Cris Print

University of Auckland

Cris graduated in Medicine from the University of Auckland in 1989. He worked as a house surgeon and undertook asthma research in Dunedin before completing a Immunology PhD in Auckland under Professor Jim Watson. He used transgenic technologies to research apoptosis in Melbourne, Australia, before moving to Cambridge University, UK, where he researched the genomics of reproduction and was a fellow of St Edmund's College. He co-founded a public genomics and bioinformatics company in Japan before returning to New Zealand in 2005 where he has been using genomics to better understand human pathology, with special focus on cancer. Cris is a Professor in the University's Department of Molecular Medicine and Pathology, a Principal Investigator in the Maurice Wilkins Centre, on the Science Leadership Team of the Healthier Lives National Science Challenge.

Genomics for precision oncology: How hard can it be?

Genomics and bioinformatics are transforming our biological knowledge of cancer. These technologies promise great things for cancer patients and their families. However, first efforts to use these technologies in the clinic by simply matching mutations to drugs has not been successful in all tumour types. Perhaps a more nuanced use of cancer genomic information is required for patients with genetically complex tumours? This talk will describe our experiences using genomics to analyse tumour tissue and blood from patients with genetically complex aneuploid tumours. Based on our research, we suggest that for genetically complex tumours, multi-omic analysis including analysis of RNA expression as well as DNA sequencing is required to identify genetic drivers and therapeutic options.