Founded1984
FounderSir Peter Abeles AC and Lady (Sonia) McMahon
TypeNon-profit organization
Location
Area served
Australia
Key people
Tom Dery AO (Chairman) and Prof. Ian Brown PhD FTSE (Chief Executive)
Websitewww.acrf.com.au

The Australian Cancer Research Foundation (ACRF) is an Australian not-for-profit organisation which funds research into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of all types of cancer. It provides multimillion-dollar grants for high-end research equipment, technologies, and infrastructure development to support the work of Australian cancer scientists.[1]

History and structure

Established in 1984 by businessman and philanthropist, the late Sir Peter Abeles AC.

Lady (Sonia) McMahon was also a founding Board member until her death in 2010.[2]

A Board of Trustees, composed of prominent and influential Australian business people, administers the organisation. The current chairman is Mr Tom Dery AO, Worldwide Chairman of M&C Saatchi.

A Medical Research Advisory Committee (MRAC) assesses all grant applications and advises the ACRF Board of Trustees on which research institutes will have the highest impact in cancer prevention, diagnosis and/or treatment. Membership of the MRAC is authorised by the Department of Health and Ageing with each appointment being three years.[citation needed] The current Chairman of the MRAC is Professor Ian Frazer, co-creator of the cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil.[3]

Funding

The Foundation awards grants between $1.5 million and $10 million, based on scientific excellence. To date, $159.8 million has been awarded in 75 grants to 54 research institutes, universities and hospitals in every Australian state and the Australian Capital Territory, for research into all cancers. The ACRF is a privately funded charity—receives no government funding. Financial statements are publicly available on the Foundation's website.

