research investment evaluation

2006 -2010

Research Investment Evaluation

Acknowledgments

This report and the Cancer Council NSW (CCNSW) Monitoring and Evaluation Framework (Research) was developed by Catherine Holliday, Head, Research Strategy under the direction of the CCCNSW Cancer Research Committee. The collection and analysis of data was carried out by the Research Strategy, Monitoring and Evaluation project team: Lauren Puglisi and Kate Whittaker. We sincerely thank the CCNSW Cancer Research Committee for their guidance throughout this process.

ii

Contents

Acknowledgements i

Contents ii

List of figures and tables iii

Acronyms iv

Executive summary v

Message from the Chief Executive Officer vii

Introduction viii

CCNSW Research Portfolio 1

Support to research institutions in NSW 2

Where the research happens 3

Collaboration in NSW 4

Strategic research investment 4

Research expenditure by cancer type 5

Research, incidence and mortality 6

Common Scientific Outline 7

Who we fund 8

Consumer participation in research 9

Key Performance Indicators 19

Monitoring and evaluation research 20

KPI 1: Measuring the level of funding and sustainability of CCNSW research 21

KPI 2: Measuring the linkages and the connection between research and practice 22

KPI 3: Measuring the quality, success and influence of research 23

KPI 4: Measuring the talent pipeline 23

KPI 5: Measuring transparency 24

Research Outcomes

Strategic Research Partnership Grants 17

STREP grant case study: New South Wales Pancreatic Cancer Network 18

Program Grants 24

Program grant case study: Alternative lengthening of telomeres 24

Project Grants 30

Project grant case study: Nicotinamide protection from ultraviolet radiation-induced skin carcinogenesis

31

Consumer participation in research 34

Appendices 35

References 36

Methods and data sources 37

NHMRC burden of disease reference list 41

Common Scientific Outline classification of cancer research 42

List of all grants awarded 2006—2010 43

Overview of all grants 47

iii

List of figures and tables

Figure 1: Distribution of funds to administering institutions 2006-2010

Figure 2: Location of research activity 2006-2010

Figure 3: Location of research activity 2006-2010 compared with NSW population

Figure 4: Number of institutions per project and number of investigators 2006-2010

Figure 5: Investment in strategic priorities

Figure 6: CCNSW research investment 2006 – 2010 by cancer type

Figure 7: % research expenditure 2006-2010 by tumour site compared with incidence

Figure 8: % research expenditure 2006-2010 by tumour site compared with mortality

Figure 9: Patterns of funding 2006-2010 classified by Common Scientific Outline

Figure 10: Researcher qualifications 2006-2010

Figure 11: Female to Male ratio Chief Investigator A

Figure 12: Early Career Researchers 2006-2010

Figure 13: CCNSW research funding position (KPI 1.1)

Figure 14: CCNSW level of research funding 2006 - 2010 (KPI 1.2)

Figure 15: % of projects >250k/annum with MDT status >3 (KPI 2.1)

Figure 16: Patterns of funding 2006-2010 by Commons Scientific Outline (KPI 2.3)

Figure 17: % ECR researchers funded 2006-2010 (KPI 4.1)

Figure 18: CCNSW investment in pancreatic cancer research 2006 - 2010

Figure 19: Primary pancreatic tumour profile

Figure 20: Citations tree Hudson TJ, Anderson W, Aretz A et al. International network of cancer genome projects. Nature 2010: 464 (7291); 993-998. Figure 21: Citations tree Cesare AJ, Reddel RR. Alternative lengthening of telomeres:

Models, mechanisms and implications. Nature Reviews Genetics

2010:11;319-330.

Figure 22: Comparison of NHMRC and Consumer Review Panel scores

Table 1: CCNSW research expenditure 2006-2010

Table 2: Consumer participation 2006-2010 (KPI 2.2)

Table 3: Publications by grant type 2006-2010 (KPI 3.1)

Table 4: Completed grants publications and citations (KPI 3.2)

Table 5: Overview of all grants - inputs, research activity and outputs

iv

ACD Australasian College of Dermatologists ACT Australian Capital Territory ALT Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres CCNSW Cancer Council New South Wales CMRI Children’s Medical Research Institute CRP Consumer Review Panel CSO Common Scientific Outline DNA Deoxyribonucleic Acid ECR Early Career Researcher GRP Grant Review Panel ICGC International Cancer Genome Consortium IPMN Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasm KPI Key Performance Indicator MBBS Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery MD Doctor of Medicine MDT Multi-disciplinary Team NHMRC National Health and Medical Research Council NSW New South Wales NSWPCN New South Wales Pancreatic Cancer Network NZ New Zealand QIMR Queensland Institute of Medical Research QLD Queensland RNA Ribonucleic Acid SA South Australia SAB Scientific Advisory Board STREP Strategic Research Partnership UK United Kingdom USA United States of America UV Ultraviolet VIC Victoria WA Western Australia

Acronyms

v

Executive summary

CCNSW is a community funded, community focused cancer charity dedicated to the defeat of

cancer.

The CCNSW Research Program aims to generate new knowledge and insights into how cancer

is prevented, diagnosed and treated. Through applied research and development, we respond to

the needs of the community and the real-world challenges of cancer.

