Susan Woods

Research Interests

Cancer Cell Biology Cancer Genetics Cancer Therapy Gastroenterology and Hepatology Cancer Biology and Clinical Oncology

APrf Susan Woods

Externally-Funded Research Associate Professor

School of Medicine

College of Health

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

Available For Media Comment.

A/Prof. Susan L. Woods.Bowel and stomach cancers have high mortality rates when not diagnosed early, resulting in more than 6,000 deaths in Australia each year. That is way too many. The 5-year survival for advanced disease is 12% for bowel cancer and 5% for stomach cancer. This highlights the need for improvements to our screening approaches to identify early disease and new options for treatment of advanced disease. In addition to increased rates of bowel cancer in younger adults (<50 years of age), the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in later diagnosis, making finding more effective screening and treatment approaches more critical now than ever.Susan is a biomedical scientist with three first author Nature and a senior author Science publication to her credit. She trained with Nobel Laureate J. Michael Bishop (UCSF), Prof Nick Hayward (QIMR-B) and A/Prof Daniel Worthley (SAHMRI). Her research integrates state-of-the-art approaches using both patient samples and sophisticated preclinical models, to address clinical needs for gut cancer patients.Projects in the lab focus on reducing the incidence of gut cancers - through better detection and prevention. We are developing new screening tests to detect and respond to early disease before cancer cells have escaped into the blood. My team is testing genetically engineered strains of probiotic bacteria that naturally home to neoplasia, to release detection and risk reduction therapeutics. Together with our Australian research partners, we also assess personalised treatment regimes for advanced disease using patient samples grown in a dish. If this works, it will guide therapy choice for patients, reducing unwarranted side-effects and picking the treatment that will work most effectively for each patient. Projects in the lab also investigate how the bacterial community in our gut is changed in cancer, and the role this plays in promoting this disease. This may lead to a probiotic supplement for high risk people to assist with bowel cancer detection or prevention in the future.

Gut Cancer Group Student Projects

Title: Using patient derived organoids and genomics to guide personalised treatment for advanced gut cancers

Project description: Together with our Australian research partners, we combine genomic analyses and patient organoid drug sensitivity assays to assess personalised treatment regimes for patients with advanced disease. We are using this to guide therapy choice for patients, reducing unwarranted side-effects and providing new treatment options for patients that have exhausted standard care options.

Projects available for: HDR
Location: SAHMRI
Research project start: Semester 1 and 2
Special requirements: Vaccination required
 

 

Title: Engineered bacteria to detect and treat gut cancers

Project description: Multiple projects in the group focus on probiotic bacteria that naturally seek out cancer to develop novel sensors of early disease and to deliver tumour specific, immune-activating payloads to treat a broad range of advanced bowel cancers.

Projects available for: HDR
Location: SAHMRI
Research project start: Semester 1 and 2
Special requirements: Vaccination required

 

Title: Modifying the gut microbiome to prevent bowel cancer

Project description: This project uses microbiome samples from Adelaide bowel cancer patients and healthy controls to understand how the bacteria that live in our gut change with cancer and how we can modify the gut microbiome to prevent risk of cancer.

Projects available for: HDR
Location: SAHMRI
Research project start: Semester 1 and 2
Special requirements: Vaccination required

Date Position Institution name
2024 - 2029 GESA Bushell Research Fellow Gastroenterological Society of Australia
2022 - ongoing A/Prof University of Adelaide
2019 - 2021 Beat Cancer SA Fellow & Group Leader University of Adelaide
2018 - ongoing Senior Research Fellow SAHMRI
2015 - 2018 Associate Research Fellow SAHMRI
2015 - ongoing Senior Research Fellow University of Adelaide

