Victorian Minister for Medical Research, Ben Carroll, has announced the awarding of Children’s Cancer CoLab Future Leaders Fellowships to three of that state’s top researchers.
The researchers – Dr Claire Sun, Dr Zoe Day and Dr Stacie Wang – will share in more than $1.3 million to develop treatments for hard-to-treat childhood cancers.
“By backing the brightest minds in children’s cancer research, the CoLab Future Leaders Program is bringing new hope to children with cancer and their families,” said Minister Carroll.
Dr Sun from the Hudson Institute of Medical Research uses AI to understand childhood brain tumours. She will be supported to develop targeted drugs and help doctors identify the right treatments for each child.
Dr Day from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) is leading research into a childhood brain cancer with a survival rate of less than a year. The fellowship will help fund her work to combine immunotherapy treatments with drugs to target brain tumours, reducing the frequency and length of treatment for children.
Dr Wang from The Royal Children’s Hospital and WEHI is developing Victoria’s first clinical trial of a new therapy for children with brain cancer.
Every year, more than 1,000 children and adolescents in Australia are diagnosed with cancer. New treatments are improving survival rates, but up to 80% of survivors live with ongoing health challenges.
“We have the talent, and now we have the research investment to make it count. This investment in three talented researchers is how we build the specialised workforce to fast-track discoveries that children with cancer and their families desperately need,” said Children’s Cancer CoLab Board Director and Scientific Advisor, Prof Grant McArthur AO.
“Childhood brain cancer is one of the cruellest diagnoses a family can receive, and these three researchers are pursuing exactly the kind of bold, innovative science that gives us genuine reason for hope,” said Children’s Cancer Foundation CEO, Margaret Fitzherbert.
