Research Institute: Children’s Medical Research Institute
Amount granted: $2 million
Year granted: 2013
The ACRF awarded the Children’s Medical Research Institute (CMRI) in Sydney $2 million in funding to develop a cutting-edge ACRF Telomere Analysis Centre. This facility allows an internationally unique consortium of telomere research groups to better understand the differences in telomere biology between normal and cancerous cells.
Telomeres are stretches of DNA at the end of our chromosomes – they protect our genetic data, make it possible for cells to divide, and influence how we get diseases such as cancer. Research into telomeres is relatively new in the field of cancer science, but it offers the potential for a broad-spectrum approach to anti-cancer drugs.
The new ACRF centre facilitates the design and development of these therapies, which, in targeting telomere mutations or dysfunction, could provide a treatment solution to many or all types of cancer.
This centre has become the national telomere testing centre for both clinical and diagnostic purposes.
It is the second research grant the ACRF has awarded to the Children’s Medical Research Institute, Australia.
Chief Investigators: Professors Roger Reddel, Assoc. Professor Tracy Bryan, Dr Karen MacKenzie, Dr Hilda Pickett, Dr Tony Cesare, Loretta Lau, Dr Julie Curtin
What your donations have achieved
Cervical cancer vaccine
We gave initial seed funding to Professor Ian Frazer’s research into the cervical cancer (HPV). Over 150 million doses of vaccine have been delivered worldwide to date.
The pill that melts away cancer
Our long term support of cancer research at WEHI has led to a treatment that melts away certain advanced forms of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. It has been approved for clinical use in the US, European Union and Australia and is being trialed for other types of cancer.
Personalised cancer diagnosis
In 2015, we awarded $10 million seed funding to an ambitious cancer proteome project that aims to provide each cancer patient a personalised treatment plan within 36 hours. This will improve treatment outcomes and help avoid unnecessary treatments.
Zero childhood cancer
We are one of the founding partners of the initiative that will tackle the most serious cases of infant, childhood and adolescent cancer in Australia. It is a key step towards the program vision of one day helping to cure 100% of children with cancer.