Westmead Dermatology By Simardeep Dhillon
Hi! My name is Simardeep Dhillon and I am studying a Bachelor of Science (Honours) at the University of Sydney. Apart from a passion in research, my hobbies include photography, cooking and travelling to new places.
Through support and guidance from my supervisors Dr Ali Azimi & Prof. Pablo Fernandez-Penas, my research project will involve a mass spectrometry-based proteomic approach to validate a 12-set protein model which can predict if a primary Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma (cSCC) lesion would metastasise to regional body sites. Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is a common and diverse skin cancer. The majority of cSCC tumours are treatable through surgical excision; however, between 5% and 37% of biologically more aggressive tumours metastasise to nearby lymph nodes or distant organs. cSCCs typically arise from the malignant proliferation of epidermal keratinocytes, developed through numerous environmental and constitutional risk factors.
The samples for this project will be collected through various biobanks across New South Wales. After analysis through a mass-spectrometry based approach, a bioinformatics analysis will be undertaken to compare the results against actual patient data. Upon successful validation, our proteomic model will have the potential to assist clinicians with metastatic risk assessment and possibly improve survival rates.
