Overview
Background
Peter holds a BSc Honours degree and a PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Liverpool in the UK. His first postdoctoral research position was at the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre at the Institute of Cancer Research, London UK. He moved to Australia in 2005 and helped Professor Lakhani establish the Molecular Breast Pathology group. He is a member of the International Cancer Genome Consortium (Breast Cancer group) and the Queensland Genomics Health Alliance; he is a Fellow of the Faculty of Science in the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia. He holds a joint teaching and research position at UQ, teaching for the Discipline of Pathology on the Faculty of Medicine MD Program and is a Research Group Leader at the UQCCR.
Availability
- Associate Professor Peter Simpson is:
- Available for supervision
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, University of Liverpool
Research impacts
Cancer is a very heterogeneous disease, making morphological classification and management of patients a significant challenge. Despite great advances it remains difficult to predict which patients are at risk of their disease returning (recurrence), spreading (metastasis) or which patients will gain most benefit to specific therapies. There has therefore been a concerted effort to supplement the morphological classification of disease with molecular parameters that can provide a clearer appreciation for this complexity and better predict tumour behaviour. This ideology has driven significant advancements in the field of molecular pathology research.
Peter's research program embraces these advances in technology to help better understand mechanisms of disease development and progression and help improve the molecular aspects of diagnosis and patient management. Themes of research involve 1) invasive lobular carcinoma of the breast, 2) familial breast cancer, and 3) lung cancer.
Invasive Lobular Carcinoma (ILC) is the most commonly diagnosed ‘special’ morphological type of breast cancer, comprising up to 15% of all cases. They exhibit a very characteristic set of clinical, pathological and biological properties, including a progressive decline in survival, an infiltrative pattern of growth and down regulation of cell adhesion molecule, E-cadherin. Morphological variants exist that are associated with a worse outcome compared to the classic type. A large component of Peter's research focuses on aspects of this specific disease subtype, including understanding molecular determinants that predict tumour behaviour, and mechanisms of invasion and metastasis.
Family history is a significant risk factor for the development of breast cancer. For some individuals and their families, the genetic component of this risk is well understood and attributed to pathogenic germline variants in moderate-high risk genes (e.g. BRCA1, BRCA2, PALB2, TP53, ATM, CHEK2). For most individuals the underlying genetic risk is unknown. We have been using whole genome sequencing of germline and matched tumour DNA to characterise somatic mutation signatures present in tumours from high risk individuals. These approaches are providing insight into the mechanisms driving tumourigenesis in familial breast cancers and also therapeutic strategies.
Endobronchial ultrasound transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) sampling of lymph nodes is an important procedure to make a diagnosis of Lung cancer, particulalry in patients presenting with advanced, inoperable disease. Next generation sequencing is an important component of diagnostic practice and therapeutic decision making for lung cancer patients. Our program of work is focused on optimising sequencing approaches from small diagnostic aspirate samples yielded by EBUS TBNA.
