Thread by @TheASMR1

Meet Dr Yazad Irani, @Yaz_Sci, at @sahmriAU, the researcher paving the way to better outcomes in chronic myeloid #leukemia - by helping predict patient responses to #cancer therapy

A thread 👇

@AcademicChatter #chemotherapy #medicalresearch #precisionmedicine #CML #immunology

Our blood is composed of red blood cells, in charge of carrying oxygen; and white blood cells, whose main function is to help the immune response to fight infections and diseases.

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a blood cancer in which a subpopulation of white blood cells, known as granulocytes, grow out of control. Although new treatments have resulted in good patient outcomes for 80% of patients, the remaining 20% of patients do not respond to therapy.

“Why don’t all the patients respond similarly to the same treatment?” This is one of the big questions that Dr Yazad Irani aims to answer.

Yazad is a postdoctoral researcher at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (@sahmriAU) where he is searching for unique differences in the immune system of CML patients to predict their response to treatment.

Some patients respond to the therapy extremely well, showing no sign of cancer cells in their blood. Curiously, while half of these patients can safely stop therapy without relapse, the other half will relapse. Doctors are unable to predict which patients will do better.

Yazad has already identified factors in the immune system of CML patients that can predict which patients can safely stop their drugs. This will significantly improve the quality of life of these patients as they will be free from both the side effects and costs of therapy.

Yazad reflects on his favourite quote by Marie Curie, saying “This [quote] always reminds me that we need to keep pushing the boundaries of human understanding. Considering global events, it is still relevant 100 years on.”

Outside the lab, Yazad sees science in simple life pleasures: “Cooking is a lot like working in a lab, I look for inspiration from recipes but always add my own touch. I love to try new things and invent crazy cuisine fusions like my honey soy roast vegies with couscous”. 🤤