Last night the ACRF was proud to award $9 million in grants to three cutting-edge cancer research centres who are doing truly fantastic work here in Australia.
The awardees were selected after a thorough investigation by our Medical Research Advisory Committee (which consists of 13 esteemed Australian cancer researchers and is chaired by Professor Ian Frazer, co-creator of the cervical cancer vaccine).
In May of this year, ACRF received a total of 16 applicants for its cancer research grants. From these candidates, five were selected for further assessment , and yesterday, having conducted extensive site visits and interviews, the Committee made their final recommendations to the ACRF Board of Trustees.
The grants will be used exclusively to fund state-of-the-art technologies and facilities which speed up discoveries in our fight against cancer – ultimately working to save lives by saving time.
$2 million – St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne
Through this grant money, St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne will be able to expand their existing ACRF Rational Drug Discovery Centre. The centre specialises in rational drug design and drug-target identification for all cancers, with a particular focus on bone and blood cancers. This institute has a wonderful international reputation in structural biology and cancer research collaborations, and has received two ACRF grants in the past.
$2 million – Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Melbourne
The Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research will use ACRF funding to develop a new ACRF Centre for Translational Cancer Therapeutics and Imaging. This is a facility that will significantly increase our understanding of the underlying causes of cancer, and explore new therapeutic approaches. The hospital with which the Ludwig Institute is associated, Austin Hospital in Melbourne, is a pre-eminent centre for imaging of human cancer, and this work relies heavily on research generated by the network of Ludwig research institutes around the world.
$5 million – Westmead Institute for Cancer Research, Sydney
Westmead Institute for Cancer Research in Sydney can now bring to reality their plans for new ACRF Melanoma Research Laboratories which will house two internationally recognised melanoma research teams. The researcher teams, currently based at Newcastle and Westmead, have a wonderful track-record in terms of their communication, but merging their laboratory facilities will significantly strengthen this level of collaboration and therefore, the quality of melanoma research in Australia.
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