# Australian Cancer Research Foundation

The Australian Cancer Research Foundation (ACRF) is an Australian not-for-profit organisation which funds research into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of all types of cancer. It provides multimillion-dollar grants for high-end research equipment, technologies, and infrastructure development to support the work of Australian cancer scientists.

## History and structure

Established in 1984 by businessman and philanthropist, the late Sir Peter Abeles AC.
Lady (Sonia) McMahon was also a founding Board member until her death in 2010.
A Board of Trustees, composed of prominent and influential Australian business people, administers the organisation. The current chairman is Mr Tom Dery AO, Worldwide Chairman of M&C Saatchi.
A Medical Research Advisory Committee (MRAC) assesses all grant applications and advises the ACRF Board of Trustees on which research institutes will have the highest impact in cancer prevention, diagnosis and/or treatment. Membership of the MRAC is authorised by the Department of Health and Ageing with each appointment being three years. The current Chairman of the MRAC is Professor Ian Frazer, co-creator of the cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil.

## Funding

The Foundation awards grants between $1.5 million and $10 million, based on scientific excellence. To date, $159.8 million has been awarded in 75 grants to 54 research institutes, universities and hospitals in every Australian state and the Australian Capital Territory, for research into all cancers. The ACRF is a privately funded charity—receives no government funding. Financial statements are publicly available on the Foundation's website.

