Megan J Bywater 40th Annual Lorne Genome Conference 2019

Megan J Bywater

Megan Bywater is a Senior Research Officer in the Gilmour Leukaemia Research Laboratory at the QIMR Berghofer, Brisbane. During her PhD at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (Melbourne) and postdoctoral studies at the University of Cambridge (UK), she utilised genetically modified mouse models to study cancer-associated transcription factors, most notably Myc and p53. At QIMRB, her work is focussed on developing clinically relevant genetic models of myeloid malignancies in order to determine the mechanistic basis of transformation and treatment responses. Recent studies have focussed on the use of pegylated interferon alpha (pegIFNa) in the preferential targeting of Jak2-mutant stem cell function in myeloid proliferative neoplasms (MPN). Her current work looks at the role of co-existing mutations in disease progression of Jak2-mutant MPN to secondary acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and the therapeutic potential of pegIFNa in this disease context.

Abstracts this author is presenting: