May 19, 2015  Print

More than $1.5 million in donations has been granted to some of the Westmead Millennium Institute’s finest researchers who aim to discover new methods to curb cancer and look at novel ways of treating the disease, Cancer Council NSW announced today.

More than $1.5 million in donations has been granted to some of the Westmead Millennium Institute’s finest researchers who aim to discover new methods to curb cancer and look at novel ways of treating the disease, Cancer Council NSW announced today.

Four researchers from the Westmead Millennium Institute, one of the largest multi-disciplinary medical research institutes in the country, were awarded funding for their visionary research that will help challenge what we know about cancer and how we treat it.

These researchers are instrumental in helping Cancer Council NSW reach its goal of reducing deaths from cancer by 50 per cent over the next 20 years.

The four research projects at the Westmead Millennium Institute funded by donations via the Cancer Council NSW are:

  • Looking at how hormones affect breast tissue to help select better treatments for women with breast cancer, led by Professor Christine Clarke
  • Identifying the genes involved in a poorly understood sub-type of ovarian cancer to develop better targeted treatment strategies, led by Professor Anna deFazio
  • Helping the immune system to target and destroy multiple myeloma cells, led by Dr Kenneth Micklethwaite
  • Preventing liver cancer by helping communities at high risk to be screened and to access treatment, led by Professor Jacob George

 

Rory Alcock, Regional Manager for Cancer Councils Greater Western Sydney region said, “It’s very exciting to see four local researchers being awarded funding for their work and we look forward to seeing the results from these projects in the future.

“We’ve received 143 applications for grants this year for outstanding research projects, which goes to show the drive in the medical research community to learn more about cancer and the ways we treat cancer, which is a very complex disease.

One of the grant recipients, Professor Anna deFazio, and her team are working on novel treatments for low-grade ovarian cancer and how a one-size-fits-all approach may not work for the treatment of all patients. This study could lead to new targeted treatment strategies for the disease in the future.

“We are extremely grateful to CCNSW for the opportunity to extend our research to tackle a specific type of ovarian cancer that tends to occur in younger women, and for which new treatment approaches are sorely needed,” says Professor deFazio.

Mr Alcock further comments, “We are very lucky to be working with some of the best cancer researchers who are based right on our door step in Westmead and these new and novel research projects wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for the generous donations of the Greater Western Sydney communities to Cancer Council.”