### Project funding approved

| Year | Amount | State/ Territory | Institute/Hospital/Centre | Project |
| 1985 | $1,0000,000 | NSW | Centre for Immunology, St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney | Immune system and cancer defence |
| 1988 | $610,000 | VIC | Cancer Research Centre, St Vincent's Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne | Solid cancers and bone breakdown |
| 1991 | $1,080,000 | VIC | Austin Research Institute, Melbourne | Immune system and cancer defence (breast, ovarian, pancreas, lung, and bowel cancers) |
| 1994 | $1,096,000 | QLD | Centre for Molecular & Cellular Biology, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Brisbane | Skin, kidney and childhood cancers |
| 1994 | $1,000,000 | SA | Hanson Centre, Royal Adelaide Hospital | Leukaemia and solid cancers |
| 1997 | $1,000,000 | ACT | Medical Genome Centre, Australian National University, Canberra | Immune system, gene and cancer defence |
| 1997 | $1,002,000 | NSW | Westmead Institute for Cancer Research, Westmead Millennium Institute for Medical Research, Sydney | Skin, breast and ovarian cancers and leukaemia |
| 1998 | $50,000 | TAS | University of Tasmania, Hobart | Immune system and cancer defence |
| 1999 | $1,000,000 | QLD | Centre for Immunology and Cancer Research, University of Queensland, Brisbane | Vaccine for cervical cancer |
| 1999 | $1,200,000 | WA | Western Australian Institute for Medical Research, Royal Perth Hospital | Eight state-of-the-art research laboratories |
| 2000 | $1,300,000 | VIC and QLD | Australian Genome Research Facility | Microarray |
| 2001 | $1,000,000 | VIC | Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Melbourne | 3D Imaging of proteins |
| 2001 | $500,000 | NSW | Children's Cancer Institute Australia, University of New South Wales, Sydney | Formation of new blood vessels |
| 2002 | $1,500,000 | SA | University of Adelaide | Early diagnosis |
| 2002 | $1,350,000 | QLD | Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Brisbane | Cellular imaging |
| 2003 | $1,200,000 | QLD | Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Brisbane | Cellular imaging |
| 2003 | $1,100,000 | NSW | Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney | Molecular genetics |
| 2003 | $1,000,000 | VIC | Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne | Cell Imaging program |
| 2004 | $1,000,000 | VIC | Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne | New children's cancer research centre laboratories |
| 2004 | $1,130,000 | ACT | John Curtin School of Medical Research, The Australian National University, Canberra | Biomolecular Resource Facility |
| 2004 | $900,000 | VIC | St. Vincent's Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne | ACRF Rational Drug Discovery Facility |
| 2005 | $1,140,000 | QLD | Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane | Integrated Brain Tumour Flow Cytometry Screening Facility |
| 2005 | $1,000,000 | VIC | Royal Melbourne Hospital | Translational research laboratory interface (hematology and bone marrow research) |
| 2005 | $1,000,000 | VIC | The Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Melbourne | Bioinfomatics and tissue banking |
| 2005 | $1,000,000 | NSW | Westmead Institute for Cancer Research, Westmead Millennium Institute for Medical Research, Sydney | New wing increasing collaboration among researchers |
| 2005 | $1,000,000 | SA | Flinders University/Flinders Medical Centre, Adelaide | Flinders Centre for Innovation in Cancer Prevention and Care laboratory |
| 2006 | $5,000,000 | NSW | Centenary Institute for Cancer Research and Sydney Cancer Centre | ACRF Centre for Basic and Translational Cancer Research |
| 2006 | $1,200,000 | NSW | Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney | Cell and Molecular Therapy Unit equipment and fit-out |
| 2006 | $1,100,000 | TAS | Menzies Research Institute, Hobart | ACRF Tasmanian Inherited Cancer Centre |
| 2007 | $5,000,000 | NSW | Centenary Institute for Cancer Research and Sydney Cancer Centre | ACRF Centre for Basic and Translational Cancer Research |
| 2007 | $3,200,000 | QLD | The Diamantina Institute for Cancer, Immunology and Metabolic Medicine, Brisbane | ACRF Comprehensive Cancer Genomics Facility |
| 2007 | $3,100,000 | NSW | Children's Cancer Institute Australia for Medical Research, Sydney | ACRF Drug Discovery Centre for Childhood Cancer |
| 2007 | $2,700,000 | QLD | Queensland Institute for Medical Research, Brisbane | The ACRF Centre for Cancer Epigenetics |
| 2008 | $2,500,000 | VIC | Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne | For new technologies to identify genes controlling cancer cell behaviour |
| 2008 | $2,500,000 | QLD | Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Brisbane | To decipher gene and protein interactions which affect the behaviour of cancer cells |
| 2008 | $2,500,000 | NSW | The Garvan St Vincents Campus Cancer Centre, Sydney | To support the research components which will be part of a world-class comprehensive cancer centre |
| 2009 | $3,500,000 | SA | Centre for Cancer Biology, South Australian Pathology and The University of Adelaide | To establish a new Cancer Genomics Facility |
| 2009 | $3,100,000 | NSW | Children's Medical Research Institute, Sydney and University of Newcastle | For the world’s first Chemical Proteomics Centre for Kinomics |
| 2010 | $2,500,000 | NSW | The Garvan St Vincent’s Campus Cancer Centre (Kinghorn Cancer Centre), Sydney | To extend the 2008 grant to support the research components which will be part of a world-class comprehensive cancer centre |
| 2010 | $2,400,000 | WA | The Western Australian Institute for Medical Research, Perth | For the ACRF Cancer Imaging Facility to promote innovation in cancer research, and ensure a high quality imaging hub to facilitate world-class cancer discoveries with direct relevance to clinical outcomes |
| 2010 | $2,000,000 | VIC | The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Melbourne | To expand their two new cancer divisions – the Stem Cells and Cancer Division and Chemical Biology Division |
| 2010 | $1,600,000 | VIC | Monash Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne | For the ACRF Centre for Cancer Genomics to facilitate innovative and internationally competitive research that translates to significant outcomes in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer |
| 2011 | $5,000,000 | NSW | Westmead Institute for Cancer Research, Westmead Millennium Institute for Medical Research, Sydney | For new ACRF Melanoma Research Laboratories which will house two internationally recognised melanoma research teams |
| 2011 | $2,000,000 | VIC | Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Melbourne | To develop a new ACRF Centre for Translational Cancer Therapeutics and Imaging |
| 2011 | $2,000,000 | VIC | St Vincent's Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne | To expand the existing ACRF Rational Drug Discovery Centre |
| 2012 | $3,500,000 | VIC | Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne | For cancer cell isolation and profiling of rare tumour populations |
| 2012 | $2,000,000 | QLD | Centre for Clinical Research, University of Queensland, Brisbane | Technologies for molecular genetics, including exact tumour localisation and analysis |
| 2012 | $2,000,000 | QLD | Diamantina Institute, Brisbane | Seed-funding for the development of an individualised oncology care centre |
| 2013 | $2,600,000 | QLD | QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane | Development of a cutting-edge Centre for Comprehensive Biomedical Imaging |
| 2013 | $2,000,000 | NSW | Children's Medical Research Institute, Sydney | To establish a dedicated Telomere Analysis Centre |
| 2013 | $2,000,000 | VIC | The Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Melbourne | To fit-out a specialised centre for translational research and personalised cancer medicine |
| 2013 | $1,800,000 | SA | South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide | Seed-funding for a new ACRF Innovative Cancer Imaging and Therapeutics Facility |
| 2014 | $2,500,000 | VIC | Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Melbourne | For the development of the ACRF Breakthrough Technologies Laboratory to advance new treatments for many of Australia’s most common, and most deadly cancers |
| 2014 | $1,500,000 | NSW | Children's Cancer Institute, Sydney | Development of a Precision Medicine Centre for children at high risk of treatment failure |
| 2014 | $2,500,000 | QLD | Centre for Advanced Imaging, University of Queensland, Brisbane | To establish an imaging facility that enhances treatment options for companion animals with cancer, and humans. |
| 2014 | $2,500,000 | NSW | Central Clinical School, University of Sydney, Sydney | Development of improved radiotherapy and imaging techniques for cancer patients. |
| 2015 | $1,000,000 | QLD | University of Queensland, Brisbane | For discovery and development of innovative methods for the early detection of lung cancer to allow earlier intervention and improved treatment outcomes |
| 2015 | $2,000,000 | VIC | The Australian Synchrotron, Victoria | For the technology to place Australia at the forefront of cancer drug discovery and development |
| 2015 | $2,000,000 | SA | Centre for Cancer Biology, Adelaide | For technology to accelerate our understanding of the causes of cancer and translate these findings into improved outcomes for cancer patients |
| 2015 | $2,000,000 | ACT | The John Curtin School of Medical Research, Acton, ANU | To explore existing collections of Australia’s native plants for new cancer treatments |
| 2015 | $10,000,000 | NSW | Children's Medical Research Institute, Westmead | To establish the ACRF International Centre for the Proteome of Cancer (ProCanTM).This facility will provide a major step forward for cancer diagnosis and treatment of Australians. By analysing tens of thousands of samples of all types of cancers from all over the world, scientists in Australia will develop a library of information to advance scientific discovery and enhance clinical treatment worldwide |
| 2016 | $2,000,000 | VIC | Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne | To learn more about the mutation, internal variation, location and the impact of time on the growth and treatment of tumours |
| 2016 | $2,500,000 | NSW | Centenary Institute, Sydney | To determine the differences in nutrient metabolism by cancerous and normal cells to improve cancer treatments |
| 2016 | $2,300,000 | QLD | Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Brisbane | To provide microscopes that can see cancer cell behaviour and their response to drugs in order to stop the spread of cancer |
| 2016 | $1,200,000 | VIC | Monash University and Alfred Hospital, Melbourne | To develop a national program to improve patient outcomes for multiple myeloma and acute myeloid leukaemia |
| 2017 | $2,000,000 | VIC | Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute and La Trobe University, Melbourne | For new imaging technology which will help develop new therapies by examining tumours within the patient's body as well as individual cells in a tumour. |
| 2017 | $1,750,000 | WA | Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, Perth | For equipment that will help build in-depth knowledge of all cell types that make up a tumour. This will provide new insights into how cancer cells evolve and interact with normal cells, leading to new treatments. |
| 2017 | $1,750,000 | QLD | QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane | For the development of manufacturing and monitoring facilities that will support new immunotherapy clinical trials |
| 2017 | $2,000,000 | NSW | South Western Sydney Local Health District, Sydney | For a new facility that supports research into improving long-term outcomes of cancer patients and survivors |
| 2018 | $9,900,000 | QLD, NSW, VIC | The University of Queensland, University of Sydney and Monash University | To establish a diagnostic centre for the early detection of melanoma, with a roll out of fifteen total body imaging systems |
| 2018 | $2,000,000 | VIC | Bio21 Molecular Science and Technology Institute | To develop cutting-edge drug discovery technology for cancers with no approved therapy available, or requiring improved treatment |
| 2018 | $2,500,000 | SA | South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute | For technology to provide new approaches to interrogate cancer biology |
| 2018 | $2,000,000 | QLD | Compounds Australia, Griffith University | To establish a transformative acoustic compound management compound with integrated software to enable Australian researchers access to the most advanced compound capability available |
| 2019 | $3,500,000 | NSW | Children's Cancer Institute | To establish The ACRF Child Cancer Liquid Biopsy Program, which will use latest technologies to develop a suite of blood tests for childhood cancer patients aimed at improved diagnosis, earlier relapse detection, better monitoring of treatment response and enhanced delivery of the right treatment to the right child at the right time. |
| 2019 | $3,500,000 | VIC | Walter and Eliza Hall Institute for Medical Research | To focus on the discovery of triggers that drive cancer development, how genetic diversity in cancers affects treatment efficacy, and develop better ways of personalising cancer therapies to conquer the biggest challenges in cancer today – predicting and improving patients’ treatment response and overcoming drug resistance. |