Laurence Cheung

Laurence Cheung is an Associate Professor at Curtin Medical School, Curtin University, and Senior Research Fellow at Telethon Kids Institute. He holds a Pharmacy Degree (Hons) from Curtin University and a PhD from The University of Western Australia. His research focuses on childhood leukaemia, particularly the bone marrow microenvironment's role in disease progression and novel therapeutic strategies for high-risk cases. He co-leads the Leukaemia Translational Research Laboratory at The Kids Research Institute Australia and has secured significant grants including $2.04M from Children’s Leukaemia and Cancer Research Foundation (2022–2024).

Education:

• Pharmacy Degree (Hons), Curtin University
• PhD, The University of Western Australia

Research Interests:

1. Leukaemia Microenvironment: Investigating bone marrow cell changes during leukaemogenesis.
2. High-Risk Childhood Leukaemia: Identifying novel therapies for genetically complex cases like BCR-ABL1 and MLL-rearranged ALL.
3. Pediatric Formulations: Developing palatable drug delivery systems for young patients.

Recent Research Trends: His articles emphasize drug repurposing (e.g., disulfiram), combination therapies (azacitidine/venetoclax), and targeting microenvironment interactions to improve outcomes for high-risk patients. Work spans in vitro models, preclinical trials, and translational studies.

Awards:

• 2023 Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
• 2019 Curtin STEM Early Career Researcher Award
• 2019 Cancer Council WA Early Career Cancer Researcher of the Year

Advising & Grants: Supervises Honours/Masters/PhD students. Led over $3M in grants, including projects on zoledronic acid, bispecific antibody drug delivery, and KMT2A-rearranged ALL therapies. Collaborates with Perth Children’s Hospital and Telethon Kids Institute.

Labs/Teams: Co-leads the Leukaemia Translational Research Laboratory, focusing on preclinical drug testing and microenvironment analysis.