SA’s leading cancer research

by Katrina Kalleske

UniSA is part of a new local collaboration that will place the State at the forefront of cancer research, prevention and treatment.

The South Australian Cancer Research Collaborative (SACRC) brings together expertise from the SA Government, Cancer Council SA, UniSA, Flinders University and the University of Adelaide.

Cancer Council SA and the State Government’s decision to commit equally to $20m over five years is supported by commitments from the universities to co-fund Research Chairs in Collaborative Cancer Research.

“This signals a switch from cancer research competition in this State to pursuing a concerted cooperative approach,” said Professor Brenda Wilson, Chief Executive of Cancer Council SA.

“The one in two South Australians who experience cancer by the age of 85 will be the main beneficiary.

“It means that in addition to pursuing high quality biomedical research, researchers will focus on cancer behaviour and the performance of our services in SA to better define local cancer control needs, identify how effectively our services are addressing those needs and help close the gaps.”

UniSA’s Vice Chancellor Professor Peter Høj attended the launch of the collaboration in early September, and said that it had been about 18 months in the making.

“All of the institutions involved had to change their mindset to being in collaboration rather than in competition with each other,” Prof Høj said.

“It is global competition that counts - we need to start looking towards more local collaborations so that together we can compete against the world and through that contribute and recruit the knowledge that will benefit cancer sufferers here and abroad.”

Pro Vice Chancellor of the Division of Health Sciences, Professor Allan Evans, said the SACRC will encourage the three universities to work strategically to address major issues in cancer research, including cancer prevention, early detection and effective treatment.

“UniSA’s Sansom Institute for Health Research will bring significant expertise to the collaborative,” Prof Evans said.

“In particular our researchers will contribute with strategies for preventing cancer through dietary and other preventative approaches.

“The Sansom Institute will also bring its capabilities in the quality use of medicines, which investigates the rational use of medicines to ensure optimal patient outcomes.

“Our collaborations with the Ian Wark Research Institute will also bring significant expertise in the development of new delivery systems for improving the targeting of current drugs to cancerous tissue.

“In addition, the Sansom has expertise in pharmacogenomic approaches to the management of toxicity caused by cancer medicines and in the prediction of therapeutic benefit from new therapies.”