
Lisa Ebert
Adelaide Medical School
Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.
Associate Professor Lisa Ebert is a Group Leader in the Translational Oncology Laboratory at the Centre for Cancer Biology (https://www.centreforcancerbiology.org.au/research/laboratories/translational-oncology-laboratory). She also holds positions of Affiliate Senior Lecturer of the University of Adelaide (Adelaide Medical School) and Adjunct Associate Research Professor at the University of South Australia.
A/Prof Ebert directs a research program focused on T cell-based cancer immunotherapies:
- Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapies: our studies range from the identification of new target antigens, to the design, manufacturing and testing of novel CAR-T cell therapies, and all the way to clinical trials.
- Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor therapies: we use patient blood and tissue specimens to better understand the mechanism of action of these novel agents, with the hope of improving the number of patients that can benefit, and to predict upfront those patients who will respond best to treatment.
A/Prof Ebert's research team sits within The Translational Oncology Laboratory, a diverse group with a focus on developing new and better therapies for cancer, and the translation of these research discoveries to the clinic. The head of the group, Professor Michael Brown, is a medical oncologist and Director of the Cancer Clinical Trials Unit at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. Thus, we are perfectly positioned to study human cancer and to adopt a ‘bench to bedside’ approach for the testing of new therapeutic strategies in the clinic.
Student projects are available in our group for Honours, Masters and PhD.
Some examples of student projects are listed below:
Developing CAR-T cell therapies for brain cancer
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy has revolutionised the treatment of B cell leukaemia and lymphoma, and has spurred intense interest in extending these successes to the treatment of solid tumours, including brain cancers. In clinical trials at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, and in pre-clinical studies using advanced mouse models, we are testing CAR-T cells for their ability to shrink these tumours. We are also interested to understand how effectively these T cells can pass from the blood circulation into tumour tissues, which is where they are required to mediate their cancer cell-killing function, and to to identify ways to enhance CAR-T cell function. Projects are available to address these questions using in vitro functional assays, animal models and analysis of patient blood and tissue samples. These studies are expected to improve our understanding of anti-tumour immunity and ultimately to enhance the efficacy of our clinical CAR-T cell therapies.
Understanding and predicting individual patient responses to Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor (ICI) therapy
ICI therapy is a radical therapeutic approach that is now approved in Australia for the treatment of several cancer types, including melanoma, lung and kidney. These new medicines can re-activate dormant anti-tumour immune responses, leading to dramatic tumour shrinkage, and possibly cure, in a fraction of patients. However, most patients receive little to no benefit, yet are still exposed to the risk of severe side effects. Using pre-treatment blood samples from melanoma patients, we have discovered a way to predict which of these patients will experience significant tumour shrinkage following ICI therapy. Projects are available to further develop this finding, including: (i) using this knowledge to better understand the mechanism of action for ICI therapy; (ii) testing whether this approach also works for patients with other types of cancer; and (iii) translating this discovery into a clinically useful blood test that could be used to ensure that each patient receives the most effective treatment for them.
Location: Centre for Cancer Biology (UniSA Bradley Building – adjacent to AHMS building on North Terrace, Adelaide)
Research project start: Semester 1 or Semester 2
Special requirements: Some vaccinations may be required if handling human specimens
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Journals
Year Citation 2023 Dmochowska, N., Milanova, V., Mukkamala, R., Chow, K. K., Pham, N. T. H., Srinivasarao, M., . . . Thierry, B. (2023). Nanoparticles Targeted to Fibroblast Activation Protein Outperform PSMA for MRI Delineation of Primary Prostate Tumors. Small, 19(21), 2204956-1-2204956-14.
Scopus1 WoS1 Europe PMC12023 Yu, W., Ebert, L., Truong, N., Polara, R., He, K., Gargett, T., . . . Brown, M. (2023). Endogenous bystander killing mechanisms enhance the activity of novel FAP-CAR-T cells against glioblastoma.
2023 Scheer, K. G., Ebert, L. M., Samuel, M. S., Bonder, C. S., & Gomez, G. A. (2023). Bevacizumab-Induced Hypertension in Glioblastoma Patients and Its Potential as a Modulator of Treatment Response. Hypertension, 80(8), 1590-1597.
