Investing nearly $2 million into vital cancer research

This year we are pleased to have invested nearly $2 million into six of South Australia’s best and brightest cancer researchers conducting vital research across a range of different cancer types including breast, bowel, prostate and leukaemia.

These amazing researchers are working to reduce the rate and impact of cancer through:

• trials of new immunotherapies
• creating a tool to empower parents to make healthy food choices to lower cancer risk in children
• developing a blood test to help detect blood cancer in the brain for people with Down syndrome
• identifying late and long-term effects of cancer treatments
• elder care treatment decisions for breast cancer
• understanding the impacts of cancer survivorship.

Dr Kevin Fenix from the University of Adelaide is one of our new fellows and his research is working to develop a better treatment for aggressive bowel cancer.

Around 5,000 Australians die each year from bowel cancer, making it the second deadliest cancer in this country. While highly treatable when caught early, bowel cancer is deadly once it spreads throughout the body (a process known as metastasis).

Dr Fenix’s research is working with a new type of immunotherapy called cytokine-induced killer cell therapy to develop a better, more effective version of this therapy as a treatment option for metastatic bowel cancer.

The recipients of this year’s round of funding highlight the exciting and innovative work being done across the breadth of cancer research in South Australia’s own research institutions.

Since 2011, Cancer Council SA has invested more than $42.5 million into cancer research in South Australia. Supporting cancer research is a key focus for Cancer Council SA because we know that research breakthroughs contribute to more people surviving their cancer diagnosis.

We congratulate all our Cancer Council Beat Cancer Project fellowship recipients and are very proud to support these South Australian researchers in their work, which will be conducted at SAHMRI, Flinders University, Adelaide University and the University of South Australia.

2024 Cancer Council Beat Cancer Project recipients

Dr Kerry Beckman | University of South Australia | Mid-Career Research Fellowship | Bowel cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer
Research Project Title: Better Outcomes Beyond Cure: Identifying serious, late and long-term adverse effects of cancer treatments.

Dr Kevin Fenix | University of Adelaide | Mid-Career Research Fellowship | Colorectal cancers
Research Project Title: Cytokine induced killer cell therapy as a treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer.

Dr Kerry Ettridge | SAHMRI | Mid-Career Research Fellowship | All cancers
Research Project Title: Harnessing parental power to combat vested interests of the food industry; reducing food misperceptions and empowering parents.

Dr Elyse Page | SAHMRI | Early Career Research Fellowship | Leukaemia
Research Project Title: Exploring Genomic and Epigenomic Clonality in Down Syndrome Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia.

Dr Huah Shin Ng | Flinders University | Early Career Research Fellowship | Breast Cancer
Research Project Title: Real-world data for evidence-based treatment decisions in older adults with breast cancer.

Dr Imogen Ramsey | Flinders University | Early Career Research Fellowship | All Cancers
Research Project Title: Surveillance of patient-reported outcomes in cancer survivorship: a patient-centred approach to understanding the impacts of cancer on population health.