Date Type Title Institution Name Country Amount
2024 Award Best Mid-Career Researcher Award FHMS University of Adelaide University of Adelaide Australia -
2023 Award Adelaide Medical School Publication Award University of Adelaide Australia -
2021 Award University of Adelaide FHMS Publication Excellence Award University of Adelaide Australia -
2021 Award Winner SAHMRI High-impact Publication Award SAHMRI Australia -
2019 Award Community Engagement Award SAHMRI SAHMRI Australia -
2019 Achievement Pitch Perfect Finalist SAHMRI SAHMRI Australia -
2018 Award Best Mid-Career Researcher Award SAHMRI SAHMRI Australia -
2017 Award Poster of Merit Finalist Gastroenterological Society of Australia, GESA Australia -
2017 Award Faculty of Health Sciences Research Travel Award University of Adelaide Australia -
2016 Award Tall Poppy Science Award (SA) Australian Institute of Policy & Science Australia -
2016 Award Faculty of Health Sciences Dependant Travel Award university of adelaide Australia -
2015 Award University of Adelaide Women’s Research Excellence award the university of Adelaide Australia -
2011 Award ASMR Best Senior Researcher Award (QLD) Australian Society for Medical Research (QLD) Australia -
1999 Award Adelaide National Research Scholarship the university of Adelaide Australia -

Date Institution name Country Title
University of Adelaide Australia PhD

Date Title Institution Country
Postdoctoral Fellow University of California, San Francisco United States
Research Fellow QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute Australia

