Dr Luc Furic

Dr Furic is Head of the Translational Prostate Cancer Research Laboratory at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. Dr Furic is a basic and translational research scientist with 15 years’ experience in prostate cancer research. He was awarded his PhD in Biochemistry from Université de Montréal, Canada, for his discovery of a novel RNA degradation mechanism (Cell, 2005; EMBO, 2007). During his postdoctoral training in Molecular and Cancer Cell Biology at McGill University, Canada, he identified the translation initiation factor eIF4E as a key driver in prostate cancer (PNAS 2010).

His current research focuses on oncogenic signalling in prostate cancer, especially signalling impacting protein synthesis, and the identification and validation of novel therapeutic targets. Dr Furic has made key discoveries in understanding the reprogramming of protein synthesis as a vulnerability in prostate cancer. The overarching goal of his research program is to identify and target molecular pathways which are activated in all prostate cancer cells to address the challenge of tumour heterogeneity. His research has recently identified tRNA epitranscriptomic modifications as a vulnerability in prostate cancer (EMBO 2019). His laboratory uses biochemical and molecular biology approaches to gain a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms responsible for prostate cancer progression. He has significant experience in developing and working with genetically engineered mouse models (GEMM) and patient-derived xenografts (PDX) of prostate cancer for pre-clinical drug testing. Dr Furic’s research is supported by competitive grant funding from US Department of Defense, NHMRC, ARC, VCA, US Prostate Cancer Foundation (US PCF), other national and international philanthropic organisations and commercial contracts. Dr Furic is an Associate Investigator of the ProsTIC Theranostics Centre.