A Perth researcher has been honoured for his pioneering work into the treatment of mesothelioma. Professor Richard Lake received the prestigious Willoughby Medal this month for his decade-long research into combining chemotherapy and immunotherapy in a quest to prolong and improve life for people diagnosed with the deadly disease. His team’s research has recently progressed to two clinical trials on patients.
“To be part of a group to take lab research through to the clinical trial stage is brilliant and we are always optimistic about what we can achieve,” Prof Lake said.
Prof Lake’s team has found that there are times during a mesothelioma patient’s standard chemotherapy cycle when the capacity of the immune system to do its job – in this case, to recognise and attack cancer cells – can be boosted.
“At the end of the 1990s we started to ask questions about what happens when chemotherapy is combined with immunotherapy. At that time people were very much of the opinion that this was not the thing to do,” Prof Lake said.
“Since then, the whole field has really opened up and there are many (research) groups around the world working in the area.”
Prof Lake is based at the National Centre for Asbestos-Related Diseases (NCARD) where he is a non-clinical scientist with the Tumour Immunology Group.
He established the group with Professor Bruce Robinson and Dr Bernadette Scott after his arrival in Perth from the UK in 1995.
He paid tribute to his team, which has celebrated several breakthroughs including the discovery of mesothelin as a marker for early diagnosis of the disease.
He also leads the TIG’s search for a vaccine for mesothelioma.
“Vaccines are one of the real success stories of medicine and biology,” he said. “And a vaccine for mesothelioma is, if you like, the Holy Grail for us.”
NCARD director Bruce Robinson said the award, which recognises scientists’ sense of community as well as their research breakthroughs, was well-deserved.
“As a scientist, teacher and colleague, Richard is considered a person of deep intellect, with a profound grasp of the published literature in his field,” Prof Robinson said.
“He is a true curiosity-driven scientist, a person of integrity and someone who cares about his students and staff.”
Prof Lake co-founded the Perth Mesothelioma Centre and has addressed community groups and visited workplaces to talk about asbestos-related medical research.
The Willoughby Medal for the country’s top asbestos researcher is named in honour of the late Olympic rower Tim Willoughby who was a passionate campaigner for research into asbestos-related disease.
The winner of last year’s inaugural medal was chest physician Professor Bill Musk who has played a vital role in the landmark Wittenoom cohort studies.
By Catherine Madden