Between April and June 2011, the Research Strategy team conducted an evaluation of CCNSW

external research investment between 2006 and 2010. The evaluation is guided by the CCNSW

Monitoring and Evaluation Framework (Research), which aims to demonstrate research outputs

as well as outcomes relating to knowledge and discovery, thought leadership and the application

of research.

CCNSW research expenditure

In the not for profit sector, CCNSW is the largest funder of cancer research. Between

2006 and 2010, we maintained a level of funding above 25% of total

expenditure (net of fundraising).

The majority of funding was in all cancers (24.8%), followed by leukaemia (9.43%), pan-

creatic cancer (8.26%), breast cancer (8.44%) and endocrine cancer (7.13%) research, with

the remaining expenditure spread across at least 10 cancer types.

Over the past five years, CCNSW funded research across NSW in all major cancer

research institutions, with the majority of research conducted in metropolitan Sydney and

significant research activity in Hunter New England.

Our procurement strategies encourage multidisciplinary collaboration and between 2006

and 2010, CCNSW consistently funded research towards the translational end of the

research spectrum.

CCNSW continues to support the talent pipeline with Early Career Researchers named as

Chief Investigator A in over 15% of all projects and programs funded.

vi

Executive summary

Success highlights

Our focus on priority-driven research through Strategic Research Partnerships resulted

in an increase in investment and discovery in poor prognosis cancers, and cancers

where the level of funding does not reflect the burden of disease.

CCNSW trained 57 consumers to review grant proposals and since 2006 consumers

have been involved in every research funding decision.

Since our initial 2006 investment of $1.5 million in pancreatic cancer research,

Professor Andrew Biankin has leveraged over $62.5 million in additional funding for

pancreatic cancer research in Australia, and the total CCNSW investment in

pancreatic cancer is now over $3.5 million. In broad terms, the day that we start to

use pancreatic cancer genomes in clinical practice is even closer than we thought.

Professor Roger Reddel and his team, who discovered Alternative Lengthening of

Telomeres, and have subsequently made many of the most important discoveries about

it, developed an assay that can be used as a blood test for the presence of ALT-positive

tumours anywhere in the body, and is suitable for screening chemicals to find ALT

inhibitors. The team also advanced the study of telomerase to the point where rational

design of telomerase inhibitors will be possible in the near future.

Associate Professor Diona Damian and Professor Gary Halliday confirmed the

effectiveness of nicotinamide (vitamin B3) in protecting from a range of immune

suppression models and its effects on UV induced mutagenesis and molecular changes

in humans. The results from their work are very promising and if successful are likely

to influence current practice using a readily available and affordable protective

agent.

Strategic directions

This report will be used to inform future strategic directions in research. CCNSW will do

this by characterising the conditions in which our research investment has had a significant

impact, identifying gaps in research activity and developing innovative and meaningful ways

to engage consumers in research decision-making.

vii

Message from the Chief Executive Officer

We invest in research to make fundamental, game changing contributions to science, to the way cancer is prevented and treated, and ultimately to save lives. This is a long term process and defies definitive assessment at a single point in time.

The policy and performance dilemma that confronts organisations which invest in research is to ensure that what we are doing now optimises those outcomes, and to maximise the benefits that flow from being recognised as an organisation that does this well.

In our experience, the large flagship discovery programs we have funded account for the greatest game changing contributions to science, to the way cancer is prevented, and treated. To be the best in research is therefore closely related to the performance of these flagship programs when compared with peers.

CCNSW is an agency of influence. Because of its influence CCNSW can take strategic positions and adopt stances in accordance with its values. Because we are not purely a research funding charity we have a distinctive opportunity to leverage research with influence and vice versa.

CCNSW has eschewed fixed commitments to any cancer, funding program, product or approach in cancer control in favour of the flexibility to change and adapt what we do as the landscape of opportunity and knowledge changes.

We aim to stand out among cancer charities through the clarity of the connection between research and practice in cancer control, which means following through on research we undertake or fund to extract community benefit in full measure.

I hope that through this report, you will see our commitment to evaluation and indicators showing how our funding serves our underlying purpose of defeating cancer.

Andrew Penman Chief Executive Officer

viii

Introduction

CCNSW has a well-developed but flexible Research Strategy. We use our position in the community to engage consumers in research, and we collaborate with professional networks and established research groups to add value to our research investment. Research by nature is not for profit, however, there is increasing interest for researchers and funding bodies to demonstrate the return on investment for research. The way that we judge our position is through a stringent Monitoring and Evaluation framework, measuring both immediate outputs as well as outcomes relating to knowledge and discovery, thought leadership and the application of research. Over the past five years, CCNSW research expenditure increased at an average rate of 11.59% per annum, and in the not for profit sector, CCNSW was the largest contributor of cancer research in this state.


Year Research Expenditure

2010 $14,269,000

2009 $14,282,000

2008 $12,921,000

2007 $10,712,000

2006 $9,290,000

Total 5 year expenditure $61,474,000

At CCNSW, research extends across a number of divisions. Our External Research Program is led by our Research Strategy team, and we collaborate with our own Cancer Research, Health Strategies and Cancer Information and Support Services divisions which focus on risk identification, behaviour modification and health service research. Our Marketing and Communication division and State Wide Services are also engaged with our researchers to extend the value of CCNSW supported research. The focus of this report is our External Research Program which represents 70% of our total research expenditure. The report describes the quality and impact of our research investment between 2006 and 2010, and we will use this information to reflect on our success and guide future strategic research investments. It is a great privilege to work with and provide support to the talented researchers in this state, and the information presented in this report reflects the work of people who are passionate about discovery and are making it possible for us to defeat cancer.

