Lead recipient: Dr Ye Kyaw Aung, Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics (CEB), Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne
Team members: A/Prof Shuai L, Prof Mark Jenkins, A/Prof Aung Ko Win, Prof Finlay Macrae, A/Prof Daniel Buchanan
Funding: $40,000 in GERA’s Seed Funding Round 2 (2026)
About the project: This seed project will develop sex-specific multi-omic risk prediction models to estimate the risk of extracolonic subsequent primary cancers (SPCs) in colorectal cancer survivors. Using the international Colon Cancer Family Registry Cohort (over 7,000 individuals with colorectal cancer), the team will first validate existing polygenic risk scores for common extracolonic SPCs and identify circulating protein biomarkers associated with SPC risk via multiplex proteomic profiling. Penalised regression methods will be used to derive proteomic risk scores. Clinical characteristics, genetic (PRS) and proteomic risk scores will then be integrated using advanced statistical and machine learning approaches (including Cox models, flexible parametric models, LASSO, elastic net and tree-based algorithms) to build and internally validate sex-specific prediction models. The project will generate key proof‑of‑concept evidence for personalised, risk‑stratified survivorship surveillance and provide a platform for larger NHMRC/MRFF applications and future external validation in cohorts such as UK Biobank and the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study.
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