Successful applicants of the SPHERE/Sydney Cancer Partners Strategic Enhancement Grant announced

SPHERE’s Cancer Clinical Academic Group (CAG) and Sydney Cancer Partners (SCP) have jointly awarded two Strategic Enhancement Grants as part of a collaborative and co-funded initiative aimed at bolstering translational cancer research capacity in NSW. The objective of the scheme is to strengthen and support established leaders of translational cancer research programs that encompass both SPHERE and SCP member institutions. These grants are intended to empower reserachers to pursue and secure substantial funding from various sources including national, international or commercial entities.

Professor Jeff Holst, UNSW Sydney and Associate Professor James Wilmott , Melanoma Institute Australia & The University of Sydney will co-lead a project to validate a physiological ex vivo platform to rapidly test novel immunotherapy combinations in patient tumours.

Professor Hilda Pickett, Children’s Medical Research Institute & The University of Sydney and Associate Professor Liz Caldon from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research will lead a program investigating telomere remodelling in drug resistant breast cancer.

Each team has been awarded $280,000 over two years with funding from the Cancer Institute NSW’s Translational Cancer Research Capacity Building grants held by SPHERE and Sydney Health Partners.