• Chief Investigator, Cancer Biology, Eskitis Institute for Cell and Molecular Therapies
• Director, Seno Sano

Contact details for Dr Derek Kennedy

Biography

Dr Kennedy obtained his Master of Medical Science from the Queensland Institute of Medical research and his PhD from the Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB, University of Queensland). He has held positions as a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Developmental Biology (IBS, Palermo, Italy) and at IMB. Upon winning independent funding, he set up a laboratory at Griffith University where he is currently holding positions as a senior lecturer and a chief investigator.

Dr Kennedy’s research interests include:

1. investigating human disorders associated with inappropriate RNA- metabolism. This includes ribosomal RNA processing, mRNA processing and RNA-editing. The major disease focus for the laboratory is breast cancer progression although other forms of cancer are also being investigated.
2. discovery and investigation of rasGRPase SH3 domain-binding protein 2 (G3BP2) which has recently been shown to be important in the progression of breast cancer from Ductal in situ (DCIS) and Lobular carcinomas to Ductal Infiltrating (IDC) and Lobular infiltrating cancers. The group holds a patent for the use of G3BP2 as a biomarker in breast cancer diagnostics and a novel therapy for breast cancer cures.
3. exploring early breast cancer biomarkers, diagnostics and therapies as chief scientific officer for Seno Sano.
4. discovery and investigation of Nucleolar RNA-associated protein (Nrap also called Nol6) which the group has shown to be involved in ribosomal RNA (rRNA) biogenesis.