2023 Pickering, C., Aiyetan, P., Xu, G., Mitchell, A., Rice, R., Najjar, Y. G., . . . Boland, G. M. (2023). Plasma glycoproteomic biomarkers identify metastatic melanoma patients with reduced clinical benefit from immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. Frontiers in Immunology, 14, 14 pages.
2023 Kumari, S., Zemek, R. M., Palendira, U., & Ebert, L. M. (2023). Celebrating 100 years of Immunology & Cell Biology – a special focus on the field of tumor immunology in Australia. Immunology and Cell Biology.
2022 Ebert, L. M., Vandyke, K., Johan, M. Z., DeNichilo, M., Tan, L. Y., Myo Min, K. K., . . . Bonder, C. S. (2022). Desmoglein-2 expression is an independent predictor of poor prognosis patients with multiple myeloma. Molecular Oncology, 16(6), 1221-1240.
Scopus8 WoS7 Europe PMC82022 Tan, L. Y., Cockshell, M. P., Moore, E., Myo Min, K. K., Ortiz, M., Johan, M. Z., . . . Bonder, C. S. (2022). Vasculogenic mimicry structures in melanoma support the recruitment of monocytes. OncoImmunology, 11(1), e2043673-1-e2043673-18.
Scopus4 WoS4 Europe PMC32022 Kollis, P. M., Ebert, L. M., Toubia, J., Bastow, C. R., Ormsby, R. J., Poonnoose, S. I., . . . Gargett, T. (2022). Characterising Distinct Migratory Profiles of Infiltrating T-Cell Subsets in Human Glioblastoma. Frontiers in immunology, 13, 850226-1-850226-19.
Scopus7 WoS6 Europe PMC62022 Dmochowska, N., Milanova, V., Mukkamala, R., Chow, K. K., Pham, N. T. H., Srinivasarao, M., . . . Thierry, B. (2022). Nanoparticles targeted to fibroblast activation protein outperform PSMA for MRI delineation of primary prostate tumours.
2022 Gargett, T., Ebert, L. M., Truong, N. T. H., Kollis, P. M., Sedivakova, K., Yu, W., . . . Brown, M. P. (2022). GD2-targeting CAR-T cells enhanced by transgenic IL-15 expression are an effective and clinically feasible therapy for glioblastoma. Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer, 10(9), 1-15.
Scopus14 WoS12 Europe PMC92021 Yeo, E. C. F., Brown, M. P., Gargett, T., & Ebert, L. M. (2021). The role of cytokines and chemokines in shaping the immune microenvironment of glioblastoma: Implications for immunotherapy. Cells, 10(3), 1-25.
Scopus23 WoS20 Europe PMC152021 Oksdath Mansilla, M., Salazar-Hernandez, C., Perrin, S. L., Scheer, K. G., Cildir, G., Toubia, J., . . . Gomez, G. A. (2021). 3D-printed microplate inserts for long term high-resolution imaging of live brain organoids. BMC biomedical engineering, 3(1), 1-14.
Europe PMC62021 Lenin, S., Ponthier, E., Scheer, K. G., Yeo, E. C. F., Tea, M. N., Ebert, L. M., . . . Gomez, G. A. (2021). A drug screening pipeline using 2D and 3D patient-derived in vitro models for pre-clinical analysis of therapy response in glioblastoma. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 22(9), 4322-1-4322-27.
Scopus22 WoS21 Europe PMC152021 Truong, N. T. H., Gargett, T., Brown, M. P., & Ebert, L. M. (2021). Effects of chemotherapy agents on circulating leukocyte populations: Potential implications for the success of car-t cell therapies. Cancers, 13(9), 19 pages.
Scopus16 WoS14 Europe PMC112021 Martini, C., DeNichilo, M., King, D. P., Cockshell, M. P., Ebert, B., Dale, B., . . . Bonder, C. S. (2021). CD36 promotes vasculogenic mimicry in melanoma by mediating adhesion to the extracellular matrix. BMC Cancer, 21(1), 765-1-765-14.
