Biography
Professor Wayne A. Phillips B.Sc.(Hons), Ph.D. is an experienced cancer biologist with broad expertise in cellular and molecular biology, cell signalling, and preclinical models of cancer. He is currently a Senior Principal Research Fellow and Head of the Phillips laboratory at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne and is a Professorial Fellow in both the Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, and the Department of Surgery (SVH), at the University of Melbourne. He is also an adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Monash University.
Prof. Phillips has a major research interest in the pathogenesis of Barrett’s oesophagus and esophageal cancer. His laboratory has developed novel 3D cell culture systems and pre-clinical models with which to study cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying development of Barrett’s metaplasia and its progression to oesophageal adenocarcinoma. His laboratory also uses genomic approaches to understand the molecular genetics of both sporadic and familial Barrett’s oesophagus.
Prof. Phillips’ research also has a strong translational emphasis. Most recently, his lab has developed an innovative method for the generation of robust patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models for preclinical testing of new therapeutic approaches for the treatment of oesophageal cancers.
Prof. Phillips also has a long standing interest in the role of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase signalling pathway in cancer. His laboratory was one of the two groups who independently identified somatic mutations in the phosphoinositide 3-kinase family genes in human tumours and now studies the biological consequences and clinical significance of these mutations. Currently his work is focused on using a novel Pik3ca knock-in mouse model to investigate the role, function, and mechanism of action of Pik3ca mutations in a physiologically relevant context in a number of different tumour types.
