GRATITUDE AND HOPE INSPIRE A TRANSFORMATIONAL GIFT TO CANCER RESEARCH

As a hospital dedicated solely to treating and researching cancer, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse is often at the intersection of grief and gratitude.

Often, where these meet, there is also hope, borne out of the desire to give back and to make a difference. This was the genesis of the Arto Hardy Family Biomedical Innovation Hub.

Research underpins the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse model of care, enabled by clinicians who are also scientists, searching for ground-breaking discoveries while treating patients. Playing a key role in the hospital’s research success is philanthropy. Donations are made with a clear and genuine purpose – to support research that improves cancer treatment and saves lives.

For the Arto Hardy family, making a gift to cancer research was a way to honour the memory of a loved one. The family approached this gift with determination, trust and an open heart – determination to fund research of the highest calibre that would improve the lives of others; trust in the scientists and doctors to present them with a vision that was both compelling and achievable; and willingness to believe in that vision.

For Chris O’Brien Lifehouse Director of Research, Professor Lisa Horvath, this was both a great privilege and an extraordinary opportunity. It enabled Lisa to ask the question, “What do we need to do to take the biggest strides and make the most meaningful difference?”

The answer was a new biomedical research laboratory, bridging medical science, engineering, and industry to foster and fast-track innovative biomedical research for precision cancer treatment. This would be the first of its kind in Australia – integrated within a cancer hospital, facilitating access for patients to treatment breakthroughs, and access for researchers to the clinical teams treating patients.

Inspired by this vision, the Arto Hardy family made a generous commitment to support this work for five years. The first step, and the one upon which success would hinge, was to appoint the multidisciplinary team of scientists and engineers who would lead and drive the work.

“The team was key,” Professor Horvath says. “And most key was the scientist who would develop and lead this program. We needed an outstanding biomedical engineer with a vast skill set; someone with a track record in successful research translation and commercialisation; a leader both in the field and of people; someone who could bring together all the various strands of biomedical research across Chris O’Brien Lifehouse and take them through proof-of-concept, clinical trial, and translation to patient care.”

At the helm of the Arto Hardy Family Biomedical Innovation Hub is Professor Jeremy Crook, an internationallyrecognised researcher who wears multiple hats across multiple institutions – a Professorial Fellow in Biomedical Engineering, University of Wollongong; conjoint Arto Hardy Family Chair of Biomedical Innovation, University of Sydney; and Director of Biomedical Innovation at Chris O’Brien Lifehouse. Not only at the forefront of his field, encompassing tissue engineering, disease modelling and regenerative medicine, Professor Crook has the experience and industry know-how to move discoveries and novel concepts from the laboratory to clinical practice and through the process of commercialisation.

With the key role of Chair appointed, Jeremy and Lisa could then build the team that would provide the expertise and experience to drive each of the Hub’s research focus areas, a skill set that included cell biology, materials science, 3D printing, biotechnology, intellectual property, quality and regulatory management – just to name a few. “We needed experts across multiple disciplines,” Jeremy says. “And all with the ability to think outside the box and work within the Hub’s core purpose, which is innovation.”

The first port of call was the team already on site in the hospital’s radiobiology lab, adding expertise in cancer cell biology and materials physics. They established clinician and researcher collaborations and recruited senior and junior research scientists to add experience and support in areas such as stem cell biology, tissue engineering, bioand electro-materials, and additive manufacturing. Jeremy also engages with PhD candidates, Masters, and Honours students to work on discrete projects and harness their specialised skills.

The Arto Hardy family’s incredible gift has enabled us to build an exceptional team and a world-class pointof-care research facility at Chris O’Brien Lifehouse,” says Professor Crook.

“It means that we’re going to be able to do something with impact, something that is going to make a difference and transform how we treat cancer. Already, we are protecting IP arising from research and trademarking products intended for clinical use.”

Making a difference is at the heart of the Arto Hardy family’s gift. Gratitude is there as well, certainly from the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse team for the family’s generosity, but also from the family who sees the potential the research holds to improve the lives of many. “What a gift to be able to give,” says Lina Arto Hardy. “It is a privilege to accelerate a more hopeful future for people facing cancer.”