Works
Search Professor Peter Simpson’s works on UQ eSpace
2024
Journal Article
Performance of somatic structural variant calling in lung cancer using Oxford Nanopore sequencing technology
Liu, Lingchen, Zhang, Jia, Wood, Scott, Newell, Felicity, Leonard, Conrad, Koufariotis, Lambros T., Nones, Katia, Dalley, Andrew J., Chittoory, Haarika, Bashirzadeh, Farzad, Son, Jung Hwa, Steinfort, Daniel, Williamson, Jonathan P., Bint, Michael, Pahoff, Carl, Nguyen, Phan T., Twaddell, Scott, Arnold, David, Grainge, Christopher, Simpson, Peter T., Fielding, David, Waddell, Nicola and Pearson, John V. (2024). Performance of somatic structural variant calling in lung cancer using Oxford Nanopore sequencing technology. BMC genomics, 25 (1) 898. doi: 10.1186/s12864-024-10792-3
2024
Journal Article
Co-observation of germline pathogenic variants in breast cancer predisposition genes: Results from analysis of the BRIDGES sequencing dataset
Davidson, Aimee L., Michailidou, Kyriaki, Parsons, Michael T., Fortuno, Cristina, Bolla, Manjeet K., Wang, Qin, Dennis, Joe, Naven, Marc, Abubakar, Mustapha, Ahearn, Thomas U., Alonso, M. Rosario, Andrulis, Irene L., Antoniou, Antonis C., Auvinen, Päivi, Behrens, Sabine, Bermisheva, Marina A., Bogdanova, Natalia V., Bojesen, Stig E., Brüning, Thomas, Byers, Helen J., Camp, Nicola J., Campbell, Archie, Castelao, Jose E., Cessna, Melissa H., Chang-Claude, Jenny, Chanock, Stephen J., Chenevix-Trench, Georgia, Sahlberg, Kristine K., Børresen-Dale, Anne-Lise ... Spurdle, Amanda B. (2024). Co-observation of germline pathogenic variants in breast cancer predisposition genes: Results from analysis of the BRIDGES sequencing dataset. The American Journal of Human Genetics, 111 (9), 2059-2069. doi: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2024.07.004
2024
Conference Publication
LobSig4 is a superior and readily implementable ILC-focussed prognostic biomarker set
Kalinowski, Lauren, Kutasovic, Jamie, Srihari, Sriganesh, Feng, Yufan, Lal, Samir, Ferguson, Kaltin, Chittoory, Haarika, Sokolova, Anna, Lim, Malcolm, De Croft, Priyakshi Kalita, Lakhani, Sunil, Simpson, Peter and Reed, Amy McCart (2024). LobSig4 is a superior and readily implementable ILC-focussed prognostic biomarker set. San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium 2023, San Antonio, TX United States, 5-9 December 2023. Philadelphia, PA United States: American Association for Cancer Research. doi: 10.1158/1538-7445.sabcs23-po3-15-09
2024
Journal Article
B7-H3 expression in breast cancer and brain metastasis
Joshi, Vaibhavi, Beecher, Kate, Lim, Malcolm, Stacey, Andrew, Feng, Yufan, Jat, Parmjit S., Duijf, Pascal H. G., Simpson, Peter T., Lakhani, Sunil R. and McCart Reed, Amy E. (2024). B7-H3 expression in breast cancer and brain metastasis. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 25 (7) 3976, 1-17. doi: 10.3390/ijms25073976
2024
Journal Article
Evaluation of Endobronchial Ultrasound-Guided Transbronchial Needle Aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) samples from advanced non-small cell lung cancer for whole genome, whole exome and comprehensive panel sequencing
Fielding, David, Lakis, Vanessa, Dalley, Andrew J., Chittoory, Haarika, Newell, Felicity, Koufariotis, Lambros T., Patch, Ann-Marie, Kazakoff, Stephen, Bashirzadeh, Farzad, Son, Jung Hwa, Ryan, Kimberley, Steinfort, Daniel, Williamson, Jonathan P., Bint, Michael, Pahoff, Carl, Nguyen, Phan Tien, Twaddell, Scott, Arnold, David, Grainge, Christopher, Pattison, Andrew, Fairbairn, David, Gune, Shailendra, Christie, Jemma, Holmes, Oliver, Leonard, Conrad, Wood, Scott, Pearson, John V., Lakhani, Sunil R., Waddell, Nicola ... Nones, Katia (2024). Evaluation of Endobronchial Ultrasound-Guided Transbronchial Needle Aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) samples from advanced non-small cell lung cancer for whole genome, whole exome and comprehensive panel sequencing. Cancers, 16 (4) 785. doi: 10.3390/cancers16040785
