We are pleased to announce the recipients of the National Research Grant Round 2025.
Dr Yue Wang
Read about Dr Yue Wang , one of our grant recipients.
Dr Yue Wang
University of Auckland
Post-Doctoral Fellowship - $300,000 over 3 years
Integrating growth hormone antagonism into melanoma treatment
Melanoma is the most serious form of skin cancer and is a significant public health issue in Aotearoa NZ. There are over 7,000 new melanoma cases diagnosed and nearly 300 deaths annually. Aotearoa has one of the highest melanoma rates in the world. Not all people with melanoma respond to available treatments, especially those with advanced melanoma. These tumours grow aggressively and are hard to treat.
My research focuses on a hormone called growth hormone, which normally helps regulate healthy growth and metabolism in the body. However, growth hormone can also encourage melanoma cell growth and make it harder to treat. To address this, I have developed a blocker which effectively stops growth hormone from causing these harmful effects.
Through this fellowship, I aim to investigate whether blocking growth hormone can make melanoma treatment more effective. This research could lead to new, more effective therapies for people with melanoma who do not respond well to existing treatments.