Year Citation
2026 Kaur, H., Bhall, G. I. S., Lauder, C., DA Silva, N., Price, T., Trochsler, M., . . . Hewett, P. (2026). Cytoreductive Surgery and Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy Outcomes for Colorectal and Mesothelioma Peritoneal Metastases: A 12-year Study. Anticancer Research, 46(3), 1507-1515.
DOI
2026 Syphers, J. L., Wright, J. A., de Nys, R., Silva, T. N., Vrbanac, L., Barratt, K. R., . . . Baell, J. B. (2026). Discovery of APO-50815, a potent WEE1 kinase inhibitor with exceptional efficacy against patient-derived colorectal cancer organoids. European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 312, 118838-1-118838-20.
DOI
2026 Foschini, S., Wright, J. A., Woods, S. L., & de Nys, R. (2026). Use of in vitro co-culture models to inform bacterial engineering for the treatment of solid tumours. npj Biomedical Innovations, 3(1), 21-1-21-9.
DOI
2026 Kaur, H., Silva, T. N., Wright, J. A., Woods, S. L., Price, T., Hewett, P., . . . Seo, W. J. (2026). International practice patterns and perceptions of pressurised intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy for management of gastric cancer: A global clinician survey. European Journal of Surgical Oncology, 52(7), 8 pages.
DOI
2026 Silva, T. N., Kaur, H., Krishnan, T., Liu, D. S., Lee, M., Trochsler, M., . . . Banks, S. (2026). The role of gastric cancer patient-derived organoids in precision medicine: Clinicians’ perspective. Stem Cell Reports, 103006.
DOI
2026 Kobayashi, H., Iida, T., Ochiai, Y., Sakai, A., White, R. A., Zeng, Y., . . . Wang, T. C. (2026). A self-amplifying nerve-fibroblast circuit drives colorectal cancer progression. Cancer Cell, 1-39.
DOI
2025 Kobayashi, H., Iida, T., Ochiai, Y., Malagola, E., Zhi, X., White, R. A., . . . Wang, T. C. (2025). Neuro-mesenchymal interaction mediated by a β2 adrenergic-nerve growth factor feedforward loop promotes colorectal cancer progression.. Cancer Discov, 15(1), 202-226.
DOI Scopus65 WoS7 Europe PMC42
2025 Raeisi, H., Leeflang, J., Hasan, S., & Woods, S. L. (2025). Bioengineered Probiotics for Clostridioides difficile Infection: An Overview of the Challenges and Potential for This New Treatment Approach. Probiotics and Antimicrobial Proteins, 17(2), 763-780.
DOI Scopus4 WoS3 Europe PMC3
2025 Kaur, H., Wright, J. A., Worthley, D. L., Murphy, E., & Woods, S. L. (2025). Precision Medicine for Peritoneal Carcinomatosis—Current Advances in Organoid Drug Testing and Clinical Applicability. Organoids, 4(1), 18 pages.
DOI Scopus6 WoS5
2025 Syphers, J. L., Wright, J. A., Liu, S., Gee, Y. S., Gao, F., Mudududdla, R., . . . Baell, J. B. (2025). Discovery of WEE1 Kinase Inhibitors with Potent Activity against Patient-Derived, Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Organoids. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 68(8), 8065-8090.
DOI Scopus4 WoS5 Europe PMC2
2025 Foley, K., Reid, J., Edwards, S., Price, T., Zimet, A., Woods, S., . . . Hewett, P. (2025). Pressurised intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy (PIPAC): The first Australian experience. Pleura and Peritoneum, 10(1), 25-31.
DOI Scopus1 WoS2 Europe PMC1
2025 Leeflang, J., Wright, J. A., Worthley, D. L., Din, M. O., & Woods, S. L. (2025). Evolutionary adaptation of probiotics in the gut: selection pressures, optimization strategies, and regulatory challenges. npj Biofilms and Microbiomes, 11(1), 96-1-96-8.
DOI Scopus14 WoS11 Europe PMC8
2025 Kaur, H., Litinas, M. -C., Lauder, C., Da Silva, N., Bradshaw, E. L., Price, T., . . . Hewett, P. (2025). Long-Term Survival Following Cytoreductive Surgery and Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC) for Pseudomyxoma Peritonei: A 22-Year Single Institution Experience. ANZ Journal of Surgery, 95(10), 2112-2122.
DOI Scopus2 WoS3
2024 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.
DOI Scopus3 WoS3 Europe PMC2
2024 Gurbatri, C. R., Radford, G. A., Vrbanac, L., Im, J., Thomas, E. M., Coker, C., . . . Danino, T. (2024). Engineering tumor-colonizing E. coli Nissle 1917 for detection and treatment of colorectal neoplasia. Nature Communications, 15(646), 646-1-646-13.
DOI Scopus163 WoS151 Europe PMC126
2024 Arai, J., Hayakawa, Y., Tateno, H., Murakami, K., Hayashi, T., Hata, M., . . . Fujishiro, M. (2024). Impaired Glycosylation of Gastric Mucins Drives Gastric Tumorigenesis and Serves as a Novel Therapeutic Target. Gastroenterology, 167(3), S0016-5085(24)00363-9.
DOI Scopus29 Europe PMC22
2024 Nguyen, T. P. M., Woods, S. L., Secombe, K. R., Tang, S., Elz, A. S., Ayton, S., . . . Bowen, J. M. (2024). Ferroptosis - a potential feature underlying neratinib-induced colonic epithelial injury. Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology, 94(4), 493-505.