2024
Journal Article
<scp>NDRG1</scp> is a prognostic biomarker in breast cancer and breast cancer brain metastasis
Joshi, Vaibhavi, Stacey, Andrew, Feng, Yufan, Kalita‐de Croft, Priyakshi, Duijf, Pascal HG, Simpson, Peter T, Lakhani, Sunil R and McCart Reed, Amy E (2024). NDRG1 is a prognostic biomarker in breast cancer and breast cancer brain metastasis. The Journal of Pathology: Clinical Research, 10 (2) e12364. doi: 10.1002/2056-4538.12364
2023
Journal Article
Targeted hyperbranched nanoparticles for delivery of doxorubicin in breast cancer brain metastasis
Lim, Malcolm, Fletcher, Nicholas L., Saunus, Jodi M., McCart Reed, Amy E., Chittoory, Haarika, Simpson, Peter T., Thurecht, Kristofer J. and Lakhani, Sunil R. (2023). Targeted hyperbranched nanoparticles for delivery of doxorubicin in breast cancer brain metastasis. Molecular Pharmaceutics, 20 (12), 6169-6183. doi: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.3c00558
2023
Journal Article
Discrepancies in tumor mutation burden reporting from sequential endobronchial ultrasound transbronchial needle aspiration samples within single lymph node stations - brief report
Fielding, David, Dalley, Andrew J., Singh, Mahendra, Nandakumar, Lakshmy, Lakis, Vanessa, Chittoory, Haarika, Fairbairn, David, Patch, Ann-Marie, Kazakoff, Stephen H., Ferguson, Kaltin, Bashirzadeh, Farzad, Bint, Michael, Pahoff, Carl, Son, Jung Hwa, Ryan, Kimberley, Hodgson, Alan, Sharma, Sowmya, Pearson, John V., Waddell, Nicola, Lakhani, Sunil R., Hartel, Gunter, Simpson, Peter T. and Nones, Katia (2023). Discrepancies in tumor mutation burden reporting from sequential endobronchial ultrasound transbronchial needle aspiration samples within single lymph node stations - brief report. Frontiers in Oncology, 13 ARTN 1259882, 1-10. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1259882
2023
Journal Article
Deep spatial-omics analysis of Head & Neck carcinomas provides alternative therapeutic targets and rationale for treatment failure
Causer, Andrew, Tan, Xiao, Lu, Xuehan, Moseley, Philip, Teoh, Siok M., Molotkov, Natalie, McGrath, Margaret, Kim, Taehyun, Simpson, Peter T, Perry, Christopher, Frazer, Ian H., Panizza, Benedict, Ladwa, Rahul, Nguyen, Quan and Gonzalez-Cruz, Jazmina L. (2023). Deep spatial-omics analysis of Head & Neck carcinomas provides alternative therapeutic targets and rationale for treatment failure. n p j Precision Oncology, 7 (1) 89, 89. doi: 10.1038/s41698-023-00444-2
2023
Journal Article
Association of the CHEK2 c.1100delC variant, radiotherapy, and systemic treatment with contralateral breast cancer risk and breast cancer-specific survival
Morra, Anna, Schreurs, Maartje A. C., Andrulis, Irene L., Anton-Culver, Hoda, Augustinsson, Annelie, Beckmann, Matthias W., Behrens, Sabine, Bojesen, Stig E., Bolla, Manjeet K., Brauch, Hiltrud, Broeks, Annegien, Buys, Saundra S., Camp, Nicola J., Castelao, Jose E., Cessna, Melissa H., Chang-Claude, Jenny, Chung, Wendy K., Sahlberg, Kristine K., Børresen-Dale, Anne-Lise, Gram, Inger Torhild, Olsen, Karina Standahl, Engebråten, Olav, Naume, Bjørn, Geisler, Jürgen, Grenaker Alnæs, Grethe I., Colonna, Sarah V., Couch, Fergus J., Cox, Angela, Cross, Simon S. ... Hooning, Maartje J. (2023). Association of the CHEK2 c.1100delC variant, radiotherapy, and systemic treatment with contralateral breast cancer risk and breast cancer-specific survival. Cancer Medicine, 12 (15), 16142-16162. doi: 10.1002/cam4.6272