Catherine Holliday Head, Research Strategy

CCNSW Research Portfolio

2

CCNSW research portfolio

Support to research institutions in NSW As part of the grant selection process, expert assessors ensure that our researchers have the support of an institution that receive and account for grant funds. In the past five years, the University of Sydney and the University of New South Wales received over 50% of CCNSW research funding, followed by the Garvan Institute of Medical Research.

Figure 1: Distribution of funds to administering institutions 2006-2010

3


Where the research happens

For each project, in addition to the administering institution there are often a number of facilitating institutions participating in the research. Over the past five years, CCNSW research was carried out in 61 locations across NSW, Australia and internationally.


% research expenditure 2006-2010/NSW population

Location of research

The majority of research was conducted in metropolitan Sydney, however, when compared to the percentage of the population, Hunter New England attracted an impressive amount of research funding.


0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

Research expenditure 2006-2010

Location of research

4

Collaboration in NSW CCNSW encourages collaboration and multi-institutional research to add value to our research investment. The majority of our funded research projects between 2006 and 2010 were conducted across two or more collaborating institutions, with an average of 3.74 investigators per project.

% of research expenditure 2006 - 2010

Average no. of institutions

Figure 4: Number of institutions per project and number of investigators 2006-2010

Strategic research investment In 2006, the majority of funding was in leukaemia (5.5%) and breast cancer (5.67%) research, with the remaining expenditure spread across at least 10 cancer types. In 2010, backed by a research strategy that supports cancers of poor prognosis and those where the level of funding does not reflect the burden of disease, the CCNSW research portfolio reflects a commitment to providing mechanisms for discovery in these areas of cancer.

Funding year

CCNSW Investment



0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

3.50

4.00

4.50

0

5

10

15

20

25

1 2 3 4 5 6+

% of projects

Av no of Institutions

No. of investigators per project

5

Research expenditure by cancer type CCNSW develops funding opportunities that complement the type and scope of the questions being asked. Researcher initiated grants are not traditionally priority-driven and include Project Grants that support specific projects with defined outcomes and Program Grants that are designed to provide funding security, enhance productivity, and support a freedom and flexibility of enquiry beyond that achievable through other types of grants. Our priority-driven Strategic Research Partnership grants aim to close the gap in translational research, accelerate the progress of policy and practice-focused research in NSW and seek partners to help identify, publish and procure cancer research priorities.


Cancer type

% CCNSW research investment 2006-2010


6


Research, incidence and mortality CCNSW has the flexibility to actively respond to opportunity and need in research. We monitor trends in cancer incidence and research funding, and engage with consumers, practitioners, researchers and policy makers to provide timely and appropriate support for research. We are also able to embrace higher risk and early mover propositions in cancer research and leverage the benefits of these positions for further funding and downstream benefit.


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90

100

0%

1%

2%

3%

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5%

6%

7%

8%

9%

10%

% research expenditure Standardised

incidence

Tumour site

Standardised mortality

0

5

10

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25

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35

40

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

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10%

% research expenditure

Tumour site

% of 2006 – 2010 total expenditure Standardised mortality Australia 2008

% of 2006 – 2010 total expenditure Standardised incidence Australia 2008


7

Common Scientific Outline The Common Scientific Outline is an internationally recognised research classification system. It is used widely within Australia and internationally, which means that we can compare our research portfolio against other funding bodies and research institutions. CCNSW also uses this information to see where our research investment is placed along the research continuum, monitor patterns in research expenditure and most importantly, to guide future research investment strategies. In the Cancer Australia report Cancer Research in Australia: 2003—2005, the pattern of research funding in NSW from state and federal government, and non-government charities and foundations during that period, was resolutely towards the basic science end of the translational spectrum with the majority research funded in biology (44%), followed by treatment (20%). The figure below demonstrates that CCNSW has consistently funded research towards the application end of the translation research spectrum.

Figure 9: Patterns of funding 2006-2010 classified by Common Scientific Outline


8

Who we fund The CCNSW Research Strategy aims to nurture Early Career Researchers, support experienced teams and teams that are multi-disciplinary by nature, and encourage early research ideas. CCNSW actively manages the ideas and talent pipeline and accepts bold ideas with great promise as the basis for initial support, while placing progressively greater emphasis on performance over time.

% researchers funded 2006-2010


% ECR funded 2006-2010



Qualifications

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%

18%

ECR as a ECR as Chief Investigator Chief Investigator A (Not Chief Investigator A)


Female

Male

9

Consumer participation in research Since 2005, CCNSW, in collaboration with Cancer Voices NSW, has delivered a formal process engaging consumers in external research funding decisions. The Consumer Participation in Research Program has evolved over the past five years, including the development of specific consumer review criteria and the training and convening of a consumer panel in the assessment of research applications on behalf of cancer consumers and the wider community. Every competitive grant funded by CCNSW includes a consumer review component. Between 2006 and 2010 we have conducted 80 hours of consumer review training, and trained 57 consumers who have reviewed 239 grants.


