1339797
Associate Professor
Sally Stephenson
Faculty of Health,
School of Biomedical Sciences
Biography
Research theme: HealthResearch discipline: Cell and Molecular Biosciences
Research area
- The role of the EphB4 receptor tyrosine kinase in epithelial cancers
Personal details
Positions
- Associate Professor
Faculty of Health,
School of Biomedical Sciences
Keywords
Receptor tyrosine kinases, Epithelial cancers, Prostate cancer, Breast cancer, Small molecule inhibitors, Post-translational modification
Research field
Oncology and carcinogenesis, Biochemistry and cell biology
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2020
Qualifications
- PhD (University of Queensland)
- B.Sc (Hons) (University of Queensland)
Publications
- Stephenson, S., Douglas, E., Mertens-Walker, I., Lisle, J., Maharaj, M. & Herington, A. (2015). Anti-tumour effects of antibodies targeting the extracellular cysteine-rich region of the receptor tyrosine kinase EphB4. OncoTarget, 6(10), 7554–7569. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/84887
- Mertens-Walker, I., Lisle, J., Nyberg, W., Stephens, C., Burke, L., Rutkowski, R., Herington, A. & Stephenson, S. (2015). EphB4 localises to the nucleus of prostate cancer cells. Experimental Cell Research, 333(1), 105–115. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/84888
- Lisle, J., Mertens-Walker, I., Stephens, C., Stansfield, S., Clements, J., Herington, A. & Stephenson, S. (2015). Murine, but not human, ephrin-B2 can be efficiently cleaved by the serine protease kallikrein-4: Implications for xenograft models of human prostate cancer. Experimental Cell Research, 333(1), 136–146. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/84889
- Mertens-Walker, I., Fernandini, B., Maharaj, M., Rockstroh, A., Nelson, C., Herington, A. & Stephenson, S. (2015). The tumour-promoting receptor tyrosine kinase, EphB4, regulates expression of Integrin-beta8 in prostate cancer cells. BMC Cancer, 15, 1–10. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/84890
- Herington, A., Mertens-Walker, I., Lisle, J., Maharaj, M. & Stephenson, S. (2014). Inhibiting Eph kinase activity may not be 'Eph'ective for cancer treatment. Growth Factors, 32(6), 207–213. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/84885
- Lisle, J., Mertens-Walker, I., Rutkowski, R., Herington, A. & Stephenson, S. (2013). Eph receptors and their ligands: Promising molecular biomarkers and therapeutic targets in prostate cancer. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Reviews on Cancer, 1835(2), 243–257. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/220461
- Stephenson, S., Mertens-Walker, I. & Herington, A. (2012). Signaling of receptor tyrosine kinases in the nucleus. In S. Najman (Ed.), Current Frontiers and Perspectives in Cell Biology (pp. 211–234). InTech. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/56886
- Rutkowski, R., Mertens-Walker, I., Lisle, J., Herington, A. & Stephenson, S. (2012). Evidence for a dual function of EphB4 as tumor promoter and suppressor regulated by the absence or presence of the ephrin-B2 ligand. International Journal of Cancer, 131(5). https://eprints.qut.edu.au/54732
- Lloyd, J., McIver, C., Stephenson, S., Hewett, P., Rieger, N. & Hardingham, J. (2006). Identification of early-stage colorectal cancer patients at risk of relapse post-resection by immunobead reverse transcription-PCR analysis of peritoneal lavage fluid for malignant cells. Clinical Cancer Research, 12(2), 417–423. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/48356
- Stephenson, S., Verity, K., Ashworth, L. & Clements, J. (1999). Localisation of New Prostate-Specific Antigen-Related Serine Protease Gene, KLK4, is Evidence for an Expanded Human Kallikrein Gene Family Cluster on Chromosome 19q13.3-13.4. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 23210–23214.
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Sally, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).
