Scientists to Treat LC with Bacteria from Kangaroos

[Christine]

A Queensland scientist has won a $750,000 fellowship to develop a lung cancer treatment from a bacterium found in eastern grey kangaroos.

The State Government presented the award to University of Queensland researcher Dr Ming Wei.

The scholarship was created in memory of the late Dr Jian Zhou, who co-founded the world's first cervical cancer vaccine with Professor Ian Frazer.

Dr Wei says his research involves spores of bacteria that target cancer cells.

"By injecting the spores into the blood, the spores can get into the centre of the tumour and that would work as a live active and tumour seeking agent that destroys tumours from the inside," he said.