The Cancer Council Beat Cancer Project invests nearly $2million into South Australian cancer research

The latest round of Cancer Council Beat Cancer Project recipients have been awarded, with nearly $2milion invested into local, South Australian cancer research.

Five project grants and six research fellowships have been awarded through the latest round of grants, covering research across a range of different cancer types, including breast, bowel, prostate and leukaemia.

Associate Professor Tarik Sammour from the University of Adelaide and the Central Adelaide Local Health Network (CALHN) is one of six recipients of a Cancer Council Beat Cancer Project Fellowship.His clinical research focuses on putting patients first, with all projects having an immediate impact on patient care. His goal is to improve outcomes and ultimately, save the lives of patients with bowel cancer.

“Our research currently focuses on a tailored approach to Total Neoadjuvant Therapy (TNT), which sees radiation and chemotherapy delivered before surgery.”

“The Royal Adelaide Hospital is the only hospital in the country to formally deliver and study this personalised approach, with funding from the Cancer Council Beat Cancer Project enabling us to further progress this important new research.”

“Our ultimate hope is that by personalising the order in which chemotherapy and radiotherapy is delivered before surgery, we can see better long-term patient outcomes, and ultimately improve survival rates for those impacted by bowel cancer,” he said.

Cancer Council General Manager Strategy, Engagement and Communication Sally Warner said that Associate Professor Sammour’s work is just one example of the Beat Cancer Project’s commitment to funding world class research right here in South Australia.

“Since 2011, the Cancer Council Beat Cancer Project has invested more than $35 million into local South Australian cancer research across a range of cancers types,” she said.

“Investing in cancer research is a key focus for Cancer Council SA and we are incredibly proud to continue to support South Australian researchers to work towards the next cancer breakthrough through this unique research collaboration.”

“On behalf of all the South Australians impacted by cancer, I’d like to congratulate the latest round of researchers on receiving funding through the Beat Cancer Project and I can’t wait to see what you can achieve.”

The Cancer Council Beat Cancer Project is the single biggest source of research investment in the state outside of the Federal Government.

It is an Australian first collaboration between Cancer Council SA, the State Government, the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), Flinders University, the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia.

For more information on the Cancer Council Beat Cancer Project visit the Cancer Council SA website here.

2023 Beat Cancer Project recipients:

Professor Michael Samuel | University of South Australia | Project Grant | Bowel Cancer
Research Project Title: Exploiting the tumour secretome: does functional relevance yield predictive power?

Associate Professor Theresa Hickey | University of Adelaide | Project Grant | Breast Cancer
Research Project Title: A new endocrine paradigm to target metastasis of estrogen receptor positive breast cancer.

Dr Kevin Fenix | University of Adelaide | Project Grant | Bowel Cancer
Research Project Title: Towards the generation of high-quality Cytokine Induced Killer (CIK) cells for cancer immunotherapy.

Dr Madele van Dyk | Flinders University | Project Grant | Leukaemia
Research Project Title: Assessing Whether Treatment For Childhood Leukaemia Should Be Individualised.

Professor Sharad Kumar | University of South Australia | Project Grant | Breast Cancer
Research Project: A novel model to investigate the role of high fat diet in breast cancer predisposition.

Associate Professor David Yeung | SAHMRI | Early Career Clinician Researcher Fellowship | Leukaemia
Research Project Title: Improving outcomes for Philadelphia chromosome positive leukemias – optimising outcomes through novel regimens incorporating targeted inhibitors.

Dr Chui Yan Mah | University of Adelaide | Early Career Research Fellowship | Prostate Cancer
Research Project Title: Unravelling the cellular and spatial heterogeneity in prostate cancer to identify drivers of disease progression and treatment resistance.

Dr Norma Bulamu | Flinders University | Early Career Research Fellowship | Bowel Cancer
Research Project Title: Closing the window: Personalised risk-based surveillance for cost effective colorectal cancer prevention.

Associate Professor Tarik Sammour | University of Adelaide and CALHN | Mid Career Clinician Researcher Fellowship | Bowel Cancer
Research Project Title: Patients First: Improving patient centred outcomes through colorectal surgical oncology and recovery after surgery.

Dr Laura Eadie | SAHMRI | Mid Career Research Fellowship 2023 | Leukaemia
Research Project Title: Modelling co-occurring mutations in T-ALL to enhance treatment options and maximise the power of next generation sequencing

Dr Paul Joyce | University of South Australia | Mid Career Research Fellowship | Bowel cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, leukaemia
Research Project Title: Improving the efficacy and tolerability of cancer therapies through targeted nanomedicine

For more information on any of the research projects or to arrange an interview, contact Natasha Baugh, Communication Manager, Cancer Council SA on 0400 855 244.