Scopus11 WoS11 Europe PMC92021 Brown, M. P., Ebert, L. M., & Gargett, T. (2021). Erratum: Clinical chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy: a new and promising treatment modality for glioblastoma.. Clinical & translational immunology, 10(8), e1331.
2020 Ebert, L. M., Yu, W., Gargett, T., Toubia, J., Kollis, P. M., Tea, M. N., . . . Brown, M. P. (2020). Endothelial, pericyte and tumor cell expression in glioblastoma identifies fibroblast activation protein (FAP) as an excellent target for immunotherapy. Clinical and Translational Immunology, 9(10), 1-24.
Scopus28 WoS24 Europe PMC182020 Martini, C., Thompson, E. J., Hyslop, S. R., Cockshell, M. P., Dale, B. J., Ebert, L. M., . . . Bonder, C. S. (2020). Platelets disrupt vasculogenic mimicry by cancer cells. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 5869-1-5869-18.
Scopus17 WoS14 Europe PMC112020 Zadeh Shirazi, A., Fornaciari, E., Bagherian, N. S., Ebert, L. M., Koszyca, B., & Gomez, G. A. (2020). DeepSurvNet: deep survival convolutional network for brain cancer survival rate classification based on histopathological images. Medical and Biological Engineering and Computing, 58(5), 1031-1045.
Scopus23 WoS22 Europe PMC102019 Perrin, S. L., Samuel, M. S., Koszyca, B., Brown, M. P., Ebert, L. M., Oksdath, M., & Gomez, G. A. (2019). Glioblastoma heterogeneity and the tumour microenvironment: implications for preclinical research and development of new treatments. Biochemical Society Transactions, 47(2), 625-638.
Scopus88 WoS84 Europe PMC642019 Gargett, T., TRUONG, N., EBERT, L., YU, W., & BROWN, M. (2019). Optimization of manufacturing conditions for chimeric antigen receptor T cells to favor cells with a central memory phenotype. Cytotherapy, 21(6), 593-602.
Scopus23 WoS24 Europe PMC192019 Brown, M. P., Ebert, L. M., & Gargett, T. (2019). Clinical chimeric antigen receptor-T cell therapy: a new and promising treatment modality for glioblastoma. Clinical and Translational Immunology, 8(5), 20 pages.
Scopus28 WoS24 Europe PMC232019 Gomez, G. A., Oksdath, M., Brown, M. P., & Ebert, L. M. (2019). New approaches to model glioblastoma in vitro using brain organoids: implications for precision oncology. Translational Cancer Research, 8(Suppl. 6), S606-S611.
Scopus9 WoS8 Europe PMC42018 Ebert, L. M., Yu, W., Gargett, T., & Brown, M. P. (2018). Logic-gated approaches to extend the utility of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell technology. Biochemical Society Transactions, 46(2), 391-401.
Scopus20 WoS19 Europe PMC142017 Davis, I. D., Quirk, J., Morris, L., Seddon, L., Tai, T. Y., Whitty, G., . . . Cebon, J. (2017). A pilot study of peripheral blood BDCA-1 (CD1c) positive dendritic cells pulsed with NY-ESO-1 ISCOMATRIX™ adjuvant. Immunotherapy, 9(3), 249-259.
Scopus12 WoS11 Europe PMC72017 Tan, L. Y., Martini, C., Fridlender, Z. G., Bonder, C. S., Brown, M. P., & Ebert, L. M. (2017). Control of immune cell entry through the tumour vasculature: a missing link in optimising melanoma immunotherapy?. Clinical and Translational Immunology, 6(3), e134-1-e134-9.
Scopus21 WoS21 Europe PMC122016 Ebert, L., Tan, L., Johan, M., Min, K., Cockshell, M., Parham, K., . . . Bonder, C. (2016). A non-canonical role for desmoglein-2 in endothelial cells: implications for neoangiogenesis. Angiogenesis, 19(4), 463-486.
Scopus27 WoS27 Europe PMC182016 Tan, L., Mintoff, C., Johan, M., Ebert, B., Fedele, C., Zhang, Y., . . . Ebert, L. (2016). Desmoglein 2 promotes vasculogenic mimicry in melanoma and is associated with poor clinical outcome. Oncotarget, 7(29), 46492-46508.