57trained

consumers

80 hours of consumer review training

239 grants reviewed

by consumers

10

Research Key Performance Indicators

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Monitoring and evaluating research Research is one of our most important investments and we are committed to following through on the research we support to determine the extent of benefit to the community. Measuring research outcomes is a key area of the Research Strategy team’s work.

CCNSW Input

Funding - Project Grants - Program Grants - Innovator Grants - STREP Grants Personnel - Research Strategy Team

CCNSW Activities Extramural Research - Competitive grant schemes - STREP Stage 3 Research Procure-ment - External Research Programs - Applied Research - Commissioned Research

Research Outputs Key Performance Indicators Funding levels and sustainability Research and practice linkage Quality, success and influence Talent pipeline Transparency

Knowledge and discovery

Thought leadership

Application of research

Research Outcomes Annual Research Report

CCNSW reports research Key Performance Indicators across five areas: 1. Level of funding and sustainability of CCNSW research 2. Linkages and the connection between research and practice 3. Quality, success and influence of research 4. Talent pipeline 5. Transparency The indicators were developed under the guidance of the CCNSW Cancer Research Committee who are responsible for providing guidance to the Cancer Council Board on cancer research policy and programs. This section of the report represents CCNSW research outputs. They provide us with an indication of how our research investment is tracking towards increases in knowledge, awareness and application of evidence to policy and practice.

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KPI 1: Measuring the level of funding and sustainability of CCNSW research As the largest non-government funder of cancer research in NSW, CCNSW holds an important position in the not for profit sector. CCNSW maintains a level of funding that does not restrict our ability to support strategic priorities and respond to needs as they arise. The research community values the level of support provided by CCNSW and we measure funds committed to cancer research because it is important that we preserve this funding level to sustain the momentum of cancer research activity in NSW.

Through innovative risk mitigation and priority-driven research, CCNSW provides opportunities for researchers to establish solid lines of research and leverage external funding opportunities to build upon their success. This means that we are able to see the growth of our initial investment in a relatively short timeframe, and our position as a significant research funding body is evidenced by the level of fund-ing as a percentage of total expenditure which has re-mained at over 25% for the past five years.


Cancer research funding bodies

Funding amount ($‘000,000)

Year


Research expenditure as a % total expenditure (net of fundraising costs)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

National Health and Medical Research

Council

Cancer Institute NSW Cancer Council NSW (External research only)

National Breast Cancer Foundation

Cure Cancer Australia Foundation

20%

21%

22%

23%

24%

25%

26%

27%

28%

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

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KPI 2: Measuring the linkages and the connection between research and practice We know that engaging an appropriate mix of professions to support research not only increases learning experiences, but builds intellectual capacity through sharing knowledge. Networks play an important role in capacity building through developing research skills, and exchanging, developing and enhancing practice knowledge.


Our procurement strategies encourage better linkage between academia and practice because we know that this enhances research, and that the most useful results come from research that is close to practice, through engaging researchers, policy makers, service providers and consumers. We support research that aims to apply evidence to practice so we measure partnerships, and collaborations to see how our investment in research is enhanced.


Figure 16: Patterns of funding 2006 to 2010, classified by Common Scientific Outline (KPI 2.3)

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KPI 3: Measuring the quality, success and influence of research Peer reviewed publications and conference presentations are traditional methods accepted as key measures of research success and quality. As a community-based organisation and funders of research, it is also the responsibility of CCNSW to ensure that the results of the research we support are communicated to all stakeholders, and in a way that demonstrates its importance.

KPI 4: Measuring the talent pipeline We actively measure how we support the talent pipeline to ensure that appropriate skills are being developed in research through training, creating opportunities and building confidence. We do this because we know that skill development in research increases research productivity.

Table 3: Publications by grant type 2006-2010 (KPI 3.1)


Mean no.

publications

per year/grant

Impact Factor:

Mean

Citations:

Mean

% of

publications

that met

expected

citation at 1 yr

Program Grants 6.06 8.37 7.78 37%

STREP Grants 2.33 5.8 4.47 50%

Project Grants 0.69 8.91 7.42 57%

No.

publications

Mean no.

publications

per year of

grant

Total Impact

Factor

Impact Factor:

Mean

Impact Factor:

Range

Total citations Citations:

Mean

Citations:

Range

2006 Program Grants 91 6.06 711.65 8.37 35.66 638 7.78 35.18

2006 ‐ 2008 Project Grants 114 0.69 479.82 8.91 34.71 408.46 7.42 30

2009 Project Grants (YR 2) 12 0.38 104.93 10.49 45.45 30 2.73 6

2010 Project Grants (YR 1) 3 0.38 12.34 6.17 3.34 1 1 1

2006 STREP Grants 35 2.33 185.49 5.8 35.8 143 4.47 11

2008 STREP Grants (YR 3) 25 2.77 75.83 3.79 9.03 91 3.79 20

% ECR funded 2006-2010

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%

18%

ECR as a ECR as Chief Investigator Chief Investigator A (Not Chief Investigator A)


15


KPI 5: Measuring transparency CCNSW encourages transparent use and publication of research indicators to demonstrate how our funding serves our underlying purpose of defeating cancer. It means that we expose our measures and assumptions about performance to public scrutiny and welcome feedback.

