Excellence in cancer research: Meet Cure Cancer's 2023 Researchers of the Year
By Sylvia Lee | 4 July 2023
Last week, Cure Cancer was honoured to be hosted by Their Excellencies General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd) Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia and Mrs Linda Hurley at Admiralty House, where the 2023 Researcher of the Year Awards reception was held.
Their Excellencies General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd) Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia and Mrs Linda Hurley with Cure Cancer Board Chairman Geoff Thompson, CEO Nikki Kinloch, and Researcher of the Year winners Dr Arutha Kulasinghe, Dr Jessica Holien, Dr Mark Adams at Admiralty House.
On June 15, Cure Cancer celebrated excellence in cancer research at the 2023 Researcher of the Year Awards. The evening was hosted by Their Excellencies General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd) Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia and Mrs Linda Hurley at the beautiful Admiralty House in Kirribilli.
- His Excellency Governor-General of Australia David Hurley
Over the past 7 years, His Excellency has been a Patron of Cure Cancer and it was an absolute privilege to have him to announce our 2023 Researchers of the Year. We want to thank all our guests, whether researchers, board members, corporate partners, ambassadors, fundraisers, or donors, who took the time to attend.
His Excellency Governor-General of Australia David Hurley speaking with 2023 Cure Cancer grantees Dr Mara Zeissig and Dr Lauren Aoude. Chef Prakash Chand and Cure Cancer Ambassador Chef Adam Moore in the background.
It is all thanks to the continued support of this wonderful community that Cure Cancer was able to commit $1.2 million to research grants this year, a 145% increase from 2022. These funds have supported 13 brilliant scientists who are working across different cancers, including childhood cancer, blood cancer, gynaecological cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, oesophageal adenocarcinoma, mesothelioma, melanoma, and immunotherapy.
Over the years, the Researcher of the Year Awards has recognised 25 outstanding researchers who have made considerable advancements in their research areas.
- CEO Nikki Kinloch
This year, we celebrated the exceptional work of Cure Cancer alumni Dr Mark Adams, Dr Jessica Holien and Dr Arutha Kulasinghe in the fields of lung cancer, ovarian cancer, and immunotherapy. Both Dr Mark Adams and Dr Jessica Holien were honoured as finalists, and the prestigious title of Researcher of the Year was awarded to Dr Arutha Kulasinghe.
2023 Cure Cancer grantees Dr Heather Murray, Dr Danielle Bond, Dr Lauren Aoude, and Dr Mara Zeissig with 2023 Researcher of the Year Dr Arutha Kulasinghe at Admiralty House.
2023 Researcher of the Year Runner-Up: Dr Mark Adams
Institute: Strategic Research Fellow at the Institute of Health Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology
Research area: Lung cancer
Project title: Enhancing non-small cell lung cancer sensitivity to front-line chemotherapy by exploiting cell cycle checkpoint factors
Their Excellencies Governor-General of Australia David Hurley and Mrs Linda Hurley presenting Dr Mark Adams his 2023 Cure Cancer Researcher of the Year Runner-Up award.
Lung cancer is the deadliest cancer in the world, and current therapy fails to adequately treat all people diagnosed with this disease. While chemotherapy serves as the standard treatment for lung cancer, only 20-30% of patients will respond to it due to drug resistance.
Dr Mark Adams hopes his research will lead to better outcomes for non-small cell lung cancer patients. His Cure Cancer-supported research studied molecules that serve as ‘predictive biomarkers’ to identify patients who will best respond to certain therapies, and molecules that can form the basis of potential future drugs that will make chemotherapy more effective. Previously, he identified a protein that can be used as a clinical tool to identify patients best suited for chemotherapy and another protein involved in tumour cell division that can improve patients' sensitivity to chemotherapy when targeted by new drugs.
