A/Prof Andrew Wei
A/Prof Andrew Wei is a haematologist and the head of leukaemia research at The Alfred.
A/Prof Wei is also Chairperson AML disease group Australasian Leukaemia and Lymphoma Group, Victorian Cancer Agency Research Fellow and Adjunct Associate Professor, Australian Centre for Blood Diseases.
After completing doctoral studies at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in 2005, A/Prof Wei joined The Alfred in 2008 to develop the Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) research program. He has been the AML disease group chairperson for Australasian Leukaemia and Lymphoma Group since 2009 and has led multiple nationwide cooperative group studies as chief investigator.
A/Prof Wei is an executive member of the ALLG Scientific Advisory Committee, and a member of the National Medical and Scientific Advisory Committee of the Leukaemia Foundation of Australia. He sits on the International Steering Committee for Celgene, providing expert advice on AML.
To enhance translational research, A/Prof Wei has established the Alfred Haematology Tissue Bank, the diagnostic molecular haematology laboratory and a pre-clinical research laboratory to focus on the role of targeting survival pathways in AML.
Most significant trial
The Alfred has made a significant impact in positioning a new class of drugs called BH3- mimetics, designed to promote cancer cell death, to treat patients with AML. The Alfred has conducted a number of clinical trials (phase 1b-3) in collaboration with Abbvie which has resulted in highly promising outcomes for elderly patients with AML. Pivotal studies are now underway to determine whether venetoclax in combination with low-dose chemotherapy will become the new standard of care for elderly AML.