DOI Scopus1 WoS1 Europe PMC1
2024 Radford, G. A., Vrbanac, L., de Nys, R. T., Worthley, D. L., Wright, J. A., Hasty, J., & Woods, S. L. (2024). Towards Understanding Tumour Colonisation by Probiotic Bacterium E. coli Nissle 1917. Cancers, 16(17), 2971-1-2971-18.
DOI Scopus10 WoS10 Europe PMC4
2024 Silva, T. N., Wright, J. A., Worthley, D. L., & Woods, S. L. (2024). Precision Medicine for Gastric Cancer: Current State of Organoid Drug Testing. Organoids, 3(4), 266-280.
DOI Scopus5 WoS3
2023 Hocking, A. J., Thomas, E. M., Prabhakaran, S., Jolley, A., Woods, S. L., Soeberg, M. J., & Klebe, S. (2023). Molecular Characterization of Testicular Mesothelioma and the Role of Asbestos as a Causative Factor.. Arch Pathol Lab Med, 147(12), 1446-1450.
DOI Scopus11 WoS10 Europe PMC8
2023 Cooper, R. M., Wright, J. A., Ng, J. Q., Goyne, J. M., Suzuki, N., Lee, Y. K., . . . Hasty, J. (2023). Engineered bacteria detect tumor DNA. Science, 381(6658), 682-686.
DOI Scopus76 WoS66 Europe PMC59
2023 Thomas, E. M., Wright, J. A., Blake, S. J., Page, A. J., Worthley, D. L., & Woods, S. L. (2023). Advancing translational research for colorectal immuno-oncology. British Journal of Cancer, 129(9), 1442-1450.
DOI Scopus31 WoS29 Europe PMC31
2023 Niikura, R., Hayakawa, Y., Nagata, N., Miyoshi-Akiayama, T., Miyabayashi, K., Tsuboi, M., . . . Fujishiro, M. (2023). Non-Helicobacter pylori Gastric Microbiome Modulates Prooncogenic Responses and Is Associated With Gastric Cancer Risk. Gastro Hep Advances, 2(5), 684-700.
DOI Scopus27 WoS28 Europe PMC25
2023 Ng, J. Q., Jafarov, T. H., Little, C. B., Wang, T., Ali, A. M., Ma, Y., . . . Mukherjee, S. (2023). Loss of Grem1-lineage chondrogenic progenitor cells causes osteoarthritis. Nature Communications, 14(1), 6909-1-6909-14.
DOI Scopus39 WoS38 Europe PMC33
2022 Kobayashi, H., Gieniec, K. A., Lannagan, T. R., Wang, T., Asai, N., Mizutani, Y., . . . Worthley, D. L. (2022). The origin and contribution of cancer-associated fibroblasts in colorectal carcinogenesis. Gastroenterology, 162(3), 890-906.
DOI Scopus174 WoS185 Europe PMC170
2022 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.
DOI Scopus15 WoS15 Europe PMC14
2022 Vatandoust, S., Wattchow, D., Sposato, L., Michael, M. Z., Leung, J., Gormly, K., . . . Karapetis, C. S. (2022). A longitudinal cohort study of watch and wait in complete clinical responders after chemo-radiotherapy for localised rectal cancer: study protocol. BMC Cancer, 22(1), 13 pages.
DOI Scopus12 WoS10 Europe PMC9
2021 Suzuki, M. I., Suzuki, N., Wang, T., Wright, J. A., Lannagan, T. R., Vrbanac, L., . . . Woods, S. L. (2021). Stromal DLK1 promotes proliferation and inhibits differentiation of the intestinal epithelium during development. American Journal of Physiology: Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology, 320(4), G506-G520.
DOI Scopus8 WoS7 Europe PMC8
2021 Ichinose, M., Suzuki, N., Wang, T., Wright, J. A., Lannagan, T. R. M., Vrbanac, L., . . . Woods, S. L. (2021). Delineating proinflammatory microenvironmental signals by ex vivo modeling of the immature intestinal stroma. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 7200-1-7200-11.
DOI Scopus2 WoS2 Europe PMC2
2021 Suzuki, M., Suzuki, N., Wang, T., Kobayashi, H., Vrbanac, L., Ng, J. Q., . . . Woods, S. L. (2021). The BMP antagonist Gremlin1 contributes to the development of cortical excitatory neurons, motor balance and fear responses. Development, 148(14), dev195883-1-dev195883-15.
DOI Scopus11 WoS11 Europe PMC13
2021 Kobayashi, H., Gieniec, K. A., Ng, J. Q., Goyne, J., Lannagan, T. R. M., Thomas, E. M., . . . Woods, S. L. (2021). Portal Vein Injection of Colorectal Cancer Organoids to Study the Liver Metastasis Stroma. Journal of Visualized Experiments, 2021(175), e62630-1-e62630-21.
DOI Scopus2 WoS3 Europe PMC3
2020 Narasimhan, V., Wright, J. A., Churchill, M., Wang, T., Rosati, R., Lannagan, T. R., . . . Woods, S. L. (2020). Medium-throughput drug screening of patient-derived organoids from colorectal peritoneal metastases to direct personalized therapy. Clinical Cancer Research, 26(14), 1-26.
DOI Scopus167 WoS149 Europe PMC152
2020 Kobayashi, H., Gieniec, K. A., Wright, J. A., Wang, T., Asai, N., Mizutani, Y., . . . Woods, S. L. (2020). The Balance of stromal BMP signaling mediated by GREM1 and ISLR drives colorectal carcinogenesis. Gastroenterology, 160(4), 1224-1239.
DOI Scopus139 WoS133 Europe PMC144
2019 Lannagan, T. R. M., Lee, Y. K., Wang, T., Roper, J., Bettington, M. L., Fennell, L., . . . Woods, S. L. (2019). Genetic editing of colonic organoids provides a molecularly distinct and orthotopic preclinical model of serrated carcinogenesis. Gut, 68(4), 684-692.
