James Wilmott Australasian Society for Dermatology Research Annual Scientific Meeting 2024

James Wilmott

I am a senior scientist in a translational research laboratory, where I collaborate with clinical and patient groups to identify areas of need, discover solutions, and implement research to improve patient outcomes. My work has led to the development of tools that support clinical decision making around melanoma diagnosis, prognosis, and the personalisation of immunotherapy for cancer patients. I am passionate about the integration of clinicopathology, genomics, gene expression, and high-dimensional spatial pathology to develop tools that improve treatment selection and aid in the understanding of drug resistance. I am the group leader of the following major programs of research that exemplify these approaches: Personalised Immunotherapy Program (PIP): This program aims to revolutionize the way immunotherapies are used in clinical trials and how specific treatments are selected for each patient in routine clinical care. The program aims to disrupt the current "one-size-fits-all" approach to immunotherapies and personalize each treatment to the specific patient's tumour characteristics and microenvironment. The Personalised Immunotherapy Program is funded by the Cancer Institute of New South Wales (CINSW) for $3.7 million over four years (2022-2026). Effective Therapies for Patients with High-Risk Disease: This program focuses on developing effective therapies for patients with in-transit melanoma. This work is funded by the Melanoma Research Alliance Team Science Award ($1.4 million, 2020-2023). The team brings together clinicians and researchers from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, QIMR Berghofer, The Melanoma Institute Australia and The University of Sydney. This study integrates bulk whole genome and transcriptome sequencing with single cell RNAseq and high dimensional tissue imaging of melanoma biopsies from immunotherapy treated patients. This integration is yielding insights into the mechanisms of drug resistance on the single cell level. Genomic Etiology of Rare Melanomas: This program conducts research into the genomic etiology of rare melanomas from acral, mucosal, and uveal sites. This work now encompasses a nature paper, four Nature Communication papers outlining the whole genomes, transcriptomes and methylomes of 570 melanomas and is the most comprehensive overview of melanoma genomics to date.