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"Like others, we were not able to access our research facilities for two months, which thwarted our momentum. Testing of newmolecules had to be halted. Nevertheless, we utilised the time away from the laboratory to glean through current brain cancer treatment literature, preparing manuscripts for publication and future grant applications, all of which will help us drive the project forward." Headlines 17 What advances are taking place internationally for those suffering from brain tumours? In recent years, several new treatment options have become available besides the standard chemotherapy drug, temozolomide (TMZ). There are DNA alkylating agents such as lomustine, and intravenous carmustine wafer implants being used for the treatment of high-grade gliomas. Immunotherapy agent, bevacizumab (BVZ), is another treatment that is showing some promise. The US Food and Drug Administration has also approved a device called tumour treatment fields (TTFields) to treat high-grade gliomas. TTFields uses alternating electric fields of intermediate frequency and low intensity to disrupt cell division and initiate cancer cell death. Among these new treatments, TTFields is the only treatment that has shown to improve overall survival and progression-free survival for six months in comparison to the current standard of care. Thus, new innovative treatments are still required to tackle various brain cancers. As the current standard of care (maximal tumour resection, radiation and temozolomide therapy) does not benefit all, more needs to be done to alleviate the pain and suffering of brain tumour patients. What are you working on now? Our goal is to assemble a world-class drug discovery team at the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, specifically focusing on discovering new treatments for various brain cancers. The problem is most approved anticancer drugs simply do not cross the blood-brain-barrier. The overall goal of our research is to design a delivery system that not only delivers drugs (cytotoxic and targeted agents) across the blood-brain-barrier, but also achieves tumour-specific delivery of drugs so we can reduce unwanted systemic toxicity. We are targeting high-grade gliomas, which effect on average 36 New Zealanders every year with a dismal five-year survival rate of 6%, which has only improved marginally over decades. If successful, how will your treatment work? We are designing drug-dye conjugates that can potentially cross the blood- brain-barrier. Our drug-dye conjugates combine heptamethine cyanine dye (HMCD) and tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI). This strategy delivers desired drug concentration at the tumour site to elicit antitumour activity without the undesired side effects. The system we are developing is also applicable for treating other solid tumours with a particular focus on increasing tumour targeted drug delivery, reduced toxicity, and reduced drug dosage. Howdoes this build on previous support fromthe Neurological Foundation? In 2018 we received a small project grant – our first-ever grant for trialling a new hypothesis to deliver drugs across the blood-brain- barrier. Our idea of conjugating FDA-approved kinase inhibitors to a blood-brain-barrier crossing dye was not attempted before. The small project grant allowed us to test the hypothesis and gain valuable preliminary data. The grant was crucial in forging collaborations here and overseas, and it enabled us to work closely with neurosurgeons from Auckland Hospital to obtain valuable patient samples for the project. We were also able to recruit students and train them as next generation scientists focusing on brain cancers. Has the pandemic had any impact on your research activities? Like others, we were not able to access our research facilities for two months, which thwarted our momentum. Testing of new molecules had to be halted. Nevertheless, we utilised the time away from the laboratory to glean through current brain cancer treatment literature, preparing manuscripts for publication and future grant applications, all of which will help us drive the project forward. Dr Jiney Jose from the Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre (ACSRC), University of Auckland, discusses emerging treatments for brain tumours. A recent Neurological Foundation grant is helping Dr Jose and his team to develop new treatments for high-grade glioma, a type of brain tumour.