DOI Scopus101 WoS99 Europe PMC104
2019 Suzuki, N., Niikura, R., Ihara, S., Hikiba, Y., Kinoshita, H., Higashishima, N., . . . Koike, K. (2019). Alpha-Blockers as colorectal cancer chemopreventive: findings from a case-control study, human cell cultures, and in vivo preclinical testing. Cancer Prevention Research, 12(3), 185-194.
DOI Scopus7 WoS8 Europe PMC6
2019 Kobayashi, H., Enomoto, A., Woods, S. L., Burt, A. D., Takahashi, M., & Worthley, D. L. (2019). Cancer-associated fibroblasts in gastrointestinal cancer. Nature Reviews Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 16(5), 282-295.
DOI Scopus494 WoS489 Europe PMC442
2019 Gieniec, K. A., Butler, L. M., Worthley, D. L., & Woods, S. L. (2019). Cancer-associated fibroblasts—heroes or villains?. British Journal of Cancer, 121(4), 293-302.
DOI Scopus184 WoS173 Europe PMC175
2019 Mizutani, Y., Kobayashi, H., Iida, T., Asai, N., Masamune, A., Hara, A., . . . Enomoto, A. (2019). Meflin-positive cancer-associated fibroblasts inhibit pancreatic carcinogenesis.. Cancer research, 79(20), 5367-5381.
DOI Scopus298 WoS283 Europe PMC277
2019 Kleeman, S. O., Koelzer, V. H., Jones, H. J., Vazquez, E. G., Davis, H., East, J. E., . . . Leedham, S. J. (2019). Exploiting differential Wnt target gene expression to generate a molecular biomarker for colorectal cancer stratification. Gut, 69(6), 1092-1103.
DOI Scopus58 WoS57 Europe PMC59
2018 Bond, C., Liu, C., Kawamata, F., McKeone, D., Fernando, W., Jamieson, S., . . . Whitehall, V. (2018). Oncogenic BRAF mutation induces DNA methylation changes in a murine model for human serrated colorectal neoplasia. Epigenetics, 13(1), 40-48.
DOI Scopus54 WoS52 Europe PMC47
2016 Li, J., Woods, S., Healey, S., Beesley, J., Chen, X., Lee, J., . . . Schrader, K. (2016). Point mutations in Exon 1B of APC reveal gastric adenocarcinoma and proximal polyposis of the stomach as a familial adenomatous polyposis variant. American Journal of Human Genetics, 98(5), 830-842.
DOI Scopus218 WoS174 Europe PMC164
2014 Aoude, L., Pritchard, A., Robles-Espinoza, C., Wadt, K., Harland, M., Choi, J., . . . Hayward, N. (2014). Nonsense mutations in the shelterin complex genes ACD and TERF2IP in familial melanoma. JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 107(2), dju408-1-dju408-7.
DOI Scopus163 WoS148 Europe PMC135
2013 Hacker, E., Nagore, E., Cerroni, L., Woods, S., Hayward, N., Chapman, B., . . . Whiteman, D. (2013). NRAS and BRAF mutations in cutaneous melanoma and the association with MC1R genotype: findings from Spanish and Austrian populations. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 133(4), 1027-1033.
DOI Scopus39 WoS35 Europe PMC27
2012 Stark, M., Woods, S., Gartside, M., Bonazzi, V., Dutton-Regester, K., Aoude, L., . . . Hayward, N. (2012). Frequent somatic mutations in MAP3K5 and MAP3K9 in metastatic melanoma identified by exome sequencing. Nature Genetics, 44(2), 165-169.
DOI Scopus164 WoS154 Europe PMC148
2011 Yokoyama, S., Woods, S., Boyle, G., Aoude, L., MacGregor, S., Zismann, V., . . . Brown, K. (2011). A novel recurrent mutation in MITF predisposes to familial and sporadic melanoma. Nature, 480(7375), 99-U266.
DOI Scopus412 WoS362 Europe PMC337
2011 Woods, S., & Bishop, J. (2011). A new transgenic mouse line for tetracycline inducible transgene expression in mature melanocytes and the melanocyte stem cells using the Dopachrome tautomerase promoter. Transgenic Research, 20(2), 421-428.
DOI Scopus9 WoS8 Europe PMC7
2011 Boyle, G. M., Woods, S. L., Bonazzi, V. F., Stark, M. S., Hacker, E., Aoude, L. G., . . . Hayward, N. K. (2011). Melanoma cell invasiveness is regulated by miR-211 suppression of the BRN2 transcription factor. Pigment Cell and Melanoma Research, 24(3), 525-537.
DOI Scopus157 WoS151 Europe PMC147
2010 Swarbrick, A., Woods, S. L., Shaw, A., Balakrishnan, A., Phua, Y., Nguyen, A., . . . Goga, A. (2010). MiR-380-5p represses p53 to control cellular survival and is associated with poor outcome in MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma. Nature Medicine, 16(10), 1134-1140.
DOI Scopus180 WoS167 Europe PMC155
2008 Woods, S., Farrall, A., Procko, C., & Whitelaw, M. (2008). The bHLH/Per-Arnt-Sim transcription factor SIM2 regulates muscle transcript myomesin2 via a novel, non-canonical E-box sequence. Nucleic Acids Research, 36(11), 3716-3727.
DOI Scopus18 WoS17 Europe PMC12
2002 Woods, S., & Whitelaw, M. (2002). Differential activities of murine single minded 1 (SIM1) and SIM2 on a hypoxic response element - Cross-talk between basic helix-loop-helix/Per-Arnt-Sim homology transcription factors. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 277(12), 10236-10243.
DOI Scopus66 WoS64 Europe PMC60

