SEMINAR: �Critical requirement of Hedgehog Signalling in Small Cell Lung Cancer�

Dr Martelotto is a cell and molecular biologist involved in full time basic research for the last 12 years. After completing his bachelor (biotechnology) degree and PhD in Biological Sciences and Molecular Biology in Argentina, Dr Martelotto was recruited by the Victorian AgriBiosciences Centre of the Department of Primary Industries (La Trobe University) to work as a plant molecular biologist. During this time Dr Martelotto designed and developed a series of cutting-edge molecular biology strategies that led to a major patent inventorship in plant biotechnology (WO/2010/028456). This experience enhanced his training in advanced molecular biology techniques of direct relevance to all forms of biologic and medical research. His work has also been recognised by several prestigious awards, including the Rosario Society of Biology Award, the Argentinean Society of Genetics Award and the UNR PhD Academic Merit Award (Argentina). In 2008, Dr Martelotto joined the Watkins’ laboratory at the Monash Institute of Medical Research (MIMR) as a Postdoctoral Fellow. In 3 years, he developed a mastery of cancer biology, and expertise in the techniques and concepts of mammalian Hedgehog (Hh) signalling associated with extraordinary productivity and dedication. Dr Martelotto played a central role in the identification of Hedgehog (Hh) signalling as one of the most important pathways driving tumour initiation, progression and regeneration after chemotherapy in SCLC. As part of this work, he extensively characterized a series of unique primary xenograft models of SCLC generated from chemo-naïve patients for their capacity to respond to platinum-based chemotherapy. This discovery brought important clues for designing new treatment approaches to increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy and therefore reduce the risk of relapse. These achievements have been recognised by the MIMR Flagship Research Award in 2010, and a co-first authorship on a recent publication in Nature Medicine (2011) describing the mechanistic basis for Hh signalling in SCLC self-renewal that will be presented at the WAIMR seminar series. In May 2012 Dr Martelotto joined Dr Archa Fox’s lab (WAIMR) to investigate the mechanism of nuclear retention of RNA.