Life-saving cancer research will be fast tracked with the awarding of 2 grants totalling $1.69 million by the Cancer Institute of NSW.
The University of Newcastle has received just under $800,000 to undertake research into cancer-related heart disease, the second leading cause of death for patients with cancer, after cancer itself.
A team from Garvan Institute of Medical Research will receive nearly $900,000 to invest in new cutting-edge equipment allowing researchers to analyse cells in high definition. This new technology will help transform clinicians’ understanding of cancer, while identifying new opportunities for personalised cancer treatment.
Minister for Medical Research David Harris said targeted research is vital to deliver better treatments and interventions that reduce the impact of cancer and ultimately save lives.
“While significant progress has been made in understanding and treating cancer, it remains the leading cause of death in NSW with sadly 1 in 2 people set to be diagnosed with the disease in their lifetime,” Mr Harris said.
“NSW is home to world-leading researchers, who are passionate and committed to making cancer a thing of the past. We’re proud to be able to help 2 outstanding research teams progress their potentially life-changing work.”
Professor Tracey O’Brien NSW Chief Cancer Officer and Chief Executive of the Cancer Institute NSW said supporting and accelerating research and innovation is a priority of the NSW Cancer Plan.
“In NSW, someone is diagnosed with cancer every 11 minutes and it’s our obligation to do everything we can to save lives, and help people live free of cancer-related side effects and long-term health complications,” Prof O’Brien said.
“Cancer research transforms and save lives. These 2 grants will help close gaps in our understanding of cancer and hopefully lead to better health outcomes for more people across NSW.”
Recipient of the institute’s new Accelerated Research Implementation Grant Prof Aaron Sverdlov says his team, co-led by Prof Doan Ngo, at the University of Newcastle support people through their cancer journey and reduce the impact of cancer-related heart disease.
“Heart disease disproportionally affects people with cancer, and we need to do everything possible to keep people healthy and well. Through specialist surveillance clinics in Newcastle, Maitland and Tamworth, we hope to identify, monitor and treat cancer patients most at risk of heart disease, so they can undergo cancer treatment without interruption and have the best chance of survival,” Prof Sverdlov said.
Recipient of the institute’s new Research Equipment Grant professor Alexander Swarbrick said his team at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research look forward to using the new technology to help better understand and treat cancers like breast, pancreatic and childhood cancer.
“We will soon be acquiring a cutting-edge instrument called the 10x Genomics Xenium ST platform. This ground-breaking technology will be available to researchers in NSW and will help us to take a closer look at cancer cells and how they work, allowing us to develop personalised cancer treatment for patients across NSW,” Professor Swarbrick said.
Find more information on the institute’s new Accelerated Research Implementation Grant and Research Equipment Grant.