Measuring the level of funding and sustainability of CCNSW research KPI Indicator Goal Goal Status

1.1 CCNSW position as the largest non-government funder of cancer research in NSW retained

CCNSW rank ≤ 5 in the largest cancer re-search funding charities in NSW

1.2 Current level of funding allo-cated to cancer research main-tained

20% of annual budget dedicated to re-search (measured as a proportion of total expendi-ture, net of fundraising costs)

Measuring the linkages and connection between research and practice KPI2 Indicator Goal Goal Status

2.1 Evidence of supporting multidis-ciplinary research teams

100% of teams funded at > 300k p.a. will be multidisciplinary

2.2 Evidence of research involving consumers

% of funding decisions will involve input from a trained consumer representative

2.3 Evidence of research procure-ment towards the application of research

>50% of funding distributed across early detection, diagnosis, prognosis; treatment; cancer control, survivorship and outcomes; and research scientific model systems

Measuring the quality, success and influence of research KPI 3 Indicator Goal Goal Status 3.1 Evidence of productivity and

contribution to knowledge and evidences

Project grants: 0.67 per project per year of funding

Program grants: 3 publications per year of funding

STREP grants: 3 publications per year of funding

3.2 Evidence of influence on knowl-edge and evidence

50% of articles published will meet ex-pected or baseline citation rates within their field

Measuring the talent pipeline KPI4 Indicator Goal Goal Status 4.1 Evidence of providing funding

opportunities for early career researchers

5% of research projects will have an early career researcher as a chief investigator

Measuring transparency KPI5 Indicator Goal Goal Status 5.1 Evidence of research evaluation 100% of indicators reported

Key KPI goal reached Significant progress made towards KPI goal

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Research outcomes

17

Research outcomes

Strategic Research Partnership Grants

Many of the research projects funded by CCNSW are undertaken as part of our Strategic Research Partnership (STREP) program. The aim of the STREP program is to fund projects that will make fundamental game-changing contributions to science. The grants are designed to assist clinical research teams to collaborate and to provide the environment they need to undertake discovery research and solve the high-priority research questions that have a tangible impact on cancer control. STREP grants are not purely investigator driven, but involve consensus and collaboration between all key stakeholders to address the challenge of capacity building in under-resourced areas of cancer research. STREP grants are five-year collaborative research ventures with multidisciplinary and clinical groups. The grants involve three stages, with the aim being to accelerate the uptake of new research findings into clinical practice (translational research), particularly for those cancers with poor outcomes and where funding through other mechanisms has lagged behind the clinical need. Stage 1 – Foundation stage Researchers assemble groundbreaking teams and develop the potential for broader

collaboration Core research agenda is developed and implemented Stage 2 – Consensus building for research prioritisation CCNSW undertakes an evidence-based review of science and practice CCNSW and the research team identify high-priority research objectives with input from experts in the field, cancer patients and carers Stage 3 – Research procurement CCNSW develops a research procurement strategy to address the objectives identified in Stage 2

18

Research outcomes

STREP grant case study: New South Wales Pancreatic Cancer Network In the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) call for 2006 Project Grants, there were only a few pancreatic cancer applications. In the same year, at a time when pancreatic cancer research was underfunded and under resourced, CCNSW commenced a Strategic Research Partnership (STREP) with a research group led by Professor Andrew Biankin at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. The partnership was called the New South Wales Pancreatic Cancer Network (NSWPCN). The aims of the core research project (Stage 1) were to develop a clinical and scientific network in pancreatic cancer, with a central website to support the network; to standardise collection and storage of clinical data and specimens and facilitate patient participation in pancreatic cancer clinical trials. In Stage 2, CCNSW, the NSWPCN, experts in the field and consumer representatives developed a set of research priorities. The priorities were set through thoughtful consultation including a review of recent progress in literature, structured interviews with Australian and international participants, a Delphi Process with 30 national experts, consumer focus groups and finally, a nominal group process with 18 pancreatic cancer experts. What we aimed to identify here was a set of research questions, which if we were able to answer in the next five to ten years, would make a sizable impact in this field of research.

Stage 2 Pancreatic cancer research priorities Define genetic and environmental factors which influence the overall risk and natural history of pancreatic cancer Define markers of prognosis and therapeutic responsiveness which will facilitate the development of stratified and ultimately personalised therapies for pancreatic cancer Develop a better understanding of tumour biology including that of the normal pancreas, and pancreatic carcinogenesis The development and assessment of novel therapies and therapeutic strategies for pancreatic cancer Validate the optimal / timely / consistent management for all stages of pancreatic cancer Define the most common disease- and treatment-related sequelae of pancreatic cancer on patients and their carers, and identify strategies for managing them Develop strategies to identify patients with pancreatic cancer at a potentially curable stage

In Stage 3, our aim was to develop procurement strategies and fund projects answering these research questions. We did this in a number of ways including funding Innovator Grants in pancreatic cancer and supporting the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC).

