It was in her third year of university, mid-way through a lecture on childhood leukaemia, that medical researcher, Dr Elyse Page, knew that this was the career path she wanted to take.
Fast forward six years and Dr Page is now a post-doctoral researcher with the leukaemia group at SAHMRI – South Australia’s leading independent not-for-profit health and medical research institute.
After doing her placement and receiving her PhD from the University of Adelaide, Dr Page joined SAHMRI and now spends her days researching ways to improve survival outcomes for children with Down Syndrome who are diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL).
A type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia is caused by an overproduction of immature white blood cells, with over 300 Australians diagnosed each year. Children born with Down Syndrome are 20 times more likely to develop ALL, a statistic that is confronting for those with or close to someone with the condition.
“Children with Down Syndrome are not only more susceptible to ALL they also experience a lot of side effects from the chemo treatment and generally don’t have very good outcomes,” explains Elyse.
It’s this that drives Dr Page to do what she does. It’s no secret that medicine is one of the most demanding careers with the emotional toll on top of the physical adding that extra element.
“We receive patient samples from all over the country and seeing how many are affected is definitely hard emotionally but it’s also what encourages me to keep going. Seeing our work and knowing that we’re making a difference is so motivating,” says Dr Page.
And it’s not just children with Down Syndrome that will benefit from the life-changing research done at SAHMRI with the findings and information on new sub-types able to be applied to all patients diagnosed with leukaemia.
Last year, Dr Page made a ground-breaking development in her research, identifying the exact reason why those with Down Syndrome were more susceptible to the disease.
“Without getting too technical, through looking at genomic sequencing, I’ve identified a new driver gene that co-operates with a high-risk gene fusion that increases the risk of ALL in Down Syndrome patients,” Dr Page explains.
“Using tools in the lab, I’ve been able to turn off one of those genes and stop the leukaemia cells from growing, and now that we understand how it works, we can target treatment more precisely.
“We’ve already demonstrated an effective targeted therapy which we believe has the potential to reduce the toxic side effects from chemotherapy and improve survival outcomes for children with Down Syndrome ALL.”
Dr Page’s research is ongoing and can only be continued through the ongoing fundraising and increasing awareness of the condition.
Nationwide initiatives such as the Leukaemia Foundation’s ‘Light the Night’ is one of the main ways those in the field can raise the money to support their work.
This year’s virtual ceremony takes place on Friday, September 30 and will see thousands of people around the country raise coloured lanterns that symbolise hope for a cancer-free future. To donate or to register to take part, you can do so here.
For more information on Dr Elyse Page and the incredible, life-saving research that takes place at SAHMRI, visit the website.
