AusHealth CureCell Award winner, Cate Cheney – using gut health to unlock the mysteries of leukaemia
In July, 65 PhD students submitted single-page synopses on their research into cell or biological therapies. In this series of posts we talk with the seven award winners about their ground-breaking science, their lives as a researcher and how they’ll spend their $10,000 prize…
Award winner: Cate Cheney
Institution: SAHMRI
Award: Pan Macedonian Federation of SA CureCell Award for Cancer Research, 2025
Project: Generation of a microbiome-oriented adjuvant therapy for patients with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Cate, congratulations on winning $10,000! How did it feel when you were told?
It was wonderful – and a big surprise! The meeting invite just said ‘update’, so I had no idea what was coming. I was so happy and grateful.
How did you find the application process?
It was easy! The hardest part was stripping away all my scientific jargon and simplifying it into a more lay explanation.
A perfect segue into asking for a summary of your research for a lay audience!
I like to talk first about the microbiome — the trillions of bacteria, fungi and viruses that live in our gastrointestinal tract. While it’s well known that the microbiome has connections to solid tumours, investigations in liquid tumours, such as leukaemia, are in the early stages. There’s emerging evidence to demonstrate there might be quite a strong link between the two.
I’m focused on discovering vulnerabilities that can be targeted by identifying changes in the microbiome that we see in leukaemic patients, specifically looking at microbial metabolites. These are molecules produced by bacteria, and patients with leukaemia don’t have this bacteria. So we think these microbial metabolites, which are short-chain fatty acids, might be the key link between the blood cancer and microbiome imbalance.
Was commercialisation something you were thinking about from the start?
No, it’s evolved over time. As we discovered how these short-chain fatty acids might play a therapeutic role, we started thinking about how they could be developed into treatments. For example, how to most effectively deliver them, how to make them more bioavailable orally, better tasting and so on. That’s where the commercialisation aspect and possible partnerships come in.
What have you learned about yourself doing PhD in science? Any tips for young researchers?
It’s no small feat! As a PhD researcher you get knocked down almost daily. Experiments don’t work, papers get rejected – you have to keep going and as my Grandma always tells me, believe in yourself!
From experience, I’ve got two pieces of advice: (1) Don’t tie your personal worth to your PhD results. And (2) Write everything down — no matter how silly it seems, you just need to get it on paper. It makes it a lot easier to go back and refine your writing, your methods, your lab book, your grant applications. My notes app is full of every idea I have!
Where do you see yourself after the PhD?
I’d like to stay in research, ideally in a postdoctoral role, to continue the work I’m doing. I’m also interested in teaching and fostering the next generation of young researchers. I was inspired by female role models in high school and university, and that drove me to do a PhD. I would like to be a leader and teacher in the field, helping other young women in STEM to pursue their passions.
And how will you use the $10,000 prize money?
I’ll probably treat myself to something small but the majority of it will go into savings so when I start earning a proper wage, it’ll be easier to save for a house deposit.
Applications for the next AusHealth CureCell Awards will begin in June 2026.
For more information, visit CureCell.org