Scopus34 WoS34 Europe PMC282015 Pitman, M., Powell, J., Coolen, C., Moretti, P., Zebol, J., Pham, D., . . . Pitson, S. (2015). A selective ATP-competitive sphingosine kinase inhibitor demonstrates anti-cancer properties. Oncotarget, 6(9), 7065-7083.
Scopus56 WoS53 Europe PMC372015 Moldenhauer, L., Cockshell, M., Frost, L., Parham, K., Tvorogov, D., Tan, L., . . . Bonder, C. (2015). Interleukin-3 greatly expands non-adherent endothelial forming cells with pro-angiogenic properties. Stem Cell Research, 14(3), 380-395.
Scopus14 WoS14 Europe PMC92014 Tan, B., Anaka, M., Deb, S., Freyer, C., Ebert, L., Chueh, A., . . . Mariadason, J. (2014). FOXP3 over-expression inhibits melanoma tumorigenesis via effects on proliferation and apoptosis. Oncotarget, 5(1), 264-276.
Scopus40 WoS36 Europe PMC272013 Bonder, C., & Ebert, L. (2013). Fos-icking for control of angiogenesis: Increasing the longevity of peritoneal dialysis. Kidney International, 84(6), 1065-1067.
Scopus4 WoS4 Europe PMC22013 Klein, O., Ebert, L., Zanker, D., Woods, K., Tan, B., Fucikova, J., . . . Cebon, J. (2013). Flt3 ligand expands CD4⁺FoxP3⁺ regulatory T cells in human subjects. European Journal of Immunology, 43(2), 533-539.
Scopus44 WoS43 Europe PMC312012 Ebert, L., MacRaild, S., Zanker, D., Davis, I., Cebon, J., & Chen, W. (2012). A cancer vaccine induces expansion of NY-ESO-1-specific regulatory T cells in patients with advanced melanoma. PLoS ONE, 7(10), e48424-1-e48424-10.
Scopus49 WoS50 Europe PMC352012 Ebert, L., MacRaild, S., Davis, I., Cebon, J., & Chen, W. (2012). A novel method for detecting antigen-specific human regulatory T cells. Journal of Immunological Methods, 377(1-2), 56-61.
Scopus5 WoS4 Europe PMC32010 Cebon, J., Knights, A., Ebert, L., Jackson, H., & Chen, W. (2010). Evaluation of cellular immune responses in cancer vaccine recipients: Lessons from NY-ESO-1. Expert Review of Vaccines, 9(6), 617-629.
Scopus20 WoS18 Europe PMC162009 Klein, O., Ebert, L. M., Nicholaou, T., Browning, J., Russell, S. E., Zuber, M., . . . Cebon, J. (2009). Melan-a-specific cytotoxic T cells are associated with tumor regression and autoimmunity following treatment with anti-CTLA-4. Clinical Cancer Research, 15(7), 2507-2513.
Scopus88 WoS82 Europe PMC572009 Nicholaou, T., Ebert, L. M., Davis, I. D., McArthur, G. A., Jackson, H., Dimopoulos, N., . . . Cebon, J. (2009). Regulatory T-Cell-mediated attenuation of T-Cell responses to the NY-ESO-1ISCOMATRIX vaccine in patients with advanced malignant melanoma. Clinical Cancer Research, 15(6), 2166-2173.
Scopus106 WoS95 Europe PMC772009 Ebert, L. M., Yu, C. L., Clements, C. S., Robson, N. C., Jackson, H. M., Markby, J. L., . . . Chen, W. (2009). A long, naturally presented immunodominant epitope from NY-ESO-1 tumor antigen: Implications for cancer vaccine design. Cancer Research, 69(3), 1046-1054.
Scopus49 WoS44 Europe PMC322009 Dimopoulos, N., Jackson, H. M., Ebert, L., Guillaume, P., Luescher, I. F., Ritter, G., & Chen, W. (2009). Combining MHC tetramer and intracellular cytokine staining for CD8<sup>+</sup> T cells to reveal antigenic epitopes naturally presented on tumor cells. Journal of Immunological Methods, 340(1), 90-94.