19

Research outcomes

Return on Investment In 2006, our initial investment in the NSWPCN was $1.5 million. Since then, Professor Biankin has leveraged just over $62.5 million in additional funding for pancreatic cancer research in Australia and the total CCNSW investment in pancreatic cancer is now over $3.5 million. A large part of this achievement is attributed to a successful bid for the ICGC project. This is an ambitious biomedical and clinical research study involving some of the world’s leading scientists working together to better understand the genetic changes associated with 50 of the most common cancer types. Australia is part of an international consortium which is mapping the pancreatic cancer genome. This is already allowing for the development of better ways of diagnosing this cancer earlier, providing individualised treatment, and we hope it will help us understand how to prevent this cancer in the future. The Australian scientific team is led by Professor Biankin and Professor Sean Grimmond from the Institute of Molecular Biosciences at the University of Queensland. To facilitate the work of the Australian team, the NSWPCN was extended nationally, including an additional $2.5 million in funding from CCNSW.

About the ICGC

Through the ICGC, the NSWPCN funded by CCNSW has extended to al-most all capital cities in Australia and also brings in collaborations with Can-ada, Italy and USA. The project is con-cerned with primary operable pancreatic cancer and the “genome journey” tracks along the “patient journey” up to the point of operation. At this point DNA and RNA are sent to Brisbane where researchers sequence and conduct bioinformatic analysis, up to the point where they identify and validate muta-tions. This is where ICGC responsibili-ties end, the question is how can we take this further to make a difference to pa-tients, sooner?

$0

$200,000

$400,000

$600,000

$800,000

$1,000,000

$1,200,000

$1,400,000

$1,600,000

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Figure 18: CCNSW investment in pancreatic cancer research 2006 - 2010

Research expenditure

Year

20

Research outcomes

Knowledge and discovery Since the creation of the NSWPCN, 75,000 archival tissue blocks over 15 different pancreatic disease types, from benign to invasive, have been collected. 2206 participants in the network’s database. We support infrastructure development so that new discoveries can be made through research. The collection of biospecimens through the NSWPCN has resulted in eight well-characterised cohorts with detailed clinical information and follow-up has been constructed into tissue micro-arrays including: 2 Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasm (IPMN cohort) 12 Ductal Adenocarcinoma (Validation cohort) 3 Ductal Adenocarcinoma (Training set) 1 Pancreatic Intraepithelial Neoplasia (PanIn) 1 Solid Pseudopapillary Neoplasm 3 Ampullary Carcinoma (Ampullary cohort) 3 Neuroendocrine Tumour Arrays 2 Chronic Pancreatitis Arrays Prospective studies using biospecimens collected through the network include: 176 EUS/FNA samples 520 Frozen fresh tissue samples 62 Blood samples

The NSWPCN Bio-resource has become a member of the Australasian Biospecimen Net-work, where details on the NSWPCN are able to be viewed at http://www.abrn.net/links.htm. The bio-resource has supported seven external research projects via requests for archival tis-sue microarrays and data.


No. of

samples

Cohort

21

Research outcomes

The network has fostered fruitful collaborations between different research groups across NSW and Australia and means that we now have a healthy pancreatic research environment which supports discovery. This also meant that in 2009 when CCNSW called for Innovator Grants in Pancreatic Cancer, we received 22 applications, a stark contrast to the few applications seen in the 2006 NHMRC Project Grant round. Innovator Grants are one year grants designed to encourage researchers to try out new research ideas with a degree of risk beyond that normally accepted in grant funding schemes. The response was so great that we also had to develop a novel review system, as every researcher with an interest in pancreatic cancer had applied for the grants, leaving no reviewers without a conflict of interest. We were able to fund six Innovator Grants in Pancreatic Cancer, which commenced between November 2009 and June 2010 and focused on discovery. We will measure the success of these grants by their research outputs and their ability to leverage additional funding through the NHMRC and CCNSW Project Grant rounds for research starting in 2012. While this evaluation will take place in early 2012, we have already seen some very promising findings from the projects.

Thought leadership

Professor Andrew Biankin has shown remarkable leadership in mobilising resources to create a well functioning and well governed bio-specimen resource for all pancreatic cancer researchers. The Chief Investigator team is multi-disciplinary with expertise in both basic science and clinical research, and the staff employed through the grant are well known as leaders in bio-specimen collection. Professor Biankin’s leadership is evidenced by 12 invited presentations over the past five years, including a presentation to an interna-tional audience at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting.

22

Research outcomes

What has made this project so successful?

The pancreatic cancer research environment in Australia is far more positive today than when we commenced this strategic partnership in 2006. The factors that have made this partnership successful have been Leadership from the Chief Investigator, the research team and CCNSW Strategic research investment by committing to and supporting priority-driven research A whole of organisation approach adding value by using the talent and resources within CCNSW Community support from donations which allow us to fund research at a level which leads to real-life outcomes CCNSW will continue to fund Andrew Biankin through the ICGC and a new 2011 STREP grant in genomic theranostics. Genomics can overcome some of the challenges in cancer treatment, particularly the heterogeneity of cancer, and as we start to measure more deeply into the cancer, we start to realise just how different they are. With this knowledge comes the need to focus research into how to treat cancers, and Professor Biankin and his team are beginning to understand how we might do this in pancreatic cancer.

Key: Country of first author

Figure 20: Citations tree from Hudson TJ, Anderson W, Aretz A et al. International network of cancer genome projects. Nature 2010: 464 (7291); 993-998.

USA Greece

Switzerland Germany

Spain France

Russia United Kingdom

Netherlands Canada

Japan Australia

23

Research outcomes

Research outcomes

In broad terms, the day that we start to use pancreatic cancer genomes in clinical practice is even closer than we thought. At the beginning of the project, we could only imagine getting information that would be useful for pancreatic cancer patients while they were still alive, but early data from the ICGC is starting to identify targetable mutations that allows us to deal with issues around how this information is reported back to patients and also, allows the research group to test some alternative therapies in animals. Each patient in the study has a genome report and the research team is trying to develop a pathology report which will guide clinicians in the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

CCNSW involvement In cancer research, funding bodies are often at arms length to the research team, however, this is where CCNSW and STREP grants are different. By working with the research community, thinking strategically about where to invest research dollars in pancreatic cancer through the Stage 2 process and identifying appropriate mechanisms through Stage 3 procurement, we are able to mitigate risk and increase the probability of success. Because we support research that has a practical application to patients and their carers, we also look beyond the research questions and aim to leverage the talent and programs within the organisation. Additional funding through Cancer Australia’s Building Cancer Support Networks Program Grant enabled CCNSW, in collaboration with the NSWPCN, to undertake a research project to improve our understanding of the support and information needs of pancreatic cancer patients, their families and carers. The project involved analysing the support and information needs of those affected by this cancer and then developing and evaluating models of supportive care for them. The data were then used to develop a range of support tools tailored to their specific needs, including printed information booklets, multimedia tools, an online forum, telephone support groups, voluntary peer support and establishment of local community support groups.

24

Research outcomes

Program Grants CCNSW provided four Program Grants between 2006 and 2010 to research groups in NSW who have a track record of excellence and a focus on high impact research of undoubted scientific significance in cancer. Program Grants support broad-based, collaborative research by large, multi-disciplinary teams and encourage long-term studies for a period of up to five years. Program Grants are designed to provide funding security to such teams, enhance their productivity, and support a freedom and flexibility of enquiry beyond that achievable through other types of grants. Program Grants provide longer term funding to an individual or a group of outstanding investigators focussed on specific research questions in a defined field of cancer research. They are available for research into all aspects of cancer, including its cause, mechanism, prevention, treatment and care, and the organisation and performance of cancer control services. Program Grants are only awarded to research groups with an excellent track record among their peers internationally, and are renewable only through reapplication in the open competitions at the conclusion of the grant period.

Program grant case study Alternative lengthening of telomeres: a target for cancer treatment Normal somatic cells reproduce themselves a finite number of times, whereas cancer cells can undergo unlimited proliferation and hence are described as being immortalised. Cancer cell immortality is therefore an ideal target for the development of cancer treatments that are expected to be effective against most types of cancer, and are expected to have few side-effects on normal cells, which are not immortalised. When Professor Roger Reddel commenced his research in this area over two decades ago, cancer cell immortalisation was regarded by most cancer researchers as a phenomenon of laboratory cell culture research, and irrelevant to real cancers. It is now widely accepted as one of the key features of cancer.

From left to right: Professor Roger Reddel and Associate Professor Tracy Bryan

25

Research outcomes

Knowledge and discovery Professor Reddel and his team have made outstanding contributions to all areas of immortalisation research. They have shown the relevance of key tumour suppressor genes to immortalisation, and that the overwhelming majority of cancers depend on one of two telomere length maintenance mechanisms for their continued growth. Telomeres are the ends of chromosomes, and proliferation of normal cells is accompanied by telomere shortening. Cancer cells have two ways of avoiding telomere shortening, hereby attaining unlimited growth: the enzyme telomerase, or Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres (ALT). Professor Reddel and his team discovered ALT, and have subsequently made many of the most important discoveries about it, including its molecular nature, how to inhibit it, how to diagnose its presence in tumours, types of tumours that use it, and the effects of ALT on patient outcomes. Notably, they recently developed an assay that can be used as a blood test for the presence of ALT-positive tumours anywhere in the body, and is suitable for screening chemicals to find ALT inhibitors. The team has also advanced the study of telomerase to the point where rational design of telomerase inhibitors will be possi-ble in the near future. Professor Reddel's work has given us the very real possibility of being able to attack cancer cells at points that fundamentally differentiate them from normal cells and are critical to their continuing existence. It has great potential for yielding highly effective treatments for most types of cancer. Professor Reddel also has a proven record of productivity. This is reflected in a large number of high quality publications in a wide range of journals. Importantly, his research is presented in broad topic scientific journals due to its impact on forefront scientific thinking. There is a momentum within Professor Reddel’s program of work which has been built up over many years of careful strategic planning and successful research. Cellular immortalisation is a major hallmark of cancer and is a fiercely competitive area of research internationally. Professor Reddel is an outstanding researcher and the world leader in the field of ALT telomere maintenance, a centrally-important field in cancer science. The research that he is conducting will advance the field to a significant extent and has major implications for cancer treatment and healthcare.

