Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Dr Lisa Ooms is a mid-career biomedical scientist in the Biomedicine Discovery Institute at Monash University. Her research focuses on how dysregulated PI3K signalling affects breast cancer progression.
Dr Ooms' research has primarily focused on investigating the function of inositol polyphosphate 5-phosphatases firstly in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and more recently in mammalian cells and animal models. Dr Ooms demonstrated a role for two of the yeast 5-phosphatases in regulating the actin cytoskeleton in response to hyperosmotic stress (PMID: 11094088). She was the first to demonstrate a key functional role for the 5-phosphatase PIPP in neuronal cells, demonstrating that PIPP negatively regulates phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) signalling in the growth cone and plays an important role in neuronal cell differentiation (PMID: 16280363). She also determined that PIPP regulates neuronal cell polarity and forms a complex with CRMP2 to oppose its function in regulating neurite outgrowth (PMID: 21550974). More recently she identified PIPP as a tumour suppressor in breast cancer, which was the first demonstration of a tumour suppressor role for an inositol polyphosphate 5-phosphatase in this malignancy. Pipp ablation accelerated oncogene-driven breast cancer growth in vivo, but paradoxically reduced metastasis by regulating AKT1-dependent tumour cell migration (PMID: 26267533). Her studies revealed PIPP expression is lost in triple negative human breast cancers and is associated with poorer prognosis.
Dr Ooms was involved in characterising the tumour suppressor role of INPP4B in breast and prostate cancer via suppression of PI3K signalling (PMID: 21127264, 25284366). She was also involved in identifying that INPP4B expression is increased in acute myeloid leukemia and is associated with chemoresistance and worse outcome (PMID: 25736313). More recently, Dr Ooms was part of Prof Mitchell's team that identified INPP4B expression is increased in a subset of estrogen receptor positive breast cancers where it plays an oncogenic role via activation of Wnt signalling (PMID:34035258). Further studies by Dr Ooms, Prof Mitchell and team revealed that breast cancer cells with INPP4B overexpression are selectively sensitive to the FDA-approved drug pyrvinium and a 4-OHT-pyrvinium combination treatment. These findings suggest that repurposing pyrvinium as a Wnt inhibitor may be an effective therapeutic strategy for human ER+ breast cancers with high INPP4B levels (PMID: 36612130).
Dr Ooms has also investigated the inactive 4-phosphatase family member P-Rex1. Although increased P-Rex1 expression promotes melanoma progression, its role in breast cancer is complex. Examination of PREX1 in human breast cancer databases and gene arrays revealed higher PREX1 expression was associated with poor outcome in Luminal B breast cancers. Prof Mitchell, Dr Ooms, and team generated the first murine and cell line models of gain or loss of function of P-Rex1 in breast cancer. These studies revealed P-Rex1 acts as an oncogene and co-operates with other oncogenes to promote Rac1 and ERK1/2 activation leading to enhanced breast cancer initiation and metastasis (PMID: 27358402, 26112412, 33097662).
Research interests
- Breast Cancer - tumour initiation and progression
- Signal transduction - PI3K signalling pathways
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Education/Academic qualification
Medicine, PhD, A Molecular and Cytogenetic Analysis of the Homogeneously Staining Regions in Two Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cell Lines., University of Melbourne
Award Date: 1 Apr 1996
Science, BSc(Hons), University of Melbourne
Award Date: 1 Dec 1990
Research area keywords
- Phosphatidyl Inositol 3-Kinase
- Phosphoinositide Signalling
- Breast cancer
- metastasis
- tumor growth
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Projects
- 5 Finished
-
Characterisation of PI3-kinase-dependent signalling networks in breast cancer
Mitchell, C. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Daly, R. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Ooms, L. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & McLean, C. (Chief Investigator (CI))
National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) (Australia)
1/01/17 → 31/12/21
Project: Research
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A novel oncogenic alliance in breast cancer
Daly, R. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Ooms, L. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & O'Toole, S. A. (Chief Investigator (CI))
National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) (Australia)
1/01/17 → 31/12/19
Project: Research
-
Role of a PI3K regulator in breast cancer.
Mitchell, C., McLean, C. & Ooms, L.
National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) (Australia)
1/01/14 → 31/12/16
Project: Research
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Role of INPP4B and related proteins in human cancer
Mitchell, C., McLean, C. & Ooms, L.
National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) (Australia)
1/01/13 → 31/12/15
Project: Research
-
Role of the PIPP lipid phosphatase in cell differentiation and polarity
1/01/04 → 31/12/06
Project: Research
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Functional and Phenotypic Characterisations of Common Syngeneic Tumour Cell Lines as Estrogen Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer Models
Lambouras, M., Roelofs, C., Pereira, M., Gruber, E., Vieusseux, J. L., Lanteri, P., Johnstone, C. N., Muntz, F., O’Toole, S., Ooms, L. M., Mitchell, C. A., Anderson, R. L. & Britt, K. L., Mar 2023, In: International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 24, 6, 12 p., 5666.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access3 Citations (Scopus) -
The FDA-Approved Drug Pyrvinium Selectively Targets ER+ Breast Cancer Cells with High INPP4B Expression
Rodgers, S. J., Ooms, L. M. & Mitchell, C. A., Jan 2023, In: Cancers. 15, 1, 13 p., 135.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access5 Citations (Scopus) -
The mechanisms of class 1A PI3K and Wnt/β-catenin coupled signaling in breast cancer
Rodgers, S. J., Mitchell, C. A. & Ooms, L. M., 31 Aug 2023, In: Biochemical Society Transactions. 51, 4, p. 1459-1472 14 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access5 Citations (Scopus) -
A late endosome signaling hub that couples PI3Kα and WNT/β-catenin signaling in breast cancer
Rodgers, S. J., Hamila, S. A., Mitchell, C. A. & Ooms, L. M., 2021, In: Molecular and Cellular Oncology. 8, 4, 3 p., 1954470.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access2 Citations (Scopus) -
INPP4B promotes PI3Kα-dependent late endosome formation and Wnt/β-catenin signaling in breast cancer
Rodgers, S. J., Ooms, L. M., Oorschot, V. M. J., Schittenhelm, R. B., Nguyen, E. V., Hamila, S. A., Rynkiewicz, N., Gurung, R., Eramo, M. J., Sriratana, A., Fedele, C. G., Caramia, F., Loi, S., Kerr, G., Abud, H. E., Ramm, G., Papa, A., Ellisdon, A. M., Daly, R. J. & McLean, C. A. & 1 others, , 2021, In: Nature Communications. 12, 1, 19 p., 3140.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access46 Citations (Scopus)