Visionary research team awarded by Cancer Council Victoria

Prof Roger Daly

A visionary research team looking at new ways to treat a highly aggressive subtype of breast cancer has received financial backing from Cancer Council Victoria donors.

Led by Monash University Professor Roger Daly, the team is identifying new therapeutic strategies for triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), which accounts for approximately 2000 diagnoses in Australia each year.
Professor Daly’s team is one of four in Victoria that have been successful in the Cancer Council’s $3 million Venture Grants Scheme announced today.

In all, 89 research teams with big ideas applied for funding under the scheme – the only one of its kind in Australia. After a rigorous three-month application process the projects were whittled down to four.

Professor Daly, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, will lead a multi-disciplinary team that is testing the hypothesis that there are different classes within TNBC requiring personalised treatment.

“While it’s becoming increasingly evident that not all TNBCs are the same we don’t understand the molecular basis of these differences,” Professor Daly said.

“We want to figure out ways of personalising treatment to each patient by determining exactly how these cancers differ on a molecular level.”

Cancer Council Victoria CEO Todd Harper said each of the ambitious projects was unlikely to receive funding under traditional means, and instead were being entirely donor funded.

“We put a call out to the Victorian cancer research community on behalf of our donors for game changing research – and were thrilled to receive 89 applications,” Mr Harper said.

Venture Grants_Project Overview_Daly

Venture Grants Projects Unveiled_final_Jan_19