Year Citation
2017 Bond, C., Liu, C., Kawamata, F., Mckeone, D., Jamieson, S., Pearson, S., . . . Whitehall, V. (2017). Oncogenic <i>BRAF</i> mutation induces widespread DNA hypermethylation in a murine model for human serrated colorectal neoplasia. In JOURNAL OF GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY Vol. 32 (pp. 15). WILEY.

Year Citation
2024 Mossner, M., Househam, J., Kyle, P., Donato-Brown, D., Woods, S. L., Heide, T., . . . Graham, T. A. (2024). Evolutionary dynamics of phenotypic plasticity in metastatic colorectal cancer. Poster session presented at the meeting of Abstracts of the 6th Joint Meeting with the Royal Society of Medicine, 215th Scientific Meeting of the Pathological Society of Great Britain & Ireland, as published in Journal of Pathology. London, UK: Wiley.
DOI
2019 Enomoto, A., Mizutani, Y., Kobayashi, H., Iida, T., Woods, S. L., Worthley, D. L., & Takahashi, M. (2019). Identification of cancer-associated fibroblasts that suppress pancreatic cancer progression. Poster session presented at the meeting of CANCER RESEARCH. GA, Atlanta: AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH.
DOI
2017 Woods, S. L., Lannagan, T. R. M., Suzuki, N., Yang, M., Lee, Y. K., Wang, T., . . . Worthley, D. L. (2017). Bridging the GAPP between the laboratory and clinic to prevent gastric adenocarcinoma and proximal polyposis of the stomach (GAPPS). Poster session presented at the meeting of JOURNAL OF GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY. WILEY.
2017 Suzuki, N., Hata, M., Hikiba, Y., Ihara, S., Kosuke, S., Nakagawa, H., . . . Koike, K. (2017). Metastatic gastric signet ring cell carcinoma organoids generated from normal mouse stomach. Poster session presented at the meeting of JOURNAL OF GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY. WILEY.
2017 Lannagan, T. R. M., Woods, S. L., Wang, T., Somashekar, R., Yang, M., Ng, J. Q., . . . Worthley, D. L. (2017). Gremlin 1-expressing intestinal reticular stem cells give rise to cancer-associated fibroblasts in a mouse model of colorectal cancer. Poster session presented at the meeting of JOURNAL OF GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY. WILEY.
2017 Lannagan, T. R. M., Lee, Y. K., Gieniec, K., Wang, T., Somashekar, R., Yang, M., . . . Woods, S. L. (2017). The development of a state-of the art, high-sensitivity stool DNA test to improve screening for serrated polyps and early lesions. Poster session presented at the meeting of JOURNAL OF GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY. WILEY.

