Ms Kerry Drury

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Fulbright Postgraduate Scholar

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“In 2008, nearly 12.7 million new cases of cancer were diagnosed and 7.6 million cancer deaths were reported worldwide. More research into the treatment or prevention of uncontrolled cell division is badly needed.”

Ms Kerry Drury, who recently graduated with a BA from the College of the Holy Cross, Massachusetts, has won a Fulbright Postgraduate Scholarship to go to the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) in Melbourne for a year.

Kerry’s research aims to help discover more about the role played by specific molecules in the development of cancer, referred to as adhesion molecules, which let cells connect to other cells after they divide.

The specific molecules she will work on are called E-cadherin and ß-catenin. E-cadherin has been shown to exhibit tumor suppressor activity. It is suspected to do so by binding ß-catenin, a protein which plays a significant role in the so-called canonical Wnt signaling pathway, which controls cell production.

“These adhesion molecules impact the ability for cancer tumors to grow. Therefore understanding how these molecules function in cancer cells could lead to therapies that disrupt tumor growth,” Kerry said.

LICR is an international institute with leading investigators conducting innovative cancer research across the globe. Kerry will work with Professor Tony Burgess and Dr. Bruno Catimel at the Ludwig Institute, whose expertise is closely related to her current work.

Kerry has a BA in Biology, with concentrations in Biochemistry and Pre-medicine from the College of the Holy Cross. In addition to her studies she has helped manage a women's shelter where she also maintained the volunteer schedule throughout the semester. She has also been an American Medical Students Association Executive Board Member, an Operation SmileCommittee chair , and a member of Cures for Kids, a group that organizes and attends birthday parties for terminally ill children. While in Australia Kerry hopes to become involved in the Australian community by volunteering in the oncology unit at The Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne.