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Enhancing collaboration across Advanced Health and Research Translation Centres
by IN-SPHERE
SPHERE’s Cancer Clinical Academic Group and Sydney Cancer Partners (SCP) (Sydney Health Partners Cancer Clinical Academic Group) are working together to enhance and encourage collaboration across Advanced Health and Research Translation Centres (AHTRCs.)
Both groups received a $7M Translational Research Capacity Building Grant from Cancer Institute NSW in 2021. One of the key performance measures of this funding was to implement a joint funding scheme that would support collaborative endeavours between the groups. The Strategic Enhancement Grant (SEG) Scheme is in response to these criteria. The aim of the SEG was to foster a broad-based initiative that would increase translational cancer research funding in NSW.
The specific goal was to support leaders of mature translational research programs to improve their chances of making successful applications for substantial research funding to national, international or commercial sources, by encouraging broader collaborations.
All fields of research were eligible, with a requirement to span multiple phases of the translational cancer research pipeline.
Applications were led by two Chief Investigators, one SPHERE and one SCP, with research activity spanning both organisations. Evaluation criteria were 1) competitiveness of the proposed translational research program in relation to the target funding scheme, 2) potential for the grant to increase the chances of a successful application, and 3) alignment of the application to research objectives which included priorities of the NSW Cancer Plan.
Following an extensive two-stage review process, two applications were funded. Each group receives $140k per year for up to two years. SPHERE Cancer CAG and SCP equally contribute to the funding.
Title: Validating a physiological melanoma immune model to rapidly test novel immunotherapy combinations.
Chief Investigators: Professor Jeff Holst (UNSW) and A/Professor James Wilmott (Melanoma Institute Australia, University of Sydney).
Title: Telomere remodelling in drug resistant breast cancer.
Chief Investigators: Professor Hilda Pickett (Children’s Medical Research Institute) and A/Professor Elizabeth Caldon (Garvan Institute of Medical Research).
