Congratulations to Anna Kalff and Daniel So on their PhD completions!

L-R: Dr Anna Kalff and Daniel So, recent PhD graduates

Congratulations to Anna Kalff & Daniel So on completing respectively their PhD degrees! The awards were conferred on 28 July 2021.

Anna Kalff's thesis is titled, "Multiple myeloma strategies to predict outcomes in the era of novel anti-myeloma therapies". She was supervised by Professor Andrew Spencer and Dr Tiffany Khong in the Australian Centre for Blood Diseases.

Daniel So's thesis is titled, "Translating functional characteristics of dietary fibre to clinical value in patients with irritable bowel syndrome". He was supervised by Associate Professor Jane Muir, Dr CK Yao and Professor Peter Gibson in the Department of Gastroenterology.

See more below about their work.

Anna Kalff

Multiple myeloma is the second most common haematologic malignancy after non-Hodgkin lymphoma, but despite advances in treatment, remains incurable for most patients. Anna's thesis investigates novel strategies to better predict and improve outcomes in patients with myeloma in the era of novel anti-myeloma therapies, given that there is now focus on developing personalised/targeted therapy approaches. This was through the investigation of consolidation/maintenance strategies following autologous stem cell transplant as part of the up-front treatment for myeloma, investigation of novel anti-myeloma treatments in the relapsed/refractory setting and identification of biomarkers predictive of outcomes to such anti-myeloma treatments.

Anna is first author on a recent publication looking at biomarkers for and immune profiles of myeloma patients in a particular treatment regime. She is a consultant haematologist at Alfred Health.

Daniel So

Irritable bowel syndrome is a common disorder with symptoms of abdominal pain and compromised gut functioning. Some types of dietary fibre may help improve aspects of gut function but may also worsen symptoms. Daniel's thesis identified two specific fibres, one from sugarcane and another from corn, with characteristics potentially suitable for these patients. He said, "We then showed that these fibres, when used together with a common therapeutic diet (low FODMAP diet), were well-tolerated and improved multiple aspects of gut function. Additionally, using novel technologies, we showed the fibres changed how the gut bacteria behaved in different areas of the colon."

Daniel was one of very few Graduate Research Industry Partnership PhD students in the Central Clinical School.

Best wishes to both graduates on their future scientific careers!