Dr Frances Byrne

Dr Frances Byrne was only a child when she felt the force of cancer.

Growing up on the Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia, she knew three boys who passed away from leukaemia during her schooling years. 

“I saw the devastating impact this had on their families and the community,” Dr Byrne said.

“This is one of the reasons why I started my career in cancer research. Since then, there have been remarkable improvements in survival rates for some cancers, such as leukaemia. 

“However, there is still so much work to do to improve outcomes for other cancers.”

Dr Byrne completed a Bachelor of Biotechnology (Hons) at Flinders University before moving to Sydney in 2005. This is when she began her career in cancer research, and then as a PHD student working under the mentorship of Professor Maria Kavallaris and Associate Professor Joshua McCarroll at the Children’s Cancer Institute.

She now leads a team of scientists in her own laboratory at the University of NSW. Her research is focused on developing new drugs to target cancer metabolism (how cancer cells make the energy and molecules they need to grow and spread), as well as investigating the link between obesity and cancer.

Early Career Fellowship

In 2018, Dr Byrne received an Early Career Fellowship from the Cancer Institute NSW to support her research looking at new ways to selectively kill cancer cells by targeting the Warburg Effect. The aim of this approach is to help preserve normal cells during treatment, greatly improving the health and quality of life of people with cancer.

The Warburg Effect describes in which cancer cells use a lot of glucose and turn it into lactate, even when oxygen is available. Usually, normal cells only do this when there's not enough oxygen. While this isn’t an efficient way to make energy, it helps cancer cells grow, survive, and spread.

Dr Byrne and her team screened drugs and discovered a molecule called BH10 that has greater toxicity to cancer cells than normal cells. Results showed this molecule works by causing oxidative stress inside cancer cell’s mitochondria (energy powerhouse) that disrupts the Warburg Effect.

Since then, Dr Byrne has published an additional three papers as senior author which report the synthesis and screening of more than 100 new BH10-like molecules. Her studies have identified a drug target of BH10 called Keap1, a protein that protects cancer cells from damage caused by oxidative stress.

“Importantly, we have made significant progress in developing molecules that might be used to treat cancer in the future that have less toxicity to healthy cells.”

Career Development Fellowship 

Liver cancer outcomes have not improved in several decades. Of the 1000-plus people in NSW who will be diagnosed with liver cancer in 2025, only one in five will reach five-years survival.

Recognising an area in significant need of research, Dr Byrne’s lab is looking at whether they can enhance the effectiveness of liver cancer treatments by using drugs that target obesity.

“Obesity is a leading risk factor for several types of cancer, including liver cancer. Obesity can also contribute to drug resistance and cancer recurrence; however, it is not considered when treating cancer patients,” Dr Byrne explained.

“My lab is investigating novel ‘fat burning’ molecules, called mitochondrial uncouplers, that safely reverse obesity but don’t impact healthy lean mass.”

Dr Byrne secured a 2022 Career Development Fellowship to aid this research. Since receiving the grant, her lab has made excellent progress. They’ve discovered that their novel mitochondrial uncouplers greatly enhance the effectiveness of liver cancer therapies using in vivo models.

“My research is the first to show that our novel molecules could be used alongside cancer therapies to treat obese liver cancer patients,” Dr Byrne said.

“We believe this innovative approach will improve outcomes for people with liver cancer by shrinking (or eradicating) tumours to a greater extent than current cancer therapies.

“This could substantially prolong patient lives and reduce risk of cancer recurrence. We also think our approach could be used to improve outcomes for other obesity-related cancers.”

Impact of the Cancer Institute NSW’s support

The two fellowships from the Cancer Institute NSW have been instrumental in supporting Dr Byrne from the early to mid-career stage. The grants, collectively worth $740,000, helped enable her build research capacity, a research team, and collaborations across NSW and beyond.

“As such, the Cancer Institute NSW plays such a fundamental role in supporting a healthy research ecosystem in NSW and in doing so, also strengthens that of Australia,” Dr Byrne said.

“All the people I’ve met in this field all share the same vision - to improve outcomes for those impacted by cancer. It is with this shared vision that I believe we will no doubt make a positive impact on the lives of people with cancer and their families.”