Year Citation
2025 Cooper, R., Hasty, J., Worthley, D., Woods, S., & Wright, J. (2025). US 2025/0027168 A1, Detecting disease-associated target nucleic acids in a mammal and treatment thereof. United States.
2024 Gurbatri, C., Danino, T., Woods, S., Worthley, D., & Radford, G. (2024). Provisional, Engineering tumor-colonizing E.coli Nissle 1917 for detection and treatment of colorectal neoplasia. United States.

Year Citation
2023 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
2021 Cooper, R. M., Wright, J. A., Ng, J. Q., Goyne, J. M., Suzuki, N., Lee, Y. K., . . . Hasty., J. (2021). Engineered bacteria detect tumor DNA.
DOI
Year(s) Funding Body Role Amount
2026-29

National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia) Ideas Grant 2046540

Targeting high-risk microbiomes to prevent colorectal cancer

 CIA $1,293,796
2026-28

National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia) Ideas Grant 2046608

Targeted E. coli Nissle missiles for treatment of advanced colorectal cancer

 CIA $1,056,848
2025-26 Sanofi-contracted preclinical study to test engineered probiotic bacterial strains  CIA $118,640
2024-25

Gastroenterological Society of Australia Project Grant

Genetic engineering of E. coli Nissle to improve biosafety and therapeutic precision

 CIA $50,000
2024-27

National Institute Health (USA) Trailblazer R21 1R21EB035772 Grant

DNA Recorder: Living biosensor for arbitrary DNA

NB International sub-awards under review by NIH.

 CIB US$400K (to CIA)
2024-28

National Institute Health (USA) R01 KR52580 Grant

Bacterial biosensors for the prevention of gastrointestinal cancers NB International sub-awards under review by NIH.

CIC

 

 US$3.4M (CIA/B)
2024

Adelaide Nottingham Alliance Partnership Seed Fund

Developing an artificial intelligence (AI)-based classifier to predict personalised chemotherapy response for cancer patients using 3D-patient-derived organoid imaging.

 CIB $20,000
2024-29 Medical Research Future Fund (AUS) Chronic Respiratory conditions APP2031013 Improving clinical outcomes and predicting susceptibility in mesothelioma and lung cancer CI Team (1 of 12) $1,986,575 
2024-29

Gastroenterological Society of Australia Bushell Research Fellowship

Next generation prevention and treatment of gastric cancer

 Sole CI $500,000 
2023-25 Engineering next-generation bowel cancer treatments National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia) Ideas Grant 2020305 CIA $717,084 
2023-24 The Hospital Research Foundation-Innovations in Disease Diagnostics 2022-CP-IDMH-013 Bowel cancer screening & prevention with engineered probiotics CIA $250,000 
2023

Tour de Cure Grant Program RSP-271-FY2023

Precision medicine for stomach cancer patients

 CIA $140,000
2022-23

Greaton/Haneco Lighting Philanthropic Funding

Fighting Stomach cancer together

 Sole CI $70,000
2021-24 National Institute Health (USA) 1 R01 EB030134-01A1 Grant Design and characterization of bacterial population dynamics in solid tumor models SAHMRI Subaward Lead $520,000 to SW
2021-22

Greaton Philanthropic Funding

Fighting Stomach cancer together

 Sole CI $50,000
2020-23 National Cancer Institute (USA) 1R01CA241728-01A1 Grant A microbiome-informed platform for the development and testing of bacterial therapies for colorectal cancer. SAHMRI Subaward Lead $480,000 to SW
2020-21 Sanofi/Ablynx-contracted preclinical study to test probiotic bacterial strains for tumor homing capabilities CIB $350,000
2021 Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences Research Infrastructure Funding Award CID  $45,940
2019-21 Redx Pharma-contracted preclinical study to test New Porcupine inhibitor in non-APC mutant bowel cancer CIA $79,000 
2020-24 NHMRC Ideas Grant APP1184925 CIA  $596,608 
2019-21 Cancer Council SA Beat Cancer Mid-Career Cancer Research Fellowship Sole CI $600,000 
2019-23  From the stone age to state of the art – multidimensional precision med for peritoneal CRC National Health and Medical Research Council Project Grant APP1156391 CIF   $1,399,877 
2019 Uni of Adelaide FHMS Emerging Leadership Program Sole CI $40,000
2018-20  NHMRC New Investigator Project Grant APP1140236  Sole CI  $593,854 
2018-20 NHMRC Project Grant APP1143414 CIC $724,876
2016-18 Cure Cancer Australia/Cancer Australia Priority-driven Young Investigator Project Grant Sole CI $197,350
2017-18 GESA Research Collaboration Award 1 of 2 CIs $30,000   
2017 Uni of Adelaide FHMS Research Infrastructure Grant CIA $16,770   