Project funding approved

Year Amount State/
Territory 		Institute/Hospital/Centre Project
1985 $1,0000,000 NSW Centre for Immunology, St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney Immune system and cancer defence
1988 $610,000 VIC Cancer Research Centre, St Vincent's Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne Solid cancers and bone breakdown
1991 $1,080,000 VIC Austin Research Institute, Melbourne Immune system and cancer defence (breast, ovarian, pancreas, lung, and bowel cancers)
1994 $1,096,000 QLD Centre for Molecular & Cellular Biology, Institute for Molecular Bioscience,
University of Queensland, Brisbane		 Skin, kidney and childhood cancers
$1,000,000 SA Hanson Centre, Royal Adelaide Hospital Leukaemia and solid cancers
1997 $1,000,000 ACT Medical Genome Centre, Australian National University, Canberra Immune system, gene and cancer defence
$1,002,000 NSW Westmead Institute for Cancer Research,
Westmead Millennium Institute for Medical Research, Sydney		 Skin, breast and ovarian cancers and leukaemia
1998 $50,000 TAS University of Tasmania, Hobart Immune system and cancer defence
1999 $1,000,000 QLD Centre for Immunology and Cancer Research, University of Queensland, Brisbane Vaccine for cervical cancer
$1,200,000 WA Western Australian Institute for Medical Research, Royal Perth Hospital Eight state-of-the-art research laboratories
2000 $1,300,000 VIC and
QLD		 Australian Genome Research Facility Microarray
2001 $1,000,000 VIC Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Melbourne 3D Imaging of proteins
$500,000 NSW Children's Cancer Institute Australia, University of New South Wales, Sydney Formation of new blood vessels
2002 $1,500,000 SA University of Adelaide Early diagnosis
$1,350,000 QLD Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Brisbane Cellular imaging
2003 $1,200,000 QLD Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Brisbane Cellular imaging
$1,100,000 NSW Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney Molecular genetics
$1,000,000 VIC Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne Cell Imaging program
2004 $1,000,000 VIC Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne New children's cancer research centre laboratories
$1,130,000 ACT John Curtin School of Medical Research, The Australian National University, Canberra Biomolecular Resource Facility
$900,000 VIC St. Vincent's Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne ACRF Rational Drug Discovery Facility
2005 $1,140,000 QLD Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane Integrated Brain Tumour Flow Cytometry Screening Facility
$1,000,000 VIC Royal Melbourne Hospital Translational research laboratory interface (hematology and bone marrow research)
$1,000,000 VIC The Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Melbourne Bioinfomatics and tissue banking
$1,000,000 NSW Westmead Institute for Cancer Research,
Westmead Millennium Institute for Medical Research, Sydney		 New wing increasing collaboration among researchers
$1,000,000 SA Flinders University/Flinders Medical Centre, Adelaide Flinders Centre for Innovation in Cancer Prevention and Care laboratory
2006 $5,000,000 NSW Centenary Institute for Cancer Research and Sydney Cancer Centre ACRF Centre for Basic and Translational Cancer Research
$1,200,000 NSW Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney Cell and Molecular Therapy Unit equipment and fit-out
$1,100,000 TAS Menzies Research Institute, Hobart ACRF Tasmanian Inherited Cancer Centre
2007 $5,000,000 NSW Centenary Institute for Cancer Research and Sydney Cancer Centre ACRF Centre for Basic and Translational Cancer Research
$3,200,000 QLD The Diamantina Institute for Cancer, Immunology and Metabolic Medicine, Brisbane ACRF Comprehensive Cancer Genomics Facility
$3,100,000 NSW Children's Cancer Institute Australia for Medical Research, Sydney ACRF Drug Discovery Centre for Childhood Cancer
$2,700,000 QLD Queensland Institute for Medical Research, Brisbane The ACRF Centre for Cancer Epigenetics
2008 $2,500,000 VIC Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne For new technologies to identify genes controlling cancer cell behaviour
$2,500,000 QLD Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Brisbane To decipher gene and protein interactions which affect the behaviour of cancer cells
$2,500,000 NSW The Garvan St Vincents Campus Cancer Centre, Sydney To support the research components which will be part of a world-class comprehensive cancer centre
2009 $3,500,000 SA Centre for Cancer Biology, South Australian Pathology and
The University of Adelaide		 To establish a new Cancer Genomics Facility[4]
$3,100,000 NSW Children's Medical Research Institute, Sydney and University of Newcastle For the world’s first Chemical Proteomics Centre for Kinomics[5]
2010 $2,500,000 NSW The Garvan St Vincent’s Campus Cancer Centre (Kinghorn Cancer Centre), Sydney To extend the 2008 grant to support the research components which will be part of a world-class comprehensive cancer centre
$2,400,000 WA The Western Australian Institute for Medical Research, Perth For the ACRF Cancer Imaging Facility to promote innovation in cancer research, and ensure a high quality imaging hub to facilitate world-class cancer discoveries with direct relevance to clinical outcomes
$2,000,000 VIC The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Melbourne To expand their two new cancer divisions – the Stem Cells and Cancer Division and Chemical Biology Division
$1,600,000 VIC Monash Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne For the ACRF Centre for Cancer Genomics to facilitate innovative and internationally competitive research that translates to significant outcomes in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer
2011 $5,000,000 NSW Westmead Institute for Cancer Research,
Westmead Millennium Institute for Medical Research, Sydney		 For new ACRF Melanoma Research Laboratories which will house two internationally recognised melanoma research teams
$2,000,000 VIC Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Melbourne To develop a new ACRF Centre for Translational Cancer Therapeutics and Imaging
$2,000,000 VIC St Vincent's Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne To expand the existing ACRF Rational Drug Discovery Centre
2012 $3,500,000 VIC Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne For cancer cell isolation and profiling of rare tumour populations
$2,000,000 QLD Centre for Clinical Research, University of Queensland, Brisbane Technologies for molecular genetics, including exact tumour localisation and analysis
$2,000,000 QLD Diamantina Institute, Brisbane Seed-funding for the development of an individualised oncology care centre
