BACKING PIONEERING BRAIN CANCER RESEARCH IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA
A major new Western Australian research program will bring together leading scientists, clinicians and advanced technologies to explore new treatment approaches for some of the most challenging brain cancers affecting children and adults.
The Advanced Therapies for Brain Cancer (ATBC) program has received $9 million over nine years, supported by the Cook Government's Future Health Research and Innovation Fund, the McCusker Charitable Foundation and the WA Comprehensive Kids Cancer Centre, with funding committed by the Stan Perron Charitable Foundation.
The Foundation's contribution is part of its $135.5 million commitment over 10 years to establish the WA Comprehensive Kids Cancer Centre a collaborative initiative bringing together clinical care and world-class research to improve outcomes for children with cancer.
The new funding will support the establishment of Australia's first brain cancer immunotherapy research platform for juvenile-age patients, enabling researchers to investigate emerging treatments using models that more closely reflect childhood disease.
Brain cancers such as diffuse midline glioma (DMG) and diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) in children, and glioblastoma in adults, remain particularly difficult to treat, with limited treatment options and poor survival outcomes.
Rather than pursuing individual technologies in isolation, the ATBC program will bring together expertise from Perth Children's Hospital, The Kids Research Institute Australia, The University of Western Australia, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and Royal Perth Hospital's Cell & Tissue Therapies WA.
The research will also benefit from its proximity to Australia's only cell and gene therapy manufacturing facility with Therapeutic Goods Administration licensing and Good Manufacturing Practice capability, located at Royal Perth Hospital.
Dr Gervase Chaney, Research and Partnerships Manager at the Stan Perron Charitable Foundation and Chair of the WA Comprehensive Kids Cancer Centre Steering Committee, said the investment reflected the importance of sustained collaboration in addressing complex cancers.
“This investment reflects a shared commitment to backing the kind of ambitious, long-term research needed to tackle some of the most challenging cancers affecting children and adults,” Dr Chaney said.
“By bringing together world-class researchers, specialist infrastructure and emerging technologies in one co-ordinated program, ATBC will strengthen Western Australia's leadership in advanced cancer research and create new opportunities to translate scientific discoveries into better treatments for patients.”
The ATBC program marks an important step towards the WA Comprehensive Kids Cancer Centre's vision of helping all children with cancer survive and thrive, while strengthening the research capabilities and partnerships needed to develop more effective treatments in Western Australia and beyond.
Related story: WA Comprehensive Kids Cancer Centre officially launched
Published: November 2026