Cancer Council ACT is pleased to announce its commitment to advancing local cancer research by allocating $150,000 to fund two innovative projects awarded through its annual Research Grant program.
On Monday 22 April, His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd), Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia and Mrs Linda Hurley, Patron of Cancer Council ACT hosted a special Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea event at Government House for Cancer Council volunteers and fundraisers, where Canberra-based researchers Dr. Rachel Woodhouse and Dr. Teresa Bonello from the Australian National University were revealed as this year’s recipients.
Dr. Woodhouse, a postdoctoral fellow at the Cancer Immunology and Epigenetics Laboratory, John Curtin School of Medical Research, ANU, was awarded the grant for her project titled Developing novel therapies for EZH2 driven B-cell lymphoma. Dr. Woodhouse’s project studies how changes in gene expression patterns within cancer cells drive tumour development and progression, with the goal of developing new therapies for cancers that resist traditional treatments.
Dr Woodhouse expressed that the funding will be essential to progressing her research.
“I am thrilled to have been awarded a Cancer Council ACT Research Grant to develop new treatments for lymphoma. This grant provides invaluable support to me as an early career researcher,”
“With this funding, our team can delve deeper into understanding the complexities of lymphoma and explore innovative avenues for treatment. I am immensely grateful to Cancer Council ACT and the fundraising community for making this possible.”
Dr. Teresa Bonello, a Research Fellow at the John Curtin School of Medical Research, ANU, received the grant for her project titled Normalising the tumour microenvironment to improve treatment outcomes for triple negative breast cancer. Dr. Bonello’s work aims to differentiate between signalling pathways activated in epithelial-derived tumour cells versus the tumour microenvironment, to better select for therapeutic targets.
“Medical breakthroughs depend on taking new ideas into the lab and doing those first critical experiments” noted Dr Bonello, “Cancer Council ACT provides significant traction to get this work off the ground.”
President of Cancer Council ACT Roger Buckley emphasised that these events not only unite our community in a shared mission against cancer, but also provide a vital platform to celebrate and support our local cancer researchers.
“We are delighted to be funding the work of Drs Woodhouse and Bonello, who are driving innovative research right here in Canberra – ensuring that breakthroughs in cancer research continue to flourish in our region.”
“This is only possible through community fundraising like Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea.”
The official date for Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea is scheduled for Thursday, 23rd May 2024 however, Canberrans are encouraged to host their Morning Teas throughout May and June, with all proceeds directly supporting Cancer Council ACT’s initiatives including local research.