Filter publications:
A complete list of publications is available at: https://www.qut.edu.au/about/our-people/academic-profiles/s.stephenson
Awards
- Type
- Award or Prize
- Reference year
- 2025
- Details
- Innovator's Pitch Challenge, RESI Conference, JP Morgan Healthcare Week,. Winner of the Gold Medal at an invited international pitching competition for medical research technologies and against 50 other teams.
- Type
- University Prize including VC Award
- Reference year
- 2023
- Details
- Winner QUT Excolo! Pitching competition – First prize $100,000
- Type
- Membership of Network or Professional Body
- Reference year
- 2019
- Details
- HEA. Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
- Type
- University Prize including VC Award
- Reference year
- 2016
- Details
- QUT. Vice-Chancellor’s Award – “The Extra Mile”
- Type
- University Prize including VC Award
- Reference year
- 2016
- Details
- QUT. Vice-Chancellor’s Performance Award for Student Supervision
- Type
- Nomination/Short Listed for an Award
- Reference year
- 2014
- Details
- QUT| Vice-Chancellor's Award for Excellence (finalist)
- Type
- Nomination/Short Listed for an Award
- Reference year
- 2011
- Details
- Queensland University of Technology| Nominated for QUT STEM Postgraduate Supervisor Award
- Type
- Nomination/Short Listed for an Award
- Reference year
- 2011
- Details
- Women In Technology| Nominated for Women in Technology | WiT Biotech Research Award
- Type
- University Prize including VC Award
- Reference year
- 2010
- Details
- Queensland University of Technology| Vice-Chancellor's Performance Award, Teaching.
- Type
- Award or Prize
- Reference year
- 2006
- Details
- Asia Pacific Business Council for Women| Woman of Distinction in Medical Research Award
Selected research projects
- Title
- PSA Variants as Bifunctional Modulators of Prostate Cancer
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- 2048752
- Start year
- 2026
- Keywords
- prostate cancer; molecular biology; immune response; biomarkers; single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)
Projects listed above are funded by Australian Competitive Grants. Projects funded from other sources are not listed due to confidentiality agreements.
Supervision
Current supervisions
- Characterising immune cell dynamics and tumour growth modulation in endometrial cancer models treated with FGFR inhibitors and PD-1 immunotherapy
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Professor Pamela Pollock
Completed supervisions (Doctorate)
- Describing mechanisms supporting macrophage-promoted escape of PTEN-deficient prostate cancer cells to understand disease recurrence (2023)
- Characterisation of SMARCD3 as a Novel Breast Cancer Gene (2019)
- Deciphering the Role of the Protein Phosphatase EYA4 in Preventing Genomic Instability and Breast Cancer Development (2019)
- FKBP52 and its role in DNA damage repair (2017)
- Investigations into How Best to Target FGFR2 Mutant Endometrial Cancer (2017)
- The Role of Myosin- and Rab-Interacting Protein (MyRIP) in Exocytosis and the Response to DNA Damage (2017)
- New Roles for EPHB4 in Prostate Cancer (2016)
- Proteolytic Regulation of the EphB4-Ephrin-B2 Signalling Axis in Prostate Cancer (2016)
- The role of SAM and SH3 domain-containing protein 1 (SASH1) in DNA damage repair and tumourigenesis (2016)
Completed supervisions (Masters by Research)
- Exploring the Role that SUMOylation Plays in Regulating CDK2 Function in Cancer Cells (2024)
- Investigating Post-Translational Modifications of B-Raf in Cancer (2024)
- Understanding the role UFMylation plays in prostate cancer (2024)
- Investigating post-translational modification of cyclin D1 in breast cancer (2023)
- Investigating Post-Translational Modifications of c-Met in Cancer (2020)
- The Dynamic Nature of Transglutaminases (2018)
- The Role of EphB4 and Ephrin-B2 Interactions in Prostate Cancer Models of Intravasation and Extravasation (2018)
- Cleavage and Nuclear Translocation of FGR2B in an Endometrial Cancer Cell Line (2016)
- Does Glutathione Transferase Loading into Exosomes from Prostate Cancer Cells Influence Progression? (2016)
Supervision topics
The supervisions listed above are only a selection.