Int J Mol Sci, 21(19), 13 pages.
Scopus21 WoS14 Europe PMC82018 Kara, E. E., Bastow, C. R., McKenzie, D. R., Whyte, C. E., Fenix, K. A., Babb, R., . . . McColl, S. R. (2018). Atypical chemokine receptor 4 shapes activated B cell fate. Journal of Experimental Medicine, 215(3), 801-813.
Scopus20 WoS16 Europe PMC122017 McKenzie, D., Kara, E., Bastow, C., Tyllis, T., Fenix, K., Gregor, C., . . . McColl, S. (2017). IL-17-producing γδ T cells switch migratory patterns between resting and activated states. Nature Communications, 8(1), 15632-1-15632-13.
Scopus94 WoS79 Europe PMC692016 Leong, Y., Chen, Y., Ong, H., Wu, D., Man, K., Deleage, C., . . . Yu, D. (2016). CXCR5⁺ follicular cytotoxic T cells control viral infection in B cell follicles. Nature Immunology, 17(10), 1187-1196.
Scopus350 WoS308 Europe PMC2882015 Kara, E., McKenzie, D., Bastow, C., Gregor, C., Fenix, K., Ogunniyi, A., . . . McColl, S. (2015). CCR2 defines in vivo development and homing of IL-23-driven GM-CSF-producing Th17 cells. Nature Communications, 6(1), 8644-1-8644-1 7.
Scopus103 WoS96 Europe PMC792014 Kara, E., Comerford, I., Fenix, K., Bastow, C., Gregor, C., McKenzie, D., & McColl, S. (2014). Tailored immune responses: novel effector helper T cell subsets in protective immunity. PLoS Pathogens, 10(2), 1003905-1-1003905-15.
Scopus67 WoS55 Europe PMC452013 Kara, E., Comerford, I., Bastow, C., Fenix, K., Litchfield, W., Handel, T., & McColl, S. (2013). Distinct chemokine receptor axes regulate Th9 cell trafficking to allergic and autoimmune inflammatory sites. Journal of Immunology, 191(3), 1110-1117.
Scopus50 WoS46 Europe PMC362010 Comerford, I., Bunting, M., Fenix, K., Haylock-Jacobs, S., Litchfield, W., Harata-Lee, Y., . . . McColl, S. (2010). An immune paradox: how can the same chemokine axis regulate both immune tolerance and activation? CCR6/CCL20: a chemokine axis balancing immunological tolerance and inflammation in autoimmune disease. Bioessays, 32(12), 1067-1076.
Scopus96 WoS90 Europe PMC71- Krishnan, S. T., Rudd, D., Rahmani, R., Antunez, E. E., Minhas, R. S., Kirana, C., . . . Voelcker, N. H. (n.d.). Nanostructured Silicon Enabled HR-MS for the Label-Free Detection of Biomarkers in Colorectal Cancer Plasma Small Extracellular Vesicles. Journal of Nanotheranostics, 3(4), 189-202.
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Conference Papers
Year Citation 2017 Gregor, C. E., Kara, E. E., Fenix, K. A., McKenzie, D. R., Comerford, I., & McColl, S. R. (2017). Effector T helper cell recruitment to inflammatory sites via CCR2. In SWISS MEDICAL WEEKLY Vol. 147 (pp. 64S). E M H SWISS MEDICAL PUBLISHERS LTD. -
Conference Items
Year Citation 2016 McKenzie, D., Kara, E., Tyllis, T., Bastow, C., Fenix, K., Gregor, C., . . . McColl, S. (2016). Dynamic expression of CCR6 and CCR2 balances homeostatic and inflammatory trafficking of γδT17 cells. Poster session presented at the meeting of EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY. Melbourne, AUSTRALIA: WILEY-BLACKWELL. 2016 Kara, E., Bastow, C., Mckenzie, D., Gregor, C., Fenix, K., Norton, T., . . . Mccoll, S. (2016). The atypical chemokine receptor ACKR4 shapes early antibody responses. Poster session presented at the meeting of EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY. Melbourne, AUSTRALIA: WILEY-BLACKWELL. -
Preprint
Year Citation 2024 Yeo, K., Wu, F., Li, R., Smith, E., Wormald, P. -J., Valentine, R., . . . Fenix, K. (2024). Is Short-Read 16S rRNA Sequencing of Oral Microbiome Sampling a Suitable Diagnostic Tool for Head and Neck Cancer?.
DOI2024 Li, C. M. Y., Briggs, M. T., Lee, Y. -R., Tin, T., Young, C., Pierides, J., . . . Fenix, K. (2024). Use of tryptic peptide MALDI mass spectrometry imaging to identify the spatial proteomic landscape of colorectal cancer liver metastases.
DOI2024 Li, R., Liu, S., Yeo, K., Edwards, S., Li, M. Y., Santos, R., . . . Smith, E. (2024). Circulating SFRP5 levels are elevated in colorectal cancer and correlate with overall survival in stage II-III disease.
DOI2024 Yeo, K., Connell, J., Bouras, G., Smith, E., Murphy, W., Hodge, J. -C., . . . Fenix, K. A. (2024). A comparison between full-length 16S rRNA Oxford Nanopore sequencing and Illumina V3-V4 16S rRNA sequencing in head and neck cancer tissues.
DOI2023 Yeo, K., Li, R., Wu, F., Bouras, G., Mai, L. T. H., Smith, E., . . . Fenix, K. (2023). Identification of consensus head and neck cancer-associated microbiota signatures: a meta-analysis of 16S rRNA and The Cancer Microbiome Atlas datasets.
