Rate My Professor Frederic Hollande

Professor Frederic Hollande is a Professor in the Department of Clinical Pathology within the Melbourne Medical School at the University of Melbourne. He currently serves as Head of the Department of Clinical Pathology and was appointed Interim Deputy Head of Melbourne Medical School in January 2023. Previously, he acted as Deputy Head of the Department. With over 25 years of experience in research and teaching, Professor Hollande leads the Hollande Laboratory, which focuses on the molecular mechanisms of tumour heterogeneity and phenotypic plasticity in metastatic cancers, with a particular emphasis on colorectal cancer. The laboratory investigates signalling pathways that drive differential behaviour in tumour cell subpopulations, the contributions of intrinsic programs and microenvironmental cues, and the impact of phenotypic plasticity on tumour-initiating cells' responses to treatments. Research employs ex vivo models from patient samples, 2D and 3D cultures, live cell imaging, flow cytometry, cytotoxicity assays, methylation and RNA analyses, and xenograft models to identify biomarkers for prognosis and treatment response prediction, as well as targets to enhance therapeutic efficacy against drug-resistant cells.

Professor Hollande also heads the Plasticity, Heterogeneity and Tumour Microenvironment (PHANTOM) Laboratory, targeting mechanisms of tumour cell plasticity, genomic instability, immune escape, and treatment resistance in metastatic colorectal and pancreatic cancers, including developmental ligand-receptor interactions like netrin-1/UNC5B and combination therapies for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. His precision oncology research involves collaborations with surgeons, medical oncologists, genomics specialists, and systems biologists from Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre member organizations. Key publications include Paquet-Fifield et al., 'Tight junction protein claudin-2 promotes self-renewal of human colorectal cancer stem-like cells' (Cancer Research, 2018); Hollande, 'Micro-managers of disease: the long and short of miRNA regulation in colorectal cancer' (Non-coding RNA Investigation, 2018); Giraud et al., 'Autocrine secretion of progastrin promotes the survival and self-renewal of colon cancer stem-like cells' (Cancer Research, 2016); Grillet et al., 'Circulating tumor cells from patients with colorectal cancer have cancer stem cell hallmarks in ex-vivo culture' (Gut, 2016); and Huynh et al., 'The JAK/STAT3 axis: A comprehensive drug target for solid malignancies' (Seminars in Cancer Biology, 2017). Professor Hollande has contributed to curriculum development, research training, and international partnerships with French research organizations.