Dr Nicola Principe, a researcher with the National Centre for Asbestos Related Diseases (NCARD), has received a $100,000 WA Near-Miss Award to investigate new approaches to improving cancer immunotherapy.
Delivered through the Future Health Research and Innovation Fund, the WA Near-Miss Awards program supports high-quality Western Australian research applications that narrowly missed out on Commonwealth funding. Dr Principe was one of 39 researchers to receive funding through the scheme this round, as part of a $3.9 million investment in health and medical research.
Her project, Targeting lipid-mediated immune suppression to improve cancer immunotherapy, will examine why some tumours resist immunotherapy and whether existing cholesterol-lowering medicines could help reduce this resistance.
Immunotherapy has improved outcomes for many people with cancer, but not everyone responds to treatment. Dr Principe’s project will investigate some of the biological processes that may contribute to this variation.
The research builds on findings that regulatory T cells appear to rely on distinct cholesterol and lipid pathways within treatment-resistant tumours. These cells normally help regulate immune responses but can also limit the immune system’s ability to recognise and respond to cancer cells.
Dr Principe will investigate whether cholesterol-lowering medicines, including statins, can alter these pathways and reduce immune suppression within tumours.
Using metabolic profiling, she aims to understand how regulatory T cells influence treatment response, prioritise statin and immunotherapy combinations for further study, and analyse whether statin use is associated with better outcomes among people receiving immunotherapy.
The research has particular relevance to mesothelioma, a cancer strongly linked to asbestos exposure and a central focus of NCARD’s work, as well as lung cancer.
“I am so incredibly grateful to receive this funding, as it will make a great difference in supporting the development of new research skills and a strong foundation for the next stage of the research program,” Dr Principe said.
Dr Principe will be mentored by Dr Jonathan Chee, Dr Melvin Chin and Professor Anna Nowak. She will also work with collaborators at St Vincent’s Institute and the Australian National Phenome Centre at Murdoch University, bringing together expertise in cancer immunology, mesothelioma and metabolic research.
“By bringing together WA’s expertise in mesothelioma, cancer immunology and metabolic research, we hope to find new ways to overcome immunotherapy resistance and help more patients benefit from treatment.”
Dr Principe’s award reflects the strength of collaborative cancer research across NCARD, the Institute for Respiratory Health, and UWA. It also highlights the role of bridging funding programmes in supporting promising research and the development of early- and mid-career researchers.
