Children's Cancer Institute

Moderna, Inc, today announced the awardees of its 2024 Australia Fellowship Program. The program, in its second year, is dedicated to developing the country’s world-leading health and medical research sector in mRNA medicine and supporting Australian scientists with an interest in advancing mRNA innovation.   We're thrilled to share that the awardees are Dr. Ernest Moles PhD from Children's Cancer Institute and Dr. Felix Rizzuto from UNSW.   Dr. Moles' research focuses on developing a new RNA-based therapy to treat aggressive brain cancers called high-grade gliomas (HGGs). These cancers are difficult to treat due to their rapid growth and the challenges of delivering current treatments to the brain. Dr. Moles aims to use cutting-edge mRNA technology to create specialised immune cells (CAR T cells) inside the body to target and destroy cancer cells. This approach could offer the potential for a more efficient, better tolerated, and cost-effective treatment option for patients, with the aim of improving survival and quality of life.   “It is a pleasure to welcome Dr. Moles and Dr. Rizzuto to the Moderna Australia Fellowship Program. Their work reflects the calibre of scientific expertise in Australia, driving forward the potential of mRNA science to address some of the world’s most challenging health issues,” said Michael Azrak, General Manager of Moderna Australia & New Zealand. We're incredibly proud of the contribution Dr Ernest Moles has been making in the world of childhood cancer, so please join us in congratulating him on this wonderful recognition of his work.   SOURCE: Moderna, Inc. #mrna #highgradeglioma #hgg #cartcell #ALifeShouldBeLong #CuringChildhoodCancer #ItsNotIfItsWhen

Last month we asked you to vote for Adjunct Associate Professor Vanessa (Ness) Tyrrell who had been nominated for the 2024 French-Australian Excellence Awards. We’re delighted to share that Vanessa has been named a finalist in both award categories - Research & Innovation and Health & Wellbeing! Now, she needs our help again to bring home this richly deserved award. The winner is chosen based on an expert panel and public votes. That's where YOU can help. A recognised world-leader in her field, Vanessa leads the Zero Childhood Cancer National Precision Medicine Program, which is available to every child diagnosed with cancer in Australia. She is Head of the Institute’s Clinical Translation Theme, as well as a leader in the Australian human genetics community. We'd love to see her receive this recognition for her outstanding work, so follow the links below and vote for Vanessa Tyrrell. It only takes a couple of clicks and no registration is needed so it's easy-peasy to throw your support behind Ness. Vote now! Research & Innovation Category https://lnkd.in/g-xi7PXn Health & Wellbeing Category https://lnkd.in/gq-3KeFM #CuringChildhoodCancer #FrenchAustralian #ExcellenceAwards #LeCourrierAustralien

We're thrilled to share that Children's Cancer Institute's Executive Director, Professor Michelle Haber AM, has been nominated for the NSW Senior Australian of the Year Award for 2025. Michelle has dedicated her professional life to improving outcomes for children with cancer.  When Michelle began her research, children with the same cancer type were all treated the same way – because doctors had no way of knowing what was best for any given child. For children with the most common cancer, acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, the game changer came when Michelle and her team developed technology that could show who was at high risk of relapse and therefore needed more intensive treatment. This led to a doubling of survival in children in the high-risk group, from 35 per cent to 70 per cent. Michelle then applied this personalised approach to other cancer types. Now, because of her work, Australia is the first country to offer precision medicine to every child diagnosed with cancer – and it’s yielding remarkable results. Today, Michelle is recognised as one of the leading scientists in the field globally. Please join us in congratulating Michelle on this recognition of her dedication to her mission to find a cure for every child with cancer. #ALifeShouldBeLong #CuringChildhoodCancer #ItsNotIfItsWhen #AusOfTheYear #AOTY

Are you a Senior Scientist who would love to make a difference for children with cancer? Children's Cancer Institute has a significant position available to work in our Translational Cancer Nanomedicine Group Read more and apply at: https://lnkd.in/g7Uk4ycw

We're thrilled to share that the Zero Childhood Cancer Precision Medicine Program (ZERO) has been selected as a Finalist in the Research Australia 2024 Health and Medical Research Awards. These prestigious awards provide an exceptional opportunity to celebrate the outstanding talent within Australia’s health and medical research community. They honour the remarkable achievements of individuals and teams who drive innovation and advancements that enhance our lives. ZERO is a Finalist for the Frontiers Award which recognises the success of innovative health and medical research that extends existing knowledge, boundaries and/ or understandings within health and medical research. This award recognises transformative research by an individual, team or corporate that will enable Australia’s health system to position itself as a global leader. We're so proud that ZERO has been recognised in this way and look forward to seeing the winners announced in November. #resausawards #researchaustralia #zerochildhoodcancer #precisionmedicine #ALifeShouldBeLong #CuringChildhoodCancer #ItsNotIfItsWhen