2023
Journal Article
Obesity-associated changes in molecular biology of primary breast cancer
Nguyen, Ha-Linh, Geukens, Tatjana, Maetens, Marion, Aparicio, Samuel, Bassez, Ayse, Borg, Ake, Brock, Jane, Broeks, Annegien, Caldas, Carlos, Cardoso, Fatima, De Schepper, Maxim, Delorenzi, Mauro, Drukker, Caroline A., Glas, Annuska M., Green, Andrew R., Isnaldi, Edoardo, Eyfjörð, Jórunn, Khout, Hazem, Knappskog, Stian, Krishnamurthy, Savitri, Lakhani, Sunil R., Langerod, Anita, Martens, John W. M., McCart Reed, Amy E., Murphy, Leigh, Naulaerts, Stefan, Nik-Zainal, Serena, Nevelsteen, Ines, Neven, Patrick ... Desmedt, Christine (2023). Obesity-associated changes in molecular biology of primary breast cancer. Nature Communications, 14 (1) 4418. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-39996-z
2023
Journal Article
Obesity-associated changes in molecular biology of primary breast cancer
Nguyen, Ha-Linh, Geukens, Tatjana, Maetens, Marion, Aparicio, Samuel, Bassez, Ayse, Borg, Ake, Brock, Jane, Broeks, Annegien, Caldas, Carlos, Cardoso, Fatima, De Schepper, Maxim, Delorenzi, Mauro, Drukker, Caroline A., Glas, Annuska M., Green, Andrew R., Isnaldi, Edoardo, Eyfjoro, Jorunn, Khout, Hazem, Knappskog, Stian, Krishnamurthy, Savitri, Lakhani, Sunil R., Langerod, Anita, Martens, John W. M., Reed, Amy E. McCart, Murphy, Leigh, Naulaerts, Stefan, Nik-Zainal, Serena, Nevelsteen, Ines, Neven, Patrick ... Desmedt, Christine (2023). Obesity-associated changes in molecular biology of primary breast cancer. Nature Communications, 14 (1) ARTN 4418. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-39996-z
2023
Journal Article
Whole genome sequencing in advanced lung cancer can be performed using diff-quik cytology smears derived from endobronchial ultrasound, transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS TBNA)
Fielding, David, Dalley, Andrew J., Singh, Mahendra, Nandakumar, Lakshmy, Lakis, Vanessa, Chittoory, Haarika, Fairbairn, David, Ferguson, Kaltin, Bashirzadeh, Farzad, Bint, Michael, Pahoff, Carl, Son, Jung Hwa, Hodgson, Alan, Pearson, John V., Waddell, Nicola, Lakhani, Sunil R., Hartel, Gunter, Nones, Katia and Simpson, Peter T. (2023). Whole genome sequencing in advanced lung cancer can be performed using diff-quik cytology smears derived from endobronchial ultrasound, transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS TBNA). Lung, 201 (4), 407-413. doi: 10.1007/s00408-023-00631-9
2023
Other Outputs
Deep spatial-omics analysis of head & neck carcinomas provides alternative therapeutic targets and rational for treatment failure
Andrew Causer, Xiao Tan, Xuehan Lu, Philip Moseley, Min Teoh, Natalie Molotkov, Margaret McGrath, Taehyun Kim, Peter Simpson, Christopher Perry, Ian Frazer, Benedict Panizza, Rahul Ladwa, Quan Nguyen and Jazmina L Gonzalez-Cruz (2023). Deep spatial-omics analysis of head & neck carcinomas provides alternative therapeutic targets and rational for treatment failure. The University of Queensland. (Dataset) doi: 10.48610/698bb9e
2023
Journal Article
Author Correction: Comprehensive molecular characterization of mitochondrial genomes in human cancers (Nature Genetics, (2020), 52, 3, (342-352), 10.1038/s41588-019-0557-x)
