Funding announced for 19 NSW cancer projects
Cancer Council NSW has announced almost $7 million in donations for 19 groundbreaking cancer research projects. The organisation received 143 applications for grants this year, showcasing “the drive in the medical research community to learn more about cancer and the ways we treat cancer”, according to Director of Cancer Research Associate Professor Karen Canfell.
The successful projects were selected for their visionary research that will challenge what we know about cancer and how we treat it, ultimately helping Cancer Council NSW reach its goal of reducing deaths from cancer by 50% over the next 20 years. Associate Professor Canfell said, “We are working with the best cancer researchers in Australia, many of whom are nationally and internationally recognised for their work.”
Associate Professor Jeff Holst at the Centenary Institute will develop drugs that act like a nozzle on the nutrient pumps which feed cancer cells. By blocking the flow of these pumps, the cancer cells can be starved - an effect which has already been observed in prostate cancer, breast cancer and melanoma cells.
Dr Kenneth Micklethwaite from the University of Sydney has developed an artificial receptor (CAR) enabling immune cells to see and kill myeloma cells, which are otherwise invisible to the immune system. Dr Micklethwaite will improve this CAR to ensure maximum anticancer efficacy and will also modify CAR immune cells to produce myeloma-inhibiting drugs at the site of myeloma.
Dr Nicole Verrills from the University of Newcastle will be testing whether a new gene marker can predict which breast cancer patients won’t survive, and so should be offered new therapies. Breast cancer cells with this gene marker are in fact sensitive to a drug that is already in clinical use for other cancers; therefore, the study could lead directly to human trials.
“These are just a few examples of the new and novel research that is being funded in Australia thanks to generous donations,” Associate Professor Karen Canfell said.
The full list of recipients can be found on the Cancer Council NSW website.
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