2013 $2,600,000 QLD QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane Development of a cutting-edge Centre for Comprehensive Biomedical Imaging
$2,000,000 NSW Children's Medical Research Institute, Sydney To establish a dedicated Telomere Analysis Centre
$2,000,000 VIC The Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Melbourne To fit-out a specialised centre for translational research and personalised cancer medicine
$1,800,000 SA South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide Seed-funding for a new ACRF Innovative Cancer Imaging and Therapeutics Facility
2014 $2,500,000 VIC Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Melbourne For the development of the ACRF Breakthrough Technologies Laboratory to advance new treatments for many of Australia’s most common, and most deadly cancers
$1,500,000 NSW Children's Cancer Institute, Sydney Development of a Precision Medicine Centre for children at high risk of treatment failure
$2,500,000 QLD Centre for Advanced Imaging, University of Queensland, Brisbane To establish an imaging facility that enhances treatment options for companion animals with cancer, and humans.
$2,500,000 NSW Central Clinical School, University of Sydney, Sydney Development of improved radiotherapy and imaging techniques for cancer patients.
2015 $1,000,000 QLD University of Queensland, Brisbane For discovery and development of innovative methods for the early detection of lung cancer to allow earlier intervention and improved treatment outcomes
$2,000,000 VIC The Australian Synchrotron, Victoria For the technology to place Australia at the forefront of cancer drug discovery and development
$2,000,000 SA Centre for Cancer Biology, Adelaide For technology to accelerate our understanding of the causes of cancer and translate these findings into improved outcomes for cancer patients
$2,000,000 ACT The John Curtin School of Medical Research, Acton, ANU To explore existing collections of Australia’s native plants for new cancer treatments
$10,000,000 NSW Children's Medical Research Institute, Westmead To establish the ACRF International Centre for the Proteome of Cancer (ProCanTM).This facility will provide a major step forward for cancer diagnosis and treatment of Australians. By analysing tens of thousands of samples of all types of cancers from all over the world, scientists in Australia will develop a library of information to advance scientific discovery and enhance clinical treatment worldwide
2016 $2,000,000 VIC Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne To learn more about the mutation, internal variation, location and the impact of time on the growth and treatment of tumours
$2,500,000 NSW Centenary Institute, Sydney To determine the differences in nutrient metabolism by cancerous and normal cells to improve cancer treatments
$2,300,000 QLD Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Brisbane To provide microscopes that can see cancer cell behaviour and their response to drugs in order to stop the spread of cancer
$1,200,000 VIC Monash University and Alfred Hospital, Melbourne To develop a national program to improve patient outcomes for multiple myeloma and acute myeloid leukaemia
2017 $2,000,000 VIC Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute and La Trobe University, Melbourne For new imaging technology which will help develop new therapies by examining tumours within the patient's body as well as individual cells in a tumour.
$1,750,000 WA Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, Perth For equipment that will help build in-depth knowledge of all cell types that make up a tumour. This will provide new insights into how cancer cells evolve and interact with normal cells, leading to new treatments.
$1,750,000 QLD QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane For the development of manufacturing and monitoring facilities that will support new immunotherapy clinical trials
$2,000,000 NSW South Western Sydney Local Health District, Sydney For a new facility that supports research into improving long-term outcomes of cancer patients and survivors
2018 $9,900,000 QLD, NSW, VIC The University of Queensland, University of Sydney and Monash University To establish a diagnostic centre for the early detection of melanoma, with a roll out of fifteen total body imaging systems
$2,000,000 VIC Bio21 Molecular Science and Technology Institute To develop cutting-edge drug discovery technology for cancers with no approved therapy available, or requiring improved treatment
$2,500,000 SA South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute For technology to provide new approaches to interrogate cancer biology
$2,000,000 QLD Compounds Australia, Griffith University To establish a transformative acoustic compound management compound with integrated software to enable Australian researchers access to the most advanced compound capability available
2019 $3,500,000 NSW Children's Cancer Institute To establish The ACRF Child Cancer Liquid Biopsy Program, which will use latest technologies to develop a suite of blood tests for childhood cancer patients aimed at improved diagnosis, earlier relapse detection, better monitoring of treatment response and enhanced delivery of the right treatment to the right child at the right time.
$3,500,000 VIC Walter and Eliza Hall Institute for Medical Research To focus on the discovery of triggers that drive cancer development, how genetic diversity in cancers affects treatment efficacy, and develop better ways of personalising cancer therapies to conquer the biggest challenges in cancer today – predicting and improving patients’ treatment response and overcoming drug resistance.

References

  1. ^ "About ACRF". The Australian Cancer Research Foundation webpage. 12 April 2010. Archived from the original on 13 February 2010. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
  2. ^ "Lady Sonia McMahon dies in Sydney hospital". The Sydney Morning Herald. 3 April 2010. Archived from the original on 5 April 2010. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
  3. ^ "Ian Frazer". science.qld.gov.au. 9 February 2010. Archived from the original on 13 May 2011. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  4. ^ "SA Pathology". 26 February 2009. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
  5. ^ "ACRF Centre for Kinomics (supported by the Ramaciotti Foundation) – A World First". The Children's Medical Research Institute. November 2009. Archived from the original on 29 January 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2010.

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