Yuan, Yuan, Ju, Young Seok, Kim, Youngwook, Li, Jun, Wang, Yumeng, Yoon, Christopher J., Yang, Yang, Martincorena, Inigo, Creighton, Chad J., Weinstein, John N., Xu, Yanxun, Han, Leng, Kim, Hyung-Lae, Nakagawa, Hidewaki, Park, Keunchil, Campbell, Peter J., Liang, Han, Aaltonen, Lauri A., Abascal, Federico, Abeshouse, Adam, Aburatani, Hiroyuki, Adams, David J., Agrawal, Nishant, Ahn, Keun Soo, Ahn, Sung-Min, Aikata, Hiroshi, Akbani, Rehan, Akdemir, Kadir C., Al-Ahmadie, Hikmat ... von Mering, Christian (2023). Author Correction: Comprehensive molecular characterization of mitochondrial genomes in human cancers (Nature Genetics, (2020), 52, 3, (342-352), 10.1038/s41588-019-0557-x). Nature Genetics, 55 (6), 1078-1078. doi: 10.1038/s41588-023-01317-x
2023
Journal Article
Author Correction: Pan-cancer analysis of whole genomes identifies driver rearrangements promoted by LINE-1 retrotransposition (Nature Genetics, (2020), 52, 3, (306-319), 10.1038/s41588-019-0562-0)
Rodriguez-Martin, Bernardo, Alvarez, Eva G., Baez-Ortega, Adrian, Zamora, Jorge, Supek, Fran, Demeulemeester, Jonas, Santamarina, Martin, Ju, Young Seok, Temes, Javier, Garcia-Souto, Daniel, Detering, Harald, Li, Yilong, Rodriguez-Castro, Jorge, Dueso-Barroso, Ana, Bruzos, Alicia L., Dentro, Stefan C., Blanco, Miguel G., Contino, Gianmarco, Ardeljan, Daniel, Tojo, Marta, Roberts, Nicola D., Zumalave, Sonia, Edwards, Paul A., Weischenfeldt, Joachim, Puiggròs, Montserrat, Chong, Zechen, Chen, Ken, Lee, Eunjung Alice, Wala, Jeremiah A. ... von Mering, Christian (2023). Author Correction: Pan-cancer analysis of whole genomes identifies driver rearrangements promoted by LINE-1 retrotransposition (Nature Genetics, (2020), 52, 3, (306-319), 10.1038/s41588-019-0562-0). Nature Genetics, 55 (6), 1080-1080. doi: 10.1038/s41588-023-01319-9
2023
Journal Article
Evaluating Diff‐Quik cytology smears for large‐panel mutation testing in lung cancer—Predicting DNA content and success with low‐malignant‐cellularity samples
Fielding, David I., Dalley, Andrew J., Singh, Mahendra, Nandakumar, Lakshmy, Lakis, Vanessa, Chittoory, Haarika, Fairbairn, David, Patch, Ann‐Marie, Kazakoff, Stephen H., Ferguson, Kaltin, Bashirzadeh, Farzad, Bint, Michael, Pahoff, Carl, Son, Jung Hwa, Hodgson, Alan, Sharma, Sowmya, Waddell, Nicola, Lakhani, Sunil R., Hartel, Gunter, Nones, Katia and Simpson, Peter T. (2023). Evaluating Diff‐Quik cytology smears for large‐panel mutation testing in lung cancer—Predicting DNA content and success with low‐malignant‐cellularity samples. Cancer Cytopathology, 131 (6), 373-382. doi: 10.1002/cncy.22690
2023
Journal Article
Author Correction: Comprehensive analysis of chromothripsis in 2,658 human cancers using whole-genome sequencing (Nature Genetics, (2020), 52, 3, (331-341), 10.1038/s41588-019-0576-7)
Cortés-Ciriano, Isidro, Lee, Jake June-Koo, Xi, Ruibin, Jain, Dhawal, Jung, Youngsook L., Yang, Lixing, Gordenin, Dmitry, Klimczak, Leszek J., Zhang, Cheng-Zhong, Pellman, David S., Akdemir, Kadir C., Alvarez, Eva G., Baez-Ortega, Adrian, Beroukhim, Rameen, Boutros, Paul C., Bowtell, David D. L., Brors, Benedikt, Burns, Kathleen H., Campbell, Peter J., Chan, Kin, Chen, Ken, Cortés-Ciriano, Isidro, Dueso-Barroso, Ana, Dunford, Andrew J., Edwards, Paul A., Estivill, Xavier, Etemadmoghadam, Dariush, Feuerbach, Lars, Fink, J. Lynn ... von Mering, Christian (2023). Author Correction: Comprehensive analysis of chromothripsis in 2,658 human cancers using whole-genome sequencing (Nature Genetics, (2020), 52, 3, (331-341), 10.1038/s41588-019-0576-7). Nature Genetics, 55 (6), 1076-1076. doi: 10.1038/s41588-023-01315-z
2023
Journal Article
