Two new ACRF facilities in Melbourne will help fast-track discoveries Posted on May 16, 2013February 25, 2018 by Carly du Toit The Australian Cancer Research Foundation has opened two new world-class cancer research facilities in Melbourne; the new ACRF Rational Drug Discovery Centre at St Vincent’s Institute (SVI) and a new Cancer Imaging Facility at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. These centres represent $4 million in Australian Cancer Research Foundation funding that would not have been made possible without the support of our amazing donors. The potential for ground breaking discoveries within these world-class facilities is extremely exciting. Each of them houses the latest in advanced drug screening and imaging technologies, promising to find new treatment targets and therapeutic options faster than ever before. Please find details about each cancer research facility below. Continue reading “Two new ACRF facilities in Melbourne will help fast-track discoveries”
Fitting out St Vincent’s cutting-edge ACRF Rational Drug Discovery Centre Posted on March 12, 2013February 25, 2018 by Carly du Toit Australia’s first laser scanner cytometer, to be housed at St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, is set to cut years off drug development and cancer treatment trials. The $700,000 machine was purchased as part of the fit-out of the Institute’s ACRF Rational Drug Discovery Centre, a facility made possible thanks to a $2 million ACRF grant, awarded at the end of 2011. Stem cell researcher Associate Prof Louise Purton (pictured) has said the scanner will allow researchers to study “anything we want to know about a cell – this should be able to answer it.” “This is the way the cancer field is moving forward into finding a cure, by understanding why that cancer is forming and designing drugs that specifically target those cancer cells, as opposed to the other cells around it.” The scanner not only allows researchers to better profile, test and monitor cancer cells – it also will reduce the impact on animals at trial-level. Continue reading “Fitting out St Vincent’s cutting-edge ACRF Rational Drug Discovery Centre”
$8.6 million from ACRF kick-starts leading Australian cancer research projects Posted on April 16, 2012February 25, 2018 by Carly du Toit Three world-class Australian cancer research projects, for which ACRF grants have previously been awarded, are underway following the start of our payments this week. The total $8.6 million in funds will ensure Australian scientists are able to work in world-class conditions with the very best equipment, working to speed up the breakthroughs in cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment. 1. $3.1 million to The ACRF Chemical Proteomics Centre for Kinomics, at the Children’s Medical Research Institute at Westmead in Sydney. Kinomics is a new discipline in Australia comprising a very simple, yet rapid, large scale, high-throughput screening process to study the entire kinome – that is, all of the protein kinases which are expressed in a cell at a given point in time. Continue reading “$8.6 million from ACRF kick-starts leading Australian cancer research projects”
ACRF awards $9 million to world-class cancer research! Posted on November 23, 2011February 25, 2018 by Carly du Toit 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. Continue reading “ACRF awards $9 million to world-class cancer research!”
ACRF to announce 2010 grant recipients Posted on June 1, 2010February 25, 2018 by Carly du Toit With the final review of the shortlisted applicants for Australian Cancer Research Foundation’s (ACRF) multi-million dollar grant program, the Foundation is set to announce the 2010 grant recipients in just one week. All grant applications received by the Foundation are reviewed by the ACRF’s Medical Research Advisory Committee (MRAC) whose members are scientists of the highest national and global repute. This leading Australian scientific committee make recommendations to the ACRF Board of Trustees after a rigorous review process. Assessment of applications is made by independent expert assessors, as well as an inspection of sites where grants will be applied to fund laboratories and house equipment. The ACRF will announce the 2010 grant recipients on Thursday 25 November. Continue reading “ACRF to announce 2010 grant recipients”