DOI2023 Ying Li, C. M., Tomita, Y., Dhakal, B., Tin, T., Li, R., Wright, J. A., . . . Fenix, K. (2023). Generation and assessment of cytokine-induced killer cells for the treatment of colorectal cancer liver metastases.
DOI
Dr Kevin Fenix is a recipient of multiple competitive research funding awards (>$2million) from Cancer Council SA, Tour de Cure, Cure Cancer Australia, the Ray and Shirl Norman Trust, and The Hospital Research Foundation Group.
A selection of competitive funding awards are listed below:
Year | Title | Investigators | Amount |
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2020 | Pre-clinical assessment of a patient-derived cellular immunotherapy for metastatic colorectal cancer. | Fenix K. | $50,000 |
2019 | Construction of the South Australian Liver Tissue-Biobank (SALT) for discovery and development of prognostic biomarkers of colorectal cancer liver metastasis. (Beat Cancer SA and The Hospital Research Foundation) | Maddern G., Fenix K. | $200,000 |
2019 | Purchase of a fluorescent and bright-field automated cell counter. (Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences Research Infrastructure Funding Award and The Basil-Hetzel Institute Research Equipment Award) | Maddern G., Fenix K., Wormald P., Grubor-Bauk B. | $22,703 |
2018 | Study of bioactivity of Hengshan Astragalus Shiitake as biological response modifiers in cancer therapy ( Flinders University Innovation Patnership Seed Grant and Shanxi Yulongxiang agricultural development Co., Ltd) | Ma L., Fenix K., Hauben E., Liang Q. | $100,000 |
2018 | Identification of a Diagnostic Marker for Assessment and Management of Psoriasis. ( New Adventures Fund UniSA and The Hospital Research Foundation ) | Grubor-Bauk B., Wijesundara D., Fenix K., Kopecki Z. | $28,619 |
2018 | Using Tissue-Resident T cells to develop new prognostics and treatments against bowel cancer. ( The Hospital Research Foundation Early Career Fellowship) | Fenix K. | $240,000 |
Year | Source | Conference | Amount |
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2019 | Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences | Lorne Cancer Conference (2019) | $1000 |
2017 | Australasian Society for Immunology | 46th Annual Scientific Meeting of Australasian Society for Immunology (Brisbane, Australia) | $1400 |
2016 | International Congress of Immunology | International Congress of Immunology 2016 (Melbourne, Australia) | $1000 |
2014 | School of Molecular and Biomedical Science and Australasian Society for Immunology | Annual Scientific Meeting of Australasian Society for Immunology (Wollongong, Australia) | $1500 |
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Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name 2024 Principal Supervisor The development of more effective next-generation cytokine-induced killer cell therapies for the improved treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mrs Elham Shokati 2023 Principal Supervisor Target the tumour microbiome to improve head & neck cancer treatment outcomes Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mrs Lee Mai 2023 Co-Supervisor Repurposing the anti-anginal drug perhexiline for the treatment of cancer Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Fangmeinuo Wu 2022 Co-Supervisor Over-expression of SFRP5 in hepatocytes: a novel treatment strategy for colorectal cancer liver metastases Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Runhao Li 2022 Co-Supervisor The role of various Staphylococcus species in eliciting inflammation in Chronic rhinosinusitis Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Sintayehu Ambachew Wondemagegn 2021 Co-Supervisor The Interplay Between Tumour-associated Microbiota, Tertiary Lymphoid Organ Development and Oral Cancer Carcinogenesis Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Kenny Ker Li Yeo -
Past Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name 2021 - 2022 Co-Supervisor Perhexiline as a Potential Treatment for Colorectal Cancer Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mrs Bimala Dhakal 2020 - 2024 Co-Supervisor INVESTIGATION OF CYTOKINE-INDUCED KILLER CELL THERAPY FOR THE TREATMENT OF COLORECTAL CANCER LIVER METASTASIS Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Man Ying Li
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Committee Memberships
Date Role Committee Institution Country 2019 - ongoing Member BHI IBC Biosafety Committee BHI Australia 2018 - ongoing Member Basil-Hetzel Institute Management Committee Basil-Hetzel Institute for Translational Health Research Australia 2017 - ongoing Member Adelaide Immunology Retreat Organzing Committee Australasian Soceity for Immunology Australia 2017 - ongoing Member Day of Immunology (Adelaide) Organizing Committee Australsian Society for Immunology Australia -
Memberships
Date Role Membership Country 2018 - ongoing Member Australasian Cytometry Society Australia 2018 - ongoing Member Australasian Gastro-Intestinal Trials Group Australia 2018 - ongoing Member Cancer Voices SA Australia 2013 - ongoing Member Australasian Society for Immunology Australia -
Community Engagement
Date Title Engagement Type Institution Country 2018 - ongoing Invited Speaker for The Longest Table Events Public Community Engagement The Hospital Research Foundation Australia 2018 - ongoing Science Alive! Booth Volunteer (BHI) Public Community Engagement Basil Hetzel Institute for Translational Health Research Australia 2018 - ongoing Newsletter Article in The Hospital Research Foundation Public Community Engagement The Hospital Research Foundation - 2018 - ongoing Radio Interview for Coast FM Public Community Engagement The Hospital Research Foundation Australia 2018 - ongoing Invited Speaker for the Day of Immunology BHI Lab Tour Public Community Engagement Australasian Society for Immunology Australia -
Editorial Boards
Date Role Editorial Board Name Institution Country 2018 - ongoing Editor Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology The University of Adelaide Australia
Connect With Me
External Profiles