
Dr Belinda Guo
Platelets as a novel blood biomarker for bone marrow fibrosis
Raine Priming Grant
$150,000
2019 - 2022
School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Western Australia
Dr Belinda Guo’s Raine Priming Grant focused on developing novel methodologies for earlier detection of haematological malignancies using next-generation sequencing.
Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) is a chronic cancer that affects approximately 30,000 Australians. There are two phases of disease state: a chronic phase which can last decades where too much blood is made; and an aggressive phase, in which the bone marrow is ‘burnt out’ and unable to make more blood. Patients in the aggressive phase have a poor outcome and are at higher risk of developing acute myeloid leukaemia. Survival is limited from just months to a few years. Every patient has up to 20% risk of progressing toward the aggressive disease phase, and there is currently no way to predict which patients will be affected. Dr Guo’s research investigated whether changes occur in the bone marrow cells and its product, blood platelets which result in disease progression.
Dr Guo’s project confirmed that there are specific genetic changes that occur in platelets and by identifying these changes one can distinguish between MPN patients in the chronic or aggressive phase of disease. Furthermore, these genetic changes were shown to be consistent with disease status and importantly these findings may have the capacity to be used as a blood test for monitoring disease progression. If we can detect progression before damage is done to the bone marrow, we may be able to improve outcomes for all patients living with MPN.
Dr Guo’s Raine Priming Grant has had significant impact, as it has enabled Dr Guo and her team to validate their world-first discovery of how blood-based markers can be used to identify disease progression in MPN. The ability to understand and detect disease progression is the goal of many researchers working in the field of MPN. Dr Guo’s research has expanded our understanding of the disease and will create opportunities to improve outcomes for patients.
The support from the Raine Medical Research Foundation has allowed Dr Guo’s team to generate data that has attracted additional funding from the Cancer Council Western Australia, as well as the MPN Research Foundation (USA) and the Ruby Red Foundation (Australia) which will expand Dr Guo’s collaborative links with internationally recognised MPN experts from Mt Sinai Hospital in New York (USA) and the St Jude Children’s Research Hospital (USA).
Dr Guo mentioned “This Raine Priming Grant has had a significant impact in allowing us to validate our world first discovery of blood-based markers for progression. It has supported us in growing our international and industry research collaborations which will become key to translating this workflow to the clinic”.
Dr Guo reflected on the Raine Priming Grant outcomes, expressing that the grant has been extremely helpful and has enabled her to build her career as an independent researcher. It has also led to many opportunities including invitations to speak at national conferences, success with obtaining national and international grants, development of new research and industry collaborations, and being named the inaugural Gunn Family National Career Development Fellow in Haematology. Dr Guo said "I am extremely grateful for the support from the Raine Medical Research Foundation which has played a significant role in my career development".