Authors: Leanne Hodgkiss, Development Manager at Chris O’Brien Lifehouse. Professor Jeremy Crook, Arto Hardy Family Chair of Biomedical Innovation, The University of Sydney; Director of Biomedical Innovation, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse.

THE IMPACT THAT PHILANTHROPICBASED RESEARCH FUNDING CAN HAVE AND SOME OF THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES CURRENTLY FACING CLINICAL RESEARCH ACADEMICS.

Q: HOW HAS A DONATION OR FUNDING MADE A DIFFERENCE TO YOUR INNOVATIVE RESEARCH?

Research funding has been just absolutely critical to my research, including that from philanthropic funders such as RACP Foundation, in addition Qld Healthand national funders such as NHMRC, MRFF-.

It has enabled myself and my collaborators’ to focus our thoughts and plans into specific and tangible propositions, which is immensely helpful for developing successful grant applications, as well as learning from our unsuccessful grant applications.

The resourcing that I have attained has enabled me to bring my research ideas to life. Now, I am leading a clinical trial (never thought I’d be doing that!), part of exciting wet and dry lab research, undertaking translational genomic research, and understanding the epidemiology and implementation of genomics into everyday practice.

Q: HOW ARE YOU PLANNING FOR YOUR FUTURE WORKFORCE.

I envisage a future workforce that directly supports the development of clinician-researchers of all varieties.

I do this by helping to identify those who are interested in research, and if their interest might grow and develop, which it very often does!

I also help to provide opportunity for those who hadn’t previously thought that they wanted to do research. We provide an opportunity to do research, so that they can “dip their toe in the water and give it a go”. This is just so critical! “The key to getting ahead is to get started”.

I also provide mentorship, supervision, support, and encouragement to developing clinician-researchers across the career spectrum. From those who are students in their primary degrees, considering doing Honours or ad-hoc projects, to junior medical and non-medical clinicians, right the way through to specialty trainees and mid-senior career clinicians. I actively support interest in research for those around me.

I get joy from seeing those I supervise, work with, and mentor to grow and succeed. There is just nothing quite like it!

Q: WHAT CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES WILL HEALTH AND MEDICAL RESEARCH FACE IN THE FUTURE?

In healthcare we are always seeking to do more, better and with the same or functionally restricted resources. Achieving these efficiency and productivity dividends to provide health benefits to patients and the community is THE challenge for Health and Medical Research in the future.

So, what does this mean in Australia? I think that it means ensuring a strong and balanced portfolio of research across the country, which is responsive to patient and community needs whilst also being diversified enough to ensure that we are generating new knowledge and discovery whilst enabling the translation of those discoveries.

Identifying sustainable ways for those researcher career pathways to thrive and be supported without undue threat or excessive anxiety is going to be key to generating creativity, innovation, productivity and positive growth of direct and indirect research.

A major opportunity will be collaboration. We are also now operating in a world where our geography matters less than ever before in terms of limiting or restricting collaboration. I collaborate effectively and substantially with colleagues in North America, the UK and Europe, very substantially supported by virtual meeting platforms and a plethora of handy online time zone convertors! Also, collaboration means partnering with patients, consumers as well as diverse clinicians as well as industry and academic partners. The more we can effectively be supported to do this and achieve vibrant collaborative groups and consortia, the more robust, responsive and resilient our research programs are likely to become.

Q: HOW ARE YOU PLANNING TO OVERCOME THESE OBSTACLES?

I will continue to train, mentor and support as many clinician-researchers as I can. The future will be transformed by them, and the degree to which we can transform that future depends upon having enough clinician-researchers to do it.

Australian and Aotearoa-New Zealand working together with our innovation and ingenuity in health and medical research is key. I’m thinking about the big ideas that bring together new and enlarged groups of colleagues, which means embracing meeting new clinicians and researchers both in Australia and overseas. I’m trying (and mostly failing) to also dedicate time to thinking about the big challenges, what might be done and what new research questions and approaches could be possible. It is an exciting time!

Being in a regional area with strong urban and rural connections is just amazing. From this vantage point, I can get perspective on a breadth of issues and opportunities that I don’t think I could have seen before. Working together with collaborators across and breaking these traditional geographical divides is both very rewarding but also a tangible way to unlock new research capacity and impact.