Dr Mark and his team have also developed a world-first strategy to identify treatment-resistant lung cancer tumours, which can be targeted with an innovative therapeutic. This therapeutic serves to reactivate a mechanism that is dormant in therapy-resistant tumours – an untried and novel approach to prevent therapy resistance.
- Dr Mark Adams, Researcher of the Year Runner-Up
Dr Mark Adams’ 2019 grant was funded by Cure Cancer, Cancer Australia and the Denton Family Trust.
Read more about Dr Mark and his research here.
2023 Researcher of the Year Runner-Up: Dr Jessica Holien
Institute: Senior Vice Chancellors Research Fellow in the School of Science, STEM College at RMIT University
Research area: Ovarian cancer
Project title: Identification of novel therapeutic targets in mucinous ovarian cancer
Their Excellencies Governor-General of Australia David Hurley and Mrs Linda Hurley presenting Dr Jessica Holien her 2023 Cure Cancer Researcher of the Year Runner-Up award.
Mucinous ovarian cancer (MOC) is an understudied form of ovarian cancer with terrible outcomes when it is detected late, or if it recurs. This is because late-stage MOC is resistant to standard ovarian chemotherapy, which is why new novel therapies are urgently needed.
Dr Jessica Holien’s research constructed complex virtual models of how the proteins in MOC cells interact, and importantly, how they differ from normal, healthy cells. These cutting-edge computational networks can be used as drug targets in MOC. So far, she has been able to identify novel proteins whose interactions play a part in tumour regulation. Furthermore, she has used these models to identify and test novel drugs that inhibit these proteins. Her approach offers a faster, more cost-efficient approach to drug discovery, ultimately leading to more effective treatment options for patients.
Dr Jessica is the president-elect of the Victorian Branch of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute. She was elected to the board of the Australian Society for Medical Research (2017-2019) and is a Veski’s Inspiring Woman STEM ‘sidebyside’ and Career Recovery grant recipient, which are initiatives that support women in the science, technology, engineering, and maths industries. She is a passionate advocate for making STEM more accessible to the public, which in turn leads to greater diversity and inclusion in STEM.
Dr Jessica Holien has received 3 Cure Cancer grants for her projects on novel protein interactions as therapeutic targets in leukaemia (2014), neuroblastoma (2019) and ovarian cancer (2020). Her 2020 grant was co-funded by Cancer Australia.
Read more about Dr Jessica and her research here.
2023 Researcher of the Year: Dr Arutha Kulasinghe
Institute: Peter Doherty NHMRC Research Fellow & lead of the 'Clinical-oMx Lab' at Frazer Institute, The University of Queensland
Research area: Immunotherapy
Project Title: Multidimensional spatial profiling of the tumour microenvironment and liquid biopsy to determine response to immunotherapy
Their Excellencies Governor-General of Australia David Hurley and Mrs Linda Hurley presenting Dr Arutha Kulasinghe his 2023 Cure Cancer Researcher of the Year award.
Immunotherapies have been hailed as a game changer in the treatment of solid tumours. However, there are currently no means to identify whether a patient will respond to therapy. Dr Arutha Kulasinghe’s project uses novel tissue mapping technology to assess the tumour spatially and genetically over the course of therapy to predict its response to immunotherapy. In doing so, he and his team can make individualised assessments of a patient’s tumour and identify biomarkers targeted for immunotherapy, thus making treatment more effective.
In 2023, Dr Arutha has been validating gene signatures in lung cancer through several trials across multiple patients from different demographics. His research has also been significant in treating patients for COVID-19. In a parallel study conducted with Cure Cancer alumni Dr Fernando Guimaraes, they were able to identify a gene signature associated with COVID-19 severity that could also help identify which patients will need urgent care.
Dr Arutha recently received two prestigious research awards in recognition of his immunotherapy work and was published in Immunology & Cell Biology in March 2023.
