ANZSA Sarcoma Research Grant 2021 - Dr Vijesh Vaghjiani

Targeting oncogenic drivers in therapy-resistant osteosarcoma 

ANZSA is proud to announce that one of two Sarcoma Research Grants was awarded to Dr Vijesh Vaghjiani from the Hudson Institute of Medical Research.

Dr Vaghjiani’s research aims to target oncogenic drivers in therapy-resistant osteosarcoma by investigating the genetic drivers of therapy resistance that will inform potential biomarkers of predictive response to standard of care therapy and identify drugable targets that may overcome resistance.

Osteosarcoma is a highly aggressive tumour of the bone, primarily affecting children, adolescents, and young adults. Unfortunately, survival rates have not improved significantly since the introduction of chemotherapy 40 years ago, highlighting the urgent need to better understand tumour biology and new and improved prognostic and therapeutic strategies, especially for patients with metastatic and recurrent disease.

Dr Vaghjiani and his team will investigate the underlying causes that lead to the development of recurrent disease using cutting-edge technologies. The results of the project have the potential to directly inform the clinical management of patients that respond poorly to first-line therapy and provide insight into future targeted therapies for resistant disease.

Dr Vaghjiani hopes that the overall outcomes of this research project will have enormous potential to improve the clinical care and outcomes of osteosarcoma patients significantly.

The ANZSA Sarcoma Research Grant 2021 is generously funded through the generous donations of many individual donors to ANZSA to support sarcoma research.