Amy was a feisty little redhead who loved ballet, athletics, singing at the school talent show, and wearing monster teeth. She loved fishing with her dad Ren, and was a pro at baiting the hook, even with perfectly manicured fingernails. In her dad’s words, she was an ‘unstoppable force’. Devastatingly, at age 7, Amy was diagnosed with a deadly brain tumour called diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG). DIPG is an extremely aggressive childhood cancer for which there is no cure, and no effective treatment. The Queensland Children’s Hospital became Amy's second home. Her days were filled with treatment, including radiation, which creates a hard shell around the tumour. For a while, it looked like Amy was winning. But then, like an egg, the shell around the tumour broke and the disease seeped out into her body. Just after Amy's 9th birthday, the disease took over and she passed away, just 16 month after diagnosis. Years later, Amy’s parents are still finding little notes that Amy hid all over their house. These ‘treasures’ show what a caring, loving little girl Amy was. Even after she was gone, she wanted her family to know how much she loved them. "Since we lost Amy, I’ve used every ounce of energy to raise money for research that will find the answers to DIPG. My pledge to our little angel is to do everything in my power to find a cure" - Ren, Amy’s dad Ren is embarking on a Million Dollar Mission to raise funds for much needed research in to DIPG, travelling across Australia to ask 1,000 individuals and businesses to donate $1,000 each, and raise a grand total of $1,000,000. Contribute now to Ren’s Million Dollar Mission by donating $1,000 or more, and help us conduct the critical research into DIPG that will help find a cure for this deadly disease. Your donation will go towards two research projects at Children's Cancer Institute, led by Professor David Ziegler and Dr Maria Tsoli. https://lnkd.in/gWJ7kA9H #DIPG #DIPGResearch #ALifeShouldBeLong #CuringChildhoodCancer #ItsNotIfItsWhen #RensMillionDollarMission

What a glorious morning with the sun shining and lots of smiling (and nervous) faces for CEO Dare to Cure in Sydney. Our new location at Royal Randwick Racecourse was incredible and so were the CEOs and Business Leaders who stepped out of their comfort zones to take on dares and challenges to raise vital funds for childhood cancer research. We had two brand new dares for Sydney including a 7m high Stunt Jump, and a Mystery Box Challenge with some creepy crawlies, and of course our crowd favourites, ice baths, snake baths, walking on hot coals, walking on glass, head shaving and an extreme team fitness challenge which all got our participant's hearts racing. A huuuge special thank you to our amazing Ambassador Ashton who recently rang the bell after finishing his treatment for leukaemia, and his beautiful family for inspiring everyone in the room as they faced their fears. Special thanks to the Australian Turf Club for hosting us at your amazing venue, Cam Knight for being brilliant on the mic as MC (and moonlighting as a stuntman as well) and of course Flying Ruby Events for being superstar event coordinators as always. We're so close to our target of raising $1.75m for CEO Dare to Cure, but we need your help to get there. To sponsor a CEO or donate, head to https://lnkd.in/gXagXzrA #CEODareToCure #CEODareToCure2024 #ALifeShouldBeLong #CuringChildhoodCancer #ItsNotIfItsWhen

We’re thrilled to celebrate the appointment of four of our incredible researchers to Associate Professor. These promotions are well earned recognition of many years of hard work, world class research and dedication to the cause of finding a cure for every child with cancer. Please join us in congratulating these extraordinary researchers: Charles de Bock PhD MSc – Team Leader Functional Genomics of Leukaemia Michelle Henderson – Principal Scientist and MRD Research Manager Emmy Fleuren – Team Leader Sarcoma Biology and Therapeutics Fatima Valdes Mora – Theme Head – Cancer Epigenetics Biology and Therapeutics. #ALifeShouldBeLong #CuringChildhoodCancer #ItsNotIfItsWhen

Children's Cancer Institute has become the first Australian medical research institute to commit to the Technician Commitment, ensuring the equity, strength and longevity of a workforce that is critical to achieving our vision of curing every child of cancer. The Technician Commitment is an internationally recognised initiative that aims to improve the standing of technicians amongst the international scientific community. Since its inception in 2017, it has helped pave the way for ongoing career sustainability of those that play key support roles and enable academic scientists to achieve traditional measures of academic success, such as papers, grants, talks, supervision etc. Technology and innovation platforms within medical research are rapidly evolving and require professionals with specialised skill sets and knowledge to manage them effectively. But these careers don’t align with traditional academic pathways and historically, there has been a shortage of frameworks to support them, resulting in challenges around gaining recognition, visibility and career progression. “For me, the #TechnicianCommitment is fundamentally about respect and recognition. Respect for our non-academic scientists, engineers, technical specialists, technicians, research assistants, really anyone that has developed a unique, technical skillset that supports the Institute to achieve its research objectives.”, says Associate Professor Mark Cowley, Deputy Director, Enabling Platforms and Collaboration. Around 120 organisations worldwide are signatories that have committed to the four pillars of the Commitment, and the only other Australian signatory is the University of Sydney. “Achievements reported by existing TC signatories, include elevated staff engagement, improved morale and motivation, a more productive and skilled research professional workforce, and increased staff retention” says A/Prof Cowley. Robert Salomon, Technology Innovation Platform Lead adds, “This is absolutely essential if we are to continue to improve outcomes for children with cancer.” Read more about the Commitment at https://lnkd.in/gWemF2tr The UK Institute for Technical Skills & Strategy #MedicalResearch #ChildhoodCancerResearch #ALifeShouldBeLong #CuringChildhoodCancer #ItsNotIfItsWhen

Frank Greeff is the host of the popular "Chew The Fat" podcast, a former CEO, and passionate chef. But his latest project is all about giving back, with a goal of raising $1million dollars to support our research here at Children's Cancer Institute. Frank recently launched his beautiful new cookbook called 'Eat With Purpose' at our CEO Dare To Cure event in Melbourne... right before he took on a dare to walk on fire 🔥 This book is filled to the brim with delicious, nutritious and time-saving meals. In a really heart-warming touch, Frank has also included tasty ideas from some of our incredible childhood cancer ambassadors - Izzy, Harper and Jacob. Not only is Frank's vision to raise $1million for childhood cancer research, but that vision is backed by his goal to help everyone eat with purpose and cook with intention. Christmas is just around the corner, and we think this book would make the perfect gift. Especially since Frank is generously donating 100% of the proceeds to Children's Cancer Institute. Head to https://lnkd.in/gkpzDSif to order your copy today! #eatwithpurpose #chewthefat #CEODareToCure2024 #ALifeShouldBeLong #CuringChildhoodCancer #ItsNotIfItsWhen