- Up to $9 million to support WA-led research at Fiona Stanley Hospital to improve outcomes for people with blood cancer following stem cell transplantation
- Fiona Stanley Hospital researchers will lead the QUOKKA project to improve post-transplant care for people with acute myeloid leukaemia
- Research aims to personalise donor cell therapies to help patients recover faster and achieve better long-term outcomes
- Cook Labor Government committed to improving health outcomes for all Western Australians
Western Australian researchers from Fiona Stanley Hospital (FSH) investigating ways to improve outcomes for blood cancer patients following stem cell transplantation have been awarded funding of up to $9 million for their QUOKKA project.
The team has been awarded initial funding of $5 million over five years through the Cancer Research Trust’s WA Collaborative Cancer Research Grants program. The prestigious grant has been co-funded through the Western Australian Government’s Future Health Research and Innovation (FHRI) Fund, with funding eligible to continue for a further four years subject to exceptional progress.
Led by Dr Duncan Purtill, Dr Allison Barraclough, and Dr Stephanie Lam from FSH, the program brings together clinicians, researchers, and patients from WA and the United States to develop personalised approaches to post-transplant care for people with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
The research aims to replace the current one-size-fits-all approach to donor lymphocyte infusion with targeted donor cell therapies tailored to the specific immune needs of individual patients. By better understanding how immune recovery occurs after transplantation, the team hopes to discover why recovery differs between patients, accelerate recovery, and improve long-term outcomes for patients globally.
The QUOKKA program will commence in January 2027 and bring together researchers and clinicians from FSH, Murdoch University, PathWest, and MD Anderson Cancer Centre to advance new approaches to immune recovery following stem cell transplantation.
As stated by Medical Research Minister Stephen Dawson:
“This is research and innovation that has the potential to change lives. The Cook Labor Government is proud to support this important work through our Future Health Research and Innovation Fund.
“If we are really going to make a difference, then collaboration is critical to advancing cancer research.
“By bringing together leading researchers, clinicians, and partners we can help drive the breakthroughs that improve outcomes for patients in WA and around the world.”
As stated by QUOKKA chief investigator Dr Duncan Purtill:
“Stem cell transplantation offers many AML patients their best chance of survival, yet we still don’t fully understand why some people recover well while others experience relapse or serious complications.
“By combining WA’s world-class transplant expertise and uniquely collaborative research environment, the QUOKKA team is on a mission to improve the current standard of care for AML patients globally.
“AML is an aggressive blood cancer affecting around 160 Western Australians each year. While stem cell transplantation can be lifesaving, patients face an ongoing risk of relapse, infection, and graft-versus-host disease, creating a critical need for more personalised approaches to care after treatment.”
Comments attributed to Cancer Research Trust Chair Peter Mansell:
“The Cancer Research Trust was established in the belief that our exceptional cancer researchers in Western Australia are capable of extraordinary things when given the long-term support to pursue their ambitious ideas.
“We’re grateful to the Western Australian Government for sharing that vision and through the FHRI Fund, having provided matched funding. QUOKKA is an outstanding team and we’re proud to support their work to improve outcomes for people with blood cancer.”