 
2011 Cure Cancer Australia/Cancer Australia Priority-driven Young Investigator Project Grant Sole Chief Investigator $90,000   
2011 QIMR-University-Collaborative Seed Funding Grant: Early Career Researcher Sole Chief Investigator $31,500   

BIOCHEMISTRY III: Cancer, Stem Cell & Dev Sem 2 2019-26 (3001, 3235, 3520)

Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
2026 Principal Supervisor Engineered bacteria for cancer treatment Master of Research Master Full Time Miss Beth Mary Leydon
2025 Principal Supervisor Genetic engineering of Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 to improve biosafety and therapeutic precision Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Sara Foschini
2024 Principal Supervisor Harnessing tumour specific evolution of probiotic bacteria to engineer next-generation bowel cancer treatments Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Julia Leeflang
2024 Principal Supervisor Investigating colorectal cancer associated gut microbiome changes to engineer next generation cancer prevention strategies Master of Philosophy (Medical Science) Master Full Time Miss Sadia Tasnim Hasan
2024 Principal Supervisor Investigating colorectal cancer associated gut microbiome changes to engineer next generation cancer prevention strategies Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Sadia Tasnim Hasan
2023 Principal Supervisor Personalising treatments for advanced cancer patients receiving intraperitoneal chemotherapy using patient-derived organoids. Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Dr Harleen Kaur
2023 Principal Supervisor Precision medicine for stomach cancer using patient derived organoids Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Francisco Hettige Tharindie Natashiya Silva

Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
2021 - 2025 Principal Supervisor Understanding colonisation of tumour-homing bacteria Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Georgette Alexandra Radford
2021 - 2023 Co-Supervisor An Investigation of Biological Processes Underlying Neratinib-induced Gut Injury Master of Philosophy (Medical Science) Master Full Time Mr Phu Minh Triet Nguyen
2021 - 2024 Principal Supervisor Development of a syngeneic, orthotopic microsatellite instability mouse model of colorectal cancer Master of Philosophy (Medical Science) Master Part Time Miss Elaine May Thomas
2020 - 2021 Co-Supervisor The Roles of Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts in Colorectal Carcinogenesis Doctor of Philosophy under a Jointly-awarded Degree Agreement with Doctorate Full Time Mr Hiroki Kobayashi
2017 - 2021 Co-Supervisor Investigating the Contribution of Specific Cancer-Associated Fibroblast Subsets to Colorectal Tumourigenesis Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Krystyna Anna Gieniec

Date Role Committee Institution Country
2025 - ongoing Member Translational Research Committee Australasian Gastro-Intestinal Trials Group / GI Cancer Trials Australia
2025 - 2027 Member GESA GI Cancer Faculty Gastroenterological Society of Australia Australia
2021 - 2023 Convener GESA Research Workshop Convenor Gastroenterological Society of Australia Australia
2019 - ongoing Member GESA Research and Grants Committee Gastroenterological Society of Australia Australia
2019 - 2020 Chair E/MCR group, Faculty of Health Science University of Adelaide Australia
2019 - 2020 Member SAHMRI Community Advisory Group SAHMRI Australia
2019 - ongoing Member Faculty of Health Science Research Committee The University of Adelaide Australia
2019 - 2019 Member AGITG Trainee Workshop Faculty Organising Committee Australasian Gastro-Intestinal Trials Group Australia
2018 - 2020 Member Victorian Cancer Council ECRF Review Panel Member Victorian Cancer Council Australia
2018 - ongoing Member GESA Scientific Program Committee, Research Workshop Gastroenterological Society of Australia Australia
2018 - 2025 Member AGITG Annual Scientific Meeting Translational Research Sub-Committee Australasian Gastro-Intestinal Trials Group Australia
2017 - 2022 Member Cure Cancer Australia Research Consultative Committee Cure Cancer Australia Australia
2016 - 2021 Co-Chair SAHMRI E/MCR Working Group SAHMRI Australia

Date Role Membership Country
2018 - ongoing Member NHMRC Grant Review Panel Australia

Date Title Engagement Type Institution Country
2016 - ongoing Co-organiser Consumer Bowel Cancer Research Interest Group Scientific Community Engagement SAHMRI/University of Adelaide -

Date Office Name Institution Country
2023 - 2023 Convenor MicrobioME SAHMRI Australia

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