“My lab wouldn't be where it is today without the funding from Cure Cancer. I'm eternally grateful to Cure Cancer, the donors, and supporters for the opportunity to lead an exciting area of cancer research. My lab applies technologies that allow us to map patient’s tumours one-cell-at-a-time. We're able to see how tumour cells communicate with immune cells and hopefully identify therapies that will work in individual patients. So, thank you.”
- Dr Arutha Kulasinghe
Dr Arutha Kulasinghe’s 2020 grant was funded by our principal supporter, the Can Too Foundation.
Read more about Dr Arutha and his research here.
Cure Cancer also presented the Inspire Award for outstanding support of our charity to Victoria Kvisle OAM, Bobbin Head Cruising Club and GenerOZity, who are making an incredible difference in their communities.
Inspire Award Winners
Victoria Kvisle OAM
We recognised Victoria Kvisle OAM’s considerable contributions and invaluable support since her brother Peter’s Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis in 1967.
2023 Inspire Award winner Victoria Kvisle OAM alongside Their Excellencies Governor-General of Australia David Hurley and Mrs Linda Hurley.
Throughout the 1970s, Victoria was a key fundraiser for the Jenny Leukaemia Trust. In 1981, she joined the Finance Risk Committee, which reported to the Cure Cancer Board; she later became Chairman of the FRC and served as a Cure Cancer Board Director from 1993-2016.
In 2017, Victoria was recognised as a Cure Cancer Life Member, Collaborator and Ambassador, the same year in which she was awarded her OAM for her service to cancer research and the community.
Bobbin Head Cruising Club
The Inspire Award was presented to Commodore Grant Cunningham in recognition of the Bobbin Head Cruising Club’s 20-year dedication to Cure Cancer as our longest community fundraiser.
2023 Inspire Award winner Commodore Grant Cunningham of the Bobbin Head Cruising Club alongside Their Excellencies Governor-General of Australia David Hurley and Mrs Linda Hurley.
At the club's heart is a simple love of boating and the camaraderie that accompanies it, along with a commitment to making a positive impact. The BHCC took part in the Sail For Cancer events when Cure Cancer was still known as the Leo & Jenny Leukaemia Foundation. This generous spirit has continued and is now part of the BHCC’s constitutional objectives.
The BHCC’s annual 2023 BarbeCURE® raised more than $100,000 to help fund acute myeloid leukaemia researcher Dr Heather Murray and others like her. With a collective fundraising total of $320,000 (equalling 3 research grants), the BHCC couldn’t be more dedicated to continue supporting Cure Cancer’s emerging researchers.
GenerOZity
GenerOZity director and secretary Ashley (Shlee) Hull received the Inspire Award on behalf of founder Joel Rennie. GenerOZity is a gaming charity organisation that hosts regular online and in-person events involving some of Australia and New Zealand’s biggest content creators.
2023 Inspire Award GenerOZity representative Shlee Hull smiling alongside Their Excellencies Governor-General of Australia David Hurley and Mrs Linda Hurley.
GenerOZity has been a huge support to Cure Cancer’s Game On Cancer® initiative, which has raised over $800,000 for cancer research through live streams and donations from the gaming community. Over the last 5 years, GenerOZity has given their time and expertise to help build Game On Cancer® and has raised money for Cure Cancer through events such as their Slumber Parties and Australia's largest gaming exhibition, PAX Aus.
To date, GenerOZity has raised over $170,000 for Cure Cancer.
Championing the Brightest Ideas
The Cure Cancer team at Admiralty House (left to right): Stephanie Georgiadis, Joanne de la Mare, Alexandra Lapa, Shane Bailey, Suvarna Anupam, CEO Nikki Kinloch, Alex Lynne, Jesse Bloch, Kathy Hua, Katrina Rae, Sylvia Lee.
Cure Cancer’s mission is to back the most impactful new ideas to save lives from cancer. We can only achieve this with the help of our researchers, valued donors and supporters. By investing in research today, you are backing new ideas that can cure cancer.
You can learn more about our projects and impact here.
