Bold ideas and creative collaboration are required in the quest to solve the riddle of brain cancer.
Leading the call, The Mark Hughes Foundation (MHF) is releasing an inaugural national grant round calling for innovation in brain cancer research.
The Brain Cancer Innovation Project Grants round has been opened to researchers around Australia to fund projects aimed at decreasing mortality rates and the incidence of brain cancer.
Grants of up to $150 000 per project will be awarded by the MHF through the Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI) with a funding total of $900 000.
MHF’s Mark Hughes says that they’re expanding their current grant round nationally to seek the nation’s best and most innovative ideas into brain cancer.
“Although we have made some gains in understanding brain cancer it is still the leading cause of cancer death in children and adults under 40,” Mark said. “It is a complex cancer, and yet it’s still one of the most under-studied. We want to change this with these project grants.”
The 2019 Project Grants are available for high impact projects to be conducted over one to two years. “We want to fund researchers with an innovative approach – those who really think outside the box,” Mark Hughes adds.
HMRI Institute Director Professor Tom Walley is excited about the collaborative opportunities that these grants offer. “To conquer brain cancer we need concerted, collaborative efforts to understand the particular genetic and molecular aberrations that cause brain cancers,” Professor Walley said. “Researchers and their teams will also have the chance to utilise the expertise and infrastructure at HMRI for genomic or genetic analysis through the newly formed MHF Infrastructure pipelines.”
These innovation grants are the next strategic steps for the MHF who’ve successfully raised over $10 million through multiple fundraising successes such as their famous Beanie For Brain Cancer. Their scientific committee have previously invested in a Brain Cancer Biobank, a Care Coordinator, PhD projects, Fellowships and Seed Funding.
The Mark Hughes Foundation (MHF) is a charity formed in Newcastle by Mark and Kirralee Hughes following Mark’s diagnosis with brain cancer in 2014. It raises much-needed funds for research and to support people with brain cancer and their families.
Contact: Linda Drummond, HMRI Communications Officer on 0414 218 882
* HMRI partners with the University of Newcastle, Hunter New England Health and the community.
