Lauretta Lacko

lauretta lacko

Fulbright Postgraduate Scholar

Progesterone plays a major role in the development and function of the normal human breast.  Many woman worldwide benefit from progesterone in the form of contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy (HRT), however progesterone exposure has been shown to increase the risk of breast cancer.

Lauretta Lacko is currently completing a Bachelor of Science at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign majoring in Animal Sciences and Chemistry. She has won a Fulbright Postgraduate Scholarship from the Australian-American Fulbright Commission to undertake 12 months of research in Sydney, Australia.

Lauretta will work with Dr. Christine Clarke at the Westmead Institute for Cancer Research, University of Sydney, to examine how progesterone acts and potentially increases the risk of breast cancer.

With the growing number of people diagnosed with breast cancer and the increased progesterone exposure from contraceptives and HRT, there is compelling need to understand how progesterone acts and how its action increases the risk of breast cancer. Lauretta will specifically look at the consequences of alterations in the level of expression of two progesterone receptors in normal breast cells that mimic changes known to occur in breast cancer.

 “My work will relate to how progesterone regulates the breast tissue during development, the normal menstrual cycle, and pregnancy,” explains Laurettta. “The role of progesterone in breast cancer development has not been very well established. There is accumulating evidence however that progesterone can influence important change in gene expression in cells, thus increasing the risk in developing breast cancer.”

“The Westmead Institute is the only laboratory in the world that has developed a three-dimensional model of the normal breast that retains progesterone responsiveness,” Lauretta states. She will be based at Westmead for 12 months from August 2008.

Lauretta has been recognised throughout her studies with a wide range of awards including the Bronze Tablet; Deans List; American Society of Animal Science Scholar; Jonathon Baldwin Turner Scholar; Ryerson Tull Scholar; and the James Scholar.

She is also a member of the Executive Council and scholarship committee of the Phi Sigma Pi Honors Fraternity.  She has undertaken study abroad research projects and internship in South Africa, Taiwan and Denmark.