ACRF 2020
Grants Awards
2020 has been a year with all eyes on COVID-19 and the devasting impact the pandemic has had on people across the world.
Unfortunately, diseases do not take turns, and the need for us to continuously discover new and improved ways to prevent, detect and treat cancer is still ever-present.
We are beyond excited to announce the projects that will be receiving ACRF funding in 2020. Three innovative and cutting-edge projects that will continue to bolster the incredible work being done in cancer research & development across Australia.
$3M to establish the ACRF Centre for Intravital Imaging of Niches for Cancer Immune Therapy (or INCITe)
This world-first Australian-designed custom intravital microscopy centre at Garvan Institute will overcome the limitations of conventional microscopes in viewing the interactions between the immune system and cancer, below the surface of tumours and deep inside tissues. This work will address a major challenge in the treatment of cancer: why some patients have a remarkable clinical response to cancer immunotherapies, while other patients do not respond.
$1.2M to establish the ACRF Facility for Targeted Radiometals in Cancer
Located in The University of Queensland Centre for Advanced Imaging, this will be an Australian-first facility for the discovery, development and clinical translation of novel alpha particle-based cancer therapeutics, with the aim of unlocking the cancer-curing potential of targeted alpha therapy. These precision medicines have potential for greater cancer-killing effect with less damage to healthy tissue than current approaches.
$1.8M to establish the ACRF Radiation Immuno-oncology Program
This unique program, at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre will study how radiation therapy targeting a tumour can also trigger anti-cancer effects via the immune system, that can control tumours elsewhere in the body. This understanding will support development of powerful new combination treatment regimens, which harness the anti-cancer potential of both radiation therapy and immunotherapy.
“Never in ACRF’s history has private funding to back these bold ideas been more crucial. Cancer continues its destructive path just as COVID-19 sweeps the world, bringing heightened uncertainty and shifts in government spending priorities and university research funding”.
Help us fund more life-saving research.
We believe a world without cancer is possible.