Prince Henry’s Institute

 

Andrew Stephens

 

Profile

Dr Stephens joined PHI in 2006 as the NAB Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation Fellow.

He has a keen interest in the application of proteomics technologies to the discovery of disease biomarkers, with a particular emphasis on ovarian cancer and the interaction of ovarian tumors with the immune system.

By applying new proteomics technologies, his work aims to better understand how ovarian tumors develop and to identify specific biological events that can be used as markers of early stage disease.  

 

Research Interests

Our research is focused on the identification of new biological markers of early stage ovarian cancer, and to develop these for application in the diagnosis, management and treatment of this disease.

A major challenge in the identification of new cancer markers is their scarcity – typically at least 9 to 12 orders of magnitude lower than other common proteins. We have developed new tools and strategies enabling the analysis of proteins at picogram amounts from clinical samples.

Using combinations of novel nanoparticle technology, mass spectrometry and protein labeling techniques we are able to perform high-resolution proteomic comparisons between healthy women and cancer patients. Cancer-specific changes are then targeted for further development in diagnostic applications.

We are also interested in the interaction between the immune system and developing tumors as a form of early tumor detection. Tumors are recognized by the immune system long before they are detected by conventional means. We are working on identifying the molecules responsible for tumor recognition, with a view to developing better detection and vaccination strategies for women.

We have also established a tissue collection program, where blood and tissue samples are taken at the time of surgery and stored for analysis. Almost 300 patients are currently participating in this program.

Thus far our studies have identified around 100 proteins with potential as diagnostic markers. We are now developing a detection system capable of analyzing specific combinations of these markers, research which will significantly enhance the diagnostic accuracy of the proteins used.

The ultimate goal of our research is to develop a highly accurate test to detect early stage ovarian cancers, which will contribute significantly to improving patient outcomes.  

 

Expertise

Biochemistry, molecular biology, proteomics, mass spectrometry, ovarian cancer, endometriosis, nanoparticles, immune system  

 

Recent Achievements

• Appointed as NAB Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation Fellow in 2006

Current Research

• Circulating markers of ovarian cancer

• Auto-immune response in cancer patients

• Nanoparticle technology for the identification of novel cancer markers

• Fallopian tube as the origin of epithelial ovarian cancers

 Service to the Scientific Community

• Dr Stephens makes regular appearances in the popular media, and talks to community groups to promote awareness of ovarian cancer.

 

Selected Publications

Hannan NJ, Stoikos CJ, Stephens AN, Salamonsen LA (2009). Depletion of high-abundance serum proteins from human uterine lavages enhances detection of lower-abundance proteins. J Proteome Res. 8(2) pp.1099-1013.

Salamonsen, L.A., Rombauts, L., and Stephens, A.N. (2008) Genomic and proteomic approaches to the study of endometriosis. World Endo. Soc. Journal 10 (3) pp.5-8

Stephens, A.N., Quach, P., Harry, E.J. (2005). A streamlined approach to high throughput proteomics. Expert Rev. Proteomics 2 pp. 173-185

Stephens, A.N., Khan, M.A., Roucou, X., Nagley, P., Devenish, R.J. (2003). The Molecular Neighborhood of Subunit 8 of Yeast Mitochondrial F1F0-ATP Synthase Probed by Cysteine Scanning Mutagenesis and Chemical Modification. J. Biol. Chem. 278 pp. 17867-17875

Stephens, A.N., Nagley, P., Devenish, R.J. (2003). The Stoichiometry of Subunit 8 in Yeast Mitochondrial F1F0-ATP Synthase is One. Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 1607 pp. 181-189

Stephens, A.N., Roucou, X., Artika, I.M., Devenish, R.J., Nagley, P. (2000). Topology and Proximity Relationships of Yeast Mitochondrial ATP synthase Subunit 8 Determined by Unique Introduced Cysteine Residues. Eur. J.