Optimising cancer treatment and advocacy
This project, Centre for Personalised Analysis of Cancers (CPAC), aims to improve patient care by optimising cancer treatments—bringing the right treatment to the right person at the right time.
Under this inter-disciplinary program, clinicians will also be trained in translational research and the project will further engage with and advocate for patients living with tumours.
The project objectives include:
- developing advanced patient-derived 3D tumour models (tumouroids and explants) for the purpose of screening and evaluating standard of care therapy and alternative therapeutic options identified via molecular/genomic screening
- identifying specific therapeutic options for testing in clinical trials
- delivering a tumour-stream-aligned research training program for early career clinicians and
- developing a Cancer Research Advocates Group for patients, survivors and carers that will provide a forum for exchange of ideas, support, training and consumer perspectives, thereby advancing clinical research outcomes and capacity.
The program focuses on 11 cancer types: bladder, bowel, brain, breast, endometrial, ovarian, head and neck squamous cell carcinomas, leukaemia, lung, melanoma and prostate.
Partner organisations include Metro North Health, Metro South Health, Mater Health, The University of Queensland, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute and the Translational Research Institute.
Project investigators
Project investigators engage with and draw up on the expertise of partners within universities, research institutes, and hospital and health services around Queensland.
- Professor Erik Thompson, Professor of Breast Cancer Research and Research Lead, QUT at Translational Research Institute, Director, CPAC Director
- Professor Euan Walpole, Medical Director – Cancer Services Queensland Health, CPAC Chair Clinical Integration Committee
- Associate Professor Elizabeth Williams, CPAC Research Director and Chair Operational Oversight Committee/Stream Leaders Meeting
CPAC central personnel
- Dr Penny Jeffery, CPAC Research Scientist
- Ms Amy Templeton, CPAC higher degree by research student
- Elizabeth Williams, Erik Thompson, Penny Jeffery, Laura Bray, Supervisors
Bladder Cancer Stream
- Associate Professor Elizabeth Williams (Stream Leader)
- Dr Tony Kenna
- Dr Gary Ng
- Dr Mahasha Perera
- Dr Patrick Thomas
- Associate Professor Yi-Chin Toh
- Associate Professor Ian Vela
- Mr Jack Wood
Brain Cancer Stream
- Professor Bryan Day (Stream Leader)
- Dr Ulrich Baumgartner
- Associate Professor Benjamin Chua
- Dr Thomas Crawshaw
- Professor Riccardo Dolcetti
- Dr James Hudson
- Professor Rajiv Khanna
- Associate Professor Zarnie Lwin
- Dr Roberta Mazzieri
- Associate Professor Mark Pinkham
- Professor Stephen Rose
- Associate Professor Paul Thomas
- Professor Kristofer Thurecht
Breast Cancer Stream
- Dr Laura Bray (Stream Leader)
- Professor Ian Bennet
- Professor Paul Clarke
- Mr Julien Clegg
- Dr Katharine Cuff
- Mr Jordan Davern
- Professor Riccardo Dolcetti
- Associate Professor Pascal Duijf
- Ms Maria Koch
- Professor Sunil Lakhani
- Dr Roberta Mazzieri
- Ms Berline Murekatete
- Dr Prathyusha Nakka
- Professor Ken O’Byrne
- Dr Cameron Snell
- Dr James Stephensen
- Professor Rik Thompson
- Associate Professor Yi-Chin Toh
Colorectal Cancer Stream
- Associate Professor Vicki Whitehall (Stream Leader)
- Dr Mark Bettington
- Dr Catherine Bond
- Dr Matthew Burge
- Professor Frederic Hollande
- Professor John Hooper
- Dr Gregor Kijanka
- Professor Barbara Leggett
- Professor Rob Ramsay
Endometrial and Ovarian Cancer Stream
- Associate Professor Pamela Pollock (Stream Leader)
- Professor Brian Gabrielli
- Professor John Hooper
- Professor Lewis Perrin
- Associate Professor Kristen Radford
- Prof Cameron Snell
Genomics Stream
- Associate Professor Paul Leo (Stream Leader)
- Dr Pascal Duijf
- Dr John Pearson
- Professor Sudha Rao
- Professor Nicola Waddell
Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Stream
- Associate Professor Brett Hughes (Stream Leader)
- Professor Lizbeth Kenny
- Dr Rahul Ladwa
- Dr Zhen Yu Liu
- Associate Professor Chamindie Punyadeera
- Dr Sarju Vasani
Immunology Stream
- Professor Riccardo Dolcetti (Stream Leader)
- Associate Professor Tony Kenna
- Professor Rajiv Khanna
- Dr Gregor Kijanka
- Associate Professor Kristen Radford
Leukaemia Stream
- Professor Ingrid Winkler (Stream Leader)
- Dr Laura Bray
- Associate Professor Steven Lane
- Professor Paula Marlton
- Associate Professor Kristen Radford
Lung Cancer Stream
- Professor Derek Richard (Stream Leader)
- Dr Mark Adams
- Dr Emma Bolderson
- Dr Didier Boucher
- Dr Joshua Burgess
- Dr Laura Croft
- Dr Sanjay Dutta
- Dr Arutha Kulasinghe
- Professor Ken O'Byrne
- Dr Connor O’Leary
- Associate Professor Chamindie Punyadeera
- Dr Karsten Schrobback
- Dr Amila Suraweera
Melanoma Stream
- Professor Nikolas Haass (Stream Leader)
- Prof Victoria Atkinson
- Prof Andrew Barbour
- Associate Professor Matthew Foote
- Prof Brian Gabrielli
- Dr Sonia Henriques
- Dr Gregor Kijanka
- Associate Professor Mark Pinkham
- Associate Professor Kristen Radford
- Associate Professor Helmut Schaider
- Dr Aaron Smith
- Prof Euan Walpole
Prostate Cancer Stream
- Associate Professor Ian Vela (Stream Leader)
- Associate Professor Jyotsna Batra
- Associate Professor Michael Doran
- Dr Jenni Gunter
- Professor Colleen Nelson
- Dr Mahasha Perera
- Dr Matthew Roberts
- Professor Pamela Russell
- Dr Patrick Thomas
- Professor David Waugh
- Mr Jack Wood
Renal Cancer Stream
- Professor Glenda Gobe (Stream Leader)
- Dr Robert Ellis
- Mr Tyrone Humphries
- Dr Aaron Urquhart
- Professor Simon Wood
Skin Cancers/cSCC Stream
- Associate Professor Fiona Simpson (Stream Leader)
- Professor Ian Frazer
- Professor Kiarash Khosrotehrani
- Dr Rahul Ladwa
- Dr Katharina Noske
- Professor Sandro Porceddu
- Associate Professor Helmut Schaider
- Professor H. Peter Soyer
