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A University of Adelaide researcher investigating the essential processes of cells with the aim of opening up new opportunities for cancer treatment has received a national award.

Dr Qi Zhang, who leads the Epigenetics and Gene Regulation Laboratory at the South Australian Immunogenomics Cancer Institute (SAiGENCI) at the University of Adelaide, has been awarded a CSL Centenary Fellowship, worth $1.25 million across five years.

Global biotechnology company CSL established the fellowship in the company’s centenary in 2016 and recognises two excellent mid-career medical researchers each year.

Dr Zhang, who is a European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) Australia fellow, investigates the epigenetic processes that turn genes on and turn off to influence the development of individual cells, which may have positive or negative consequences.

“All cells in our body share identical DNA, but what makes them different is the way sets of genes turn on and off in different cell types. These processes are not fully understood,” she said.

“I am studying how different genes turn on and off, in both normal development and while cancerous cells are active.

“We want to know what’s happening in a healthy cell and also what is going wrong in a cancer cell – when it loses its identity.”

Dr Zhang will use the Fellowship to identify how certain protein complexes influence the future development of cells, and then use that knowledge to create specific drugs that target the epigenetic misregulation of cancers.

“It’s complex work that will use different approaches ranging from biochemistry, biophysics, molecular and cell biology, structural biology, genomics and bioinformatics,” she said.

“We will also explore the therapeutic potential of our basic research findings.”

Professor Anton Middelberg, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Research), University of Adelaide congratulated Dr Zhang on her Fellowship.

“Dr Zhang’s work has the potential for the development of new kinds of drugs for the treatment of cancer and developmental diseases,” he said.

“This Fellowship recognises the global significance and value of Dr Zhang’s work for society.”

Professor Jose Polo Director of Adelaide Centre for Epigenetics and Cancer Epigenetics Program in SAiGENCI recruited Dr Zhang to the Cancer and Epigenetic Program after a very competitive international recruitment campaign.

“The CSL Fellowship is the type of achievement that underlines the importance of Dr Zhang’s work. It will empower Dr Zhang to keep innovating in the field of epigenetics and make discoveries that have the potential to cure many diseases,” said Professor Polo.

“The whole SAiGENCI team is incredibly proud of Dr Zhang’s major achievement,” said Professor Chris Sweeney, Director of SAiGENCI.

“We are extraordinarily grateful for the support from the CSL Fellowship that will ensure Dr Zhang will make ground-breaking scientific discoveries.”