QUT part of pioneering Australian paediatric brain research centre

QUT research to improve treatment approaches and outcomes for children and teenagers with brain cancer is part of an Australian-first collaborative research centre, launched in Brisbane today by the Children’s Hospital Foundation.

The Centre for Child and Adolescent Brain Cancer Research brings together world-leading researchers, clinicians and facilities with a sole focus on paediatric brain cancer, treatment and survivorship.

Brain cancer claims the life of one Australian child every 11 days – more than any other disease. Despite advances in other types of childhood cancer, survival rates for brain cancer have made little progress over the past 30 years – something the centre hopes to change.

Centre collaborators are QUT, QIMR Berghofer, The University of Queensland’s Institute of Molecular Bioscience, Diamantina Institute and Queensland Brain Institute, and the clinical infrastructure and specialists of Children’s Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service.

QUT Faculty of Health Associate Dean (Research) and Deputy Director of QUT’s Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI), Professor Greig de Zubicaray, is a director of the centre, along with Childrens’s Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service Eminent Staff Specialist in Paediatric Oncology Dr Tim Hassall, Director of UQ’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience Professor Brandon Wainwright, and head of the QIMR Berghofer Sid Faithfull Brain Cancer Laboratory Professor Bryan Day.

Professor de Zubicaray is also lead scientific investigator on one of three QUT centre projects focused on survivorship, working with Research Fellow Dr Sonia Brownsett and Associate Professor Katie McMahon.

“Our study will follow children who undergo surgery for benign and malignant brain tumours pre-and post-operatively with neuroimaging to identify the risk factors for impairments to speech, language and cognitive function,” he said.

“This information can then be used to improve treatment approaches, leading to better outcomes for patients and their families.”

QUT Professor of Physical Activity and Health and IHBI Associate Director Professor Stewart Trost’s project will evaluate short and long-term impacts of a goal-directed rehabilitation exercise program.

QUT Faculty of Health Senior Research Fellows Dr Natalie Bradford and Dr Stuart Ekberg, Research Fellow Dr David Brain and Distinguished Professor Patsy Yates will investigate the costs associated with brain cancer diagnosis, the unmet needs of brain cancer patients and the families, and the best ways to deliver supportive care services.

QUT researchers Professor Greig de Zubicaray, Professor Stewart Trost, Dr Stuart Ekberg, and Dr Natalie Bradford.

Centre director Dr Tim Hassall said the centre’s goal was to improve every aspect of brain cancer treatment and care that matters to children and their families.

“Scientific and clinical research is the only way we can change outcomes for these children, and the centre will have the best in paediatric brain cancer research working together to make a meaningful and lasting difference,” he said.

“Too many times I’ve had to tell a parent that there’s nothing more I can do for their son or daughter. This centre brings us hope of finding an answer – and hopefully a cure.”

Children’s Hospital Foundation Chief Executive Officer Rosie Simpson said the centre was a game changer for paediatric brain cancer research in Australia.

“Sadly, some sub-types of brain cancer are incurable, and for many brain cancers the chances or relapse and recurrence are high,” Ms Simpson said.

“We are committed to delivering better outcomes for children and young people with brain cancer and this centre provides an opportunity to bring the most promising cancer knowledge, treatments and discoveries together to help save more young lives.”

Centre directors Professor Bryan Day, Professor Brandon Wainwright, Dr Tim Hassall, and Professor Greig de Zubicaray.

Research already underway includes innovative projects contributing to the discovery of new therapies, trials to improve physical functioning and neurological ability in patients, and genetic engineering technology to reprogram immune cells to target brain tumours.

More information on the centre can be found at childrens.org.au.

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