"By working together, we can share models, share data, and participate at the national level to move the dial on survival rates.”
Professor Ron Firestein, Head of the Centre for Cancer Research, Hudson Institute for Medical Research
Consortium Spotlight: Professor Ron Firestein
Brain Cancer Australia is delighted to introduce the 90th member of our National Consortium – Professor Ron Firestein.
Ron is a leading cancer researcher and founder of the Childhood Cancer Model Atlas - the world’s largest collection of high-risk paediatric tumour cell models and one of the most valuable tools available to childhood cancer researchers globally.
A curiosity as to how things work motivated Ron to complete a degree in biomedical science, but it was a dual MD-PhD program focused on childhood leukaemia at Stanford University that sparked Ron’s career in cancer research. He relocated to Australia in 2015, joining the Hudson Institute for Medical Research in Melbourne as the Head of the Centre for Cancer Research.
Ron became a member of Brain Cancer Australia’s National Consortium to be part of a broad community of researchers and clinicians working on both adult and paediatric brain cancers. He believes the end benefit of linking paediatrics and adults is more precise medicine based on disease biology.
“We need many, many models to see what kind of therapies specifically work in the adult setting and in the paediatric setting. By analysing hundreds or even thousands of tumour models, researchers can identify predictive biomarkers that improve clinical trial success.”
As a clinician-scientist, Ron is dedicated to a nationwide effort to address the urgent need for more effective brain cancer treatments.
“We're really looking forward to joining the BCA community to contribute our resources. Our biobanking and organoid work aligns with BCA's efforts, and by working together, we can share models, share data, and participate at the national level to move the dial on survival rates.”
You can read more about Ron’s work here.