Scopus14 WoS15 Europe PMC142009 Ebert, L. M., Liu, Y. C., Clements, C. S., Robson, N. C., Jackson, H. M., Markby, J. L., . . . Chen, W. (2009). A long, naturally presented immunodominant epitope from NY-ESO-1 tumor antigen: Implications for cancer vaccine design (Cancer Research (2009) 69, (1046-54)). Cancer Research, 69(10), 4553.
2008 Ebert, L. M., Bee, S. T., Browning, J., Svobodova, S., Russell, S. E., Kirkpatrick, N., . . . Chen, W. (2008). The regulatory T cell-associated transcription factor FoxP3 is expressed by tumor cells. Cancer Research, 68(8), 3001-3009.
Scopus161 WoS145 Europe PMC1212006 Schaerli, P., Ebert, L. M., & Moser, B. (2006). Comment on "The vast majority of CLA<sup>+</sup> T cells are resident in normal skin" [1]. Journal of Immunology, 177(3), 1375-1376.
Scopus4 WoS2 Europe PMC22006 Ebert, L. M., Meuter, S., & Moser, B. (2006). Homing and function of human skin γδ T cells and NK cells: Relevance for tumor surveillance. Journal of Immunology, 176(7), 4331-4336.
Scopus197 WoS184 Europe PMC1512006 Nicholaou, T., Ebert, L., Davis, I. D., Robson, N., Klein, O., Maraskovsky, E., . . . Cebon, J. (2006). Directions in the immune targeting of cancer: Lessons learned from the cancer-testis Ag NY-ESO-1. Immunology and Cell Biology, 84(3), 303-317.
Scopus99 WoS92 Europe PMC742005 Schaerli, P., Willimann, K., Ebert, L. M., Walz, A., & Moser, B. (2005). Cutaneous CXCL14 targets blood precursors to epidermal niches for langerhans cell differentiation. Immunity, 23(3), 331-342.
Scopus122 WoS107 Europe PMC882004 Ebert, L. M., Horn, M. P., Lang, A. B., & Moser, B. (2004). B cells alter the phenotype and function of follicular-homing CXCR5<sup>+</sup> T cells. European Journal of Immunology, 34(12), 3562-3571.
Scopus36 WoS33 Europe PMC322004 Schaerli, P., Ebert, L., Willimann, K., Blaser, A., Roos, R. S., Loetscher, P., & Moser, B. (2004). A Skin-selective Homing Mechanism for Human Immune Surveillance T Cells. Journal of Experimental Medicine, 199(9), 1265-1275.
Scopus179 WoS162 Europe PMC1262002 Ebert, L., & McColl, S. (2002). Up-regulation of CCR5 and CCR6 on distinct subpopulations of antigen-activated CD4⁺ T lymphocytes. Journal of Immunology, 168(1), 65-72.
Scopus69 WoS67 Europe PMC452001 Ebert, L., & McColl, S. (2001). Coregulation of CXC chemokine receptor and CD4 expression on T lymphocytes during allogeneic activation. Journal of Immunology, 166(8), 4870-4878.
Scopus40 WoS35 Europe PMC211999 Gale, L., & McColl, S. (1999). Chemokines: extracellular messengers for all occasions?. Bioessays, 21(1), 17-28.
Scopus113 WoS108 Europe PMC80 -
Conference Papers
Year Citation 2005 Ebert, L. M., Schaerli, P., & Moser, B. (2005). Chemokine-mediated control of T cell traffic in lymphoid and peripheral tissues. In Molecular Immunology Vol. 42 (pp. 799-809). Quebec City, CANADA: PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD.
Scopus233 WoS212 Europe PMC1832003 Moser, B., & Ebert, L. (2003). Lymphocyte traffic control by chemokines: Follicular B helper T cells. In Immunology Letters Vol. 85 (pp. 105-112). ELSIMORE, DENMARK: ELSEVIER.
Scopus46 WoS38 Europe PMC27
Current funding sources include NHMRC, Cancer Australia, the Neurosurgical Research Foundation and the Ray & Shirl Norman Cancer Research Trust
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Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name 2023 Principal Supervisor Investigating the Dendritic Cell - T Cell Axis in Glioblastoma to Explore New Combination Immunotherapy Treatment Options Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Bryan James Gardam
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