2008-09 funding recipients
Round one of the 2008-09 funding from the Victorian Cancer Agency provided $7.2 million to cancer research in Victoria through workforce, capacity building and consumer grants, in the following areas:
Clinical research fellowships
Total funding: $2,099,584 over four years
Dr Meaghan Wall: Myelodysplastic syndromes: molecular characterisation and investigation of novel therapies
A/Prof Andrew Roberts: Translational research in haematology
A/Prof Terence Johns: Dual Targeting of the EGFRvIII and c-Met Tyrosine Kinase Receptors in Glioblastoma
Dr Kellie Knight: A multi-site randomised study to investigate the optimal bladder filling instructions for prostate cancer patients undergoing radical radiation therapy using IGRT to verify daily bladder volume
Early career seed grants
Total funding: $357,449 over 1 year
Dr Carl Walkley: Identifying new approaches to understanding and treating osteosarcoma
Dr Kara Britt: Influence of estrogen on mammary epithelial stem cell numbers and how this relates to breast cancer risk
Ms Prue Cowin: Genomic analysis of primary epithelial ovarian cancers and patient-matched relapse ascites
Dr Nicholas Clemons: Using novel in vitro culture models to investigate the role of bone morphogenic protein-4 (BMP-4) in the development of Barrett's oesophagus
Dr Andrew Stephens: Identification of Novel Auto-Antigens as Early Markers for the Detection of Ovarian Cancer
Dr Ashwini Chand: Identifying a sensitive molecular switch important for the development of breast cancer
Dr Simon Harrison: Phenotypic and Molecular characterisation of clonogenic MM precursor cells
Dr Honor Hugo: Contribution of EMT to oestrogen-independent growth in human breast cancer
Link and learn grants
Total funding: $39,088 over 1 year
Dr Adam Rainczuk: Travel to Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in Denver, Colorado and Laboratory of Sam Hanash, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle
Dr Lesley Stafford: Travel to International Psycho-oncology Society (IPOS) 11th World Congress of Psycho-oncology, Vienna
Dr Kara Britt: Travel to Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre, Institute of Cancer Research, London
Dr Kristina Thomas: Travel to Centre for Psychooncology and Pallative Care Research, Harvard University, Boston MA, USA
Ms Cinzia DeLuca: Travel to Phyllis Green and Randolph Cowen Institute for Pedatrics Neuroscience, New York University (New York) and St Jude Children's Hospital (Memphis, Tennessee)
Ms Yolanda Aarons: Travel to Stanford Cancer Centre, CA
Ms Julie Miller: Travel to The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam and
VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam
Mr David Tongs: Travel to Montreal, Canada for Course/Conference hosted by Pediatric Radiation Oncology Society
Centre, France
Supportive care in cancer research
Scholarships – Total funding: $141,011
Mrs Kerryann Lofti-Jam: Predictors of psychological distress in adult cancer survivors: Development of a model for tailoring health interventions
Dr Biance Devitt: An examination of the dynamics and processes of multidisclipinary cancer meetings
Capacity building grants – Total funding: $447,944
Dr Sibilah Breen: The Advanced Symptom Management System: a novel application of information and communications technology to manage chemotherapy related toxicities in haematological cancer patients
Dr Carrie Lethborg: Meaning & Purpose (MAP) therapy in advanced cancer - a pilot randomised controlled trial
Mrs Maria McCarthy: Psychosocial Outcomes in survivors of childhood cancer
Dr Lucio Nacarella: People with Cancer – perceptions of the role of the primary care generalist within multidisciplinary team care
Dr Sue Burney: The psychological support and information needs of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD)men with localised prostate cancer and their partners
Dr Eli Ristevski: Implementing supportive care screening and referral in a rural area: Training Health professionals in the use of a Supportive Care Resource Kit
Regional research capacity building grants
Total funding: $321,227
Dr Craig Underhill: Regional cancer research Capacity building grant in a regional centre (Albury-Wodonga) for salary support, training, physical infrastructure and linkages to cooperative trial groups and metropolitan centres
Dr Kate Hamilton: Expanding the BHS cancer clinical trials program to include breast and haematological cancers
Dr Theresa Hayes: Investigate the feasibility of an outreach clinical trial network for the Barwon South Western Region
Prof George Kannourakis: Ballarat Oncology & Haematology Services would like to extend and enhance our Grampians Region clinical trials program by increasing the current staffing level and facilitating professional development through conference attendance
Ms Nicole Creaser: Examining the nutritional status of cancer patients admitted to a rural day chemotherapy unit in East Gippsland, over an eighteen month timeframe, as measured by the PG-SGA cancer nutritional assessment tool.
Prof Joe Sambrook: kConFab; The national consortium for families at high risk of breast cancer.
Clinical trials
Pilot study grants – Total funding: $658,327
A/Prof David Thomas: Cross disciplinary study of pharmacologic factors affecting cancer outcomes in adolescents and young adults (AYA)
Dr Kate Drummond: Pre-clinical study and Phase I trial of PI3-Kinase inhibitors in the treatment of newly diagnosed glioblastoma
Capacity building grants – Total funding: $1,495,789
A/Prof Raymond Snyder: Victorian Cancer Trials Link- An internet based cancer clinical trial interactive search too- linking patients and trials
A/Prof Geoff Lindeman: Development of a co-operative Victorian Familial Cancer Clinical Trials Groups (VFCCTG)
Dr Craig Underhill: Cancer Clinical Trials Capacity Building Grant in a regional cancer centre (Albury-Wodonga), for salary support, physical infrastructure and equipment
A/Prof John Seymour: Capacity building for Australian Leukaemia and Lymphoma Group
Mr Marcus Clark: Development of a clinical trial network for the conduct of multisite clinical trials to evaluate new cancer therapeutics.
Platform technology capacity building grants
Total funding: $1,146,293
Dr Farshad Foroudi: A Victorian wide web based electronic learning (eLearning) program for Image Guided Radiotherapy
Dr Mariene Hibbert: Linked data training development
Dr Gianluca Severi: A platform to study early-onset and familial kidney cancer: the Consortium for Inherited Renal Malignancies (CONFIRM).
Consumer research grants
Total funding: $149,443
Dr Kristina Thomas: A multimedia resource to provide information and support to family carers of people receiving palliative care.
Dr Clare Scott: Consumer-driven web-based data collection from patients or their proxies with rare tumours for the establishment of a Rare Tumour Database to enable and support ethically approved research projects.
Dr Tere Dawson: Training for consumer participation in cancer research.