Author Correction: Comprehensive molecular characterization of mitochondrial genomes in human cancers (Nature Genetics, (2020), 52, 3, (342-352), 10.1038/s41588-019-0557-x)
Yuan, Yuan, Ju, Young Seok, Kim, Youngwook, Li, Jun, Wang, Yumeng, Yoon, Christopher J., Yang, Yang, Martincorena, Inigo, Creighton, Chad J., Weinstein, John N., Xu, Yanxun, Han, Leng, Kim, Hyung-Lae, Nakagawa, Hidewaki, Park, Keunchil, Campbell, Peter J., Liang, Han, Aaltonen, Lauri A., Abascal, Federico, Abeshouse, Adam, Aburatani, Hiroyuki, Adams, David J., Agrawal, Nishant, Ahn, Keun Soo, Ahn, Sung-Min, Aikata, Hiroshi, Akbani, Rehan, Akdemir, Kadir C., Al-Ahmadie, Hikmat ... von Mering, Christian (2023). Author Correction: Comprehensive molecular characterization of mitochondrial genomes in human cancers (Nature Genetics, (2020), 52, 3, (342-352), 10.1038/s41588-019-0557-x). Nature Genetics, 55 (5), 892-892. doi: 10.1038/s41588-020-0629-y
2023
Journal Article
Cutting-edge cancer genomics saving lives
McCart Reed, Amy, Boughtwood, Tiffany and Simpson, Peter (2023). Cutting-edge cancer genomics saving lives. MJA Insight.
Funding
Current funding
Supervision
Availability
- Associate Professor Peter Simpson is:
- Available for supervision
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Supervision history
Current supervision
-
Doctor Philosophy
Studies on the utility of Endobronchial Ultrasound Transbronchial Needle Aspiration (EBUS TBNA) samples in novel investigations of lung cancer genomics, and immune
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Sunil Lakhani
-
Doctor Philosophy
Circulating biomarkers in invasive lobular breast carcinoma
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Sunil Lakhani, Associate Professor Amy McCart Reed
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Master Philosophy
Application of molecular genetics in Translational Breast Cancer Research
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Amy McCart Reed, Professor Sunil Lakhani
-
Doctor Philosophy
Investigating therapeutic vulnerabilities in breast cancer.
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Sunil Lakhani, Associate Professor Amy McCart Reed
Completed supervision
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2021
Doctor Philosophy
Multi-omics: Leveraging omics data integration to identify dysregulated biology in breast cancer
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Amy McCart Reed, Dr Katia Nones
-
2018
Doctor Philosophy
Genomic and transcriptomic biomarkers of prognosis in invasive lobular breast cancer.
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Amy McCart Reed, Professor Sunil Lakhani
-
2016
Doctor Philosophy
Intratumour heterogeneity in the development and progression of breast cancer
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Amy McCart Reed, Professor Sunil Lakhani
-
2016
Doctor Philosophy
Computational analysis of DNA repair pathways in breast cancer
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Honorary Professor Kum Kum Khanna
-
2016
Doctor Philosophy
Identification of new prognostic biomarker for triple negative breast cancer
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Jodi Saunus, Professor Sunil Lakhani
-
2013
Doctor Philosophy
Clinical-Pathological and Molecular Analysis to Understand Breast Cancer Progression
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Sunil Lakhani
-
2013
Doctor Philosophy
A Search For Novel Cancer Susceptibility Genes
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Sunil Lakhani, Professor Melissa Brown
Media
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