Prof Lindy Jeffree
A Message from the Chair of our National Consortium Steering Committee
Christmas is always a sobering time for me, thinking of the families who have lost someone to brain cancer and the people dealing with the disease while everyone else is having fun.
I dream of the day when I never again have to sit with a newly diagnosed patient knowing that this will probably be their last Christmas. It is this hope that drives the work of the Brain Cancer Australia National Consortium.
As the clinicians and researchers on the front line of brain cancer, we know the urgency of building the research infrastructure that will improve care and enable research. With this in mind, I’m pleased to report we have made significant progress with the rollout of our three integrated infrastructure projects partly funded by the 2022 MRFF Grant. The Australian Brain Cancer Registry, the Opt Me In (OMI) Platform and the Biobanking and Organoid Platform are each gaining momentum.
The Australian Brain Cancer Registry has been successfully piloted in Queensland, and we are now working with key data custodians in Victoria and NSW. A Consumer Advisory Panel has been established, an operating model is in progress and we engaged a Registry Project Manager.
The OMI Platform is being fast-tracked as part of a collaboration with pharmaceutical company, Servier. It will build understanding of the management of IDH-mutant Diffuse Glioma in Australia and monitor the short and long-term impact of a new treatment, Vorasidenib
The Biobanking and Organoid Platform now has 20 biobanks networked and over 11,000 specimens available to researchers globally. We have funded ten biobanks for brain cancer biobanking activities and six laboratories for organoid research.
I often say that excellence is boring, but in a good way. Getting these foundational initiatives in place is critical – and we couldn’t do it without the support of our National Consortium of leading clinicians and researchers, and the generosity of our donors and supporters.
Thank you for being part of the Brain Cancer Australia community.
Lindy Jeffree
Chair, Brain Cancer Australia National Consortium Steering Committee
Director of Neurosurgery Alfred Hospital
Professor, Department of Surgery, Monash University, Melbourne
Read more about our integrated research infrastructure pillars.
