Meegan Howlett
Senior Postdoctoral Researcher and Research Project Manager
BSc(Hons), PhD
meegan.howlett@telethonkids.org.au
Dr Meegan Howlett’s research focuses on identifying novel treatments to combine with standard-of-care chemotherapy and radiotherapy that also induce minimal side effects, to improve outcomes for paediatric brain cancer patients.
Meegan completed her Bachelor of Science (Biotechnology) at Murdoch University before working in immunology diagnostics and research as a locum medical scientist in the Department of Immunology, Fremantle Hospital.
Meegan then relocated to Melbourne taking up a Research Assistant position in the Department of Medicine, Melbourne University, where she later completed her Honours degree in gastric cancer research. Her lab relocated to the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) where she completed her PhD studies on STAT3 signalling in gastric cancer.
After a short post-doctoral position in the same laboratory, travelling and voluntary work abroad, Meegan returned to WA and began her postdoctoral studies in Prof’s Kees’ Leukaemia and Cancer Laboratory at The Kids Research Institute Australia, focussing on leukemia and microenvironmental interactions in the bone marrow.
Meegan has been in her current Postdoctoral and Research Project Manager position with Dr Raelene Endersby and Dr Nick Gottardo since 2016, where she utilises her expertise in cancer signalling, mouse modelling, the cancer microenvironment and project management to help drive the team’s research closer toward improving survival and quality of life for all children suffering from deadly brain cancers.
Find Dr Howlett on ORCID.
Projects
Finding new, safer and targeted therapies for paediatric brain cancer that amplify responses to radiation therapy
Radiation therapy is an essential component of brain cancer treatment. However, the high doses currently required are extremely damaging to the growing brains and bodies of children.
Developing and characterising juvenile models of aggressive paediatric brain cancers for the evaluation of novel immunotherapies.
While profound treatment responses have been realised using immunotherapy for some cancer types, this is yet to be seen for paediatric brain cancer patients.
Published research
ONC201 in Combination with Paxalisib for the Treatment of H3K27-Altered Diffuse Midline Glioma
Diffuse midline gliomas (DMG), including diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPG), are the most lethal of childhood cancers. Palliative radiotherapy is the only established treatment, with median patient survival of 9 to 11 months. ONC201 is a DRD2 antagonist and ClpP agonist that has shown preclinical and emerging clinical efficacy in DMG.
In vivo loss of tumorigenicity in a patient-derived orthotopic xenograft mouse model of ependymoma
Ependymomas (EPN) are the third most common malignant brain cancer in children. Treatment strategies for pediatric EPN have remained unchanged over recent decades, with 10-year survival rates stagnating at just 67% for children aged 0-14 years. Moreover, a proportion of patients who survive treatment often suffer long-term neurological side effects as a result of therapy. It is evident that there is a need for safer, more effective treatments for pediatric EPN patients.
Education and Qualifications
- 2005-2009 – PhD, The University of Melbourne, Paediatrics
- 2003 - Bachelor of Science with first class Honours, The University of Melbourne, Department of Medicine
- 2001 - Bachelor of Science (Biotechnology) Murdoch University, WA
Awards/Honours
- 2018 Friends of the Institute travel award, The Kids Research Institute Australia
- 2013 Springer scholarship award, CCN society, 7th International Workshop on the CCN family of genes, Nice, France.
- 2006 Award for best young investigator, oral presentation. Western Hospital, Victoria.
- 2004 Distinguished poster presentation, Digestive Diseases Week, New Orleans, LA, USA
- 2005-2008 – Melbourne Research Scholarship, Melbourne University, Vic, Aus
Active Collaborations
Dr Howlett worked closely with CIs Endersby and Gottardo to recently establish a national collaboration of leading research scientists and clinicians from 14 institutions/hospitals across Australia named PETRA: PrEclinical Translational Research Alliance for Paediatric Brain Cancer and have partnered with the cooperative clinical trials group Australian and New Zealand Children’s Haematology and Oncology Group (ANZCHOG) to facilitate translation.
Dr Howlett also collaborates locally with researchers from Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital (Ebert), Centre for Microscopy Characterisation and Analysis (Rosenow) and the Lion’s Eye Institute (Mehnert) utilising high-resolutions MRI to measure the side-effects of radiotherapy on the developing brain. Key International collaborations with colleagues in US (St Jude Children’s Research Hospital; Roussel) and Germany (DKFZ; Kool) are exemplified by publications.