Telomere staining of a human chromosome

26

Research outcomes

Key: Country of first author

Figure 21: Citations tree from Cesare AJ, Reddel RR. Alternative lengthening of telomeres: Models, mechanisms and implications. Nature Reviews Genetics 2010: 11; 319-330.

USA France

South Korea United Kingdom

Japan Czech Republic

Italy Canada

India Australia

27

Research outcomes

Thought leadership Professor Reddel's leadership capacity was recognised by his appointment as Director of Children's Medical Research Institute in 2007 after an international search. Since that time he has successfully led rapid changes within the organisation to prepare it for a sustained period of growth. He also plays a leading role in the Westmead Research Hub, one of the most successful medical research precincts in NSW, and in planning the formation of a paediatric translational cancer research centre. Professor Reddel's leadership is also illustrated in the establishment of CellBank Australia. His own research program has relied heavily on high quality cell culture, and he has had a long-term commitment to quality control of cell lines, including those entering his laboratory from other sources. The latter alerted him to what he now considers to be widespread problems with the quality of cell culture practices in many Australian (and overseas) laboratories, and the risk that extensive amounts of research effort and funding will be wasted on misidentified or contaminated cell lines. His response was to obtain funding from a variety of agencies including Cure Cancer Australia Foundation, National Breast Cancer Foundation, and National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), to set up CellBank Australia in order to help improve the quality of cell culture-based research nationally. NHMRC and Cancer Institute NSW are currently providing ongoing infrastructure funding for this venture, which has documented the extent of the problem and is making substantial inroads into it. A CellBank Australia staff member has also recently co-led an international initiative to alert researchers about misidentified cell lines. A further example of his national leadership has been the establishment of a biennial telomere research conference, the Australian Telomere Workshop. He chaired the organising committee for the first of these conferences in 2002, and has progressively transferred the conference organisation to young scientists as part of his mentoring activities. The conference typically attracts 50-60 telomere researchers from around Australia. An example of Professor Reddel's international leadership is his service on the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) of Keystone Symposia, a not for profit organisation that convenes approximately 60 conferences that are held primarily in North America, but with a progressive increase in the number of other locations, on subjects throughout the biomedical sciences and other life sciences. The SAB's role is to plan conference programs that are cutting-edge and address emerging areas of research, with a particular emphasis on novel topics and cross-disciplinary mixing of subject areas. Professor Reddel successfully proposed a conference at the intersection of the telomere biology and DNA repair fields, and chaired the organising committee for the resulting conference which was held in Australia in 2009. He has subsequently been asked to convene an Australian subcommittee that will help promote Australian life sciences research internationally under the auspices of Keystone Symposia. He is a member of the organising committee for the most prestigious international conference in his field, the biennial Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Conference on Telomeres and Telomerase, for 2011, 2013, and 2015.

28

Research outcomes

Application of research Professor Reddel's early research identified cancer cell immortalisation as a key step in the overall process whereby normal cells become cancerous. At that time, however, the mainstream opinion was that immortalisation was only important in cell culture carcinogenesis experiments, and that it had no role in tumours in vivo. In addition, Professor Reddel has advanced this field by writing several key review articles that provide a theoretical understanding describing why immortalisation is required for carcinogenesis in vivo, with some mathematical analysis of the effects of cell death and clonal evolution within tumours. His work, and that of others, has also advanced the field of immortalisation research by providing an understanding of how inactivation of the p53 and Rb/p16INK4a TSG pathways contributes to immortalisation. Changes in these pathways are among the most common changes in all cancers. By discovering ALT with PhD student Tracy Bryan, Professor Reddel spawned an entirely new area of research within the overall fields of telomere biology and immortalisation research. This has now become a very active research area, with different laboratories using a variety of model organisms and techniques. The Reddel group and collaborating laboratories have made many of the key follow-up discoveries regarding ALT, and Professor Reddel is still regarded internationally as the leader of this field of research.

29

Research outcomes

The identification of the molecular subunits of the active human telomerase enzyme complex by Dr Scott Cohen in Professor Reddel's team came 22 years after the initial discovery of telomerase by Professors Elizabeth Blackburn and Carol Greider (2009 Nobel Laureates in Medicine) in a unicellular organism. The reason that many other groups had not succeeded previously is that telomerase is one of the least abundant proteins known. The Reddel team made a number of technical advances in order to achieve this, and the resulting discoveries have opened up the possibility of designing much more potent telomerase inhibitors for cancer treatment. The long-term outcome of Roger's work is the potential to develop broad-spectrum anticancer treatments that may be useful for essentially all types of cancer. Professor Reddel decided to focus his investigations on immortalisation because it appeared to be one of the few characteristics that clearly distinguish cancer from normal cells, therefore offering a potential target for developing treatments that prevent the continued proliferation of cancer cells while having little effect on normal cells, and hence producing fewer side-effects than conventional chemotherapies. There are very few cancers that do not utilise telomerase or ALT to sustain their proliferation, and it has been demonstrated in laboratory experiments that inhibiting these telomere maintenance mechanisms by genetic manipulations prevents growth of cancer cells. Professor Reddel and his team not only discovered ALT but have also subsequently obtained enough additional data about its molecular details to develop an assay that is suitable for screening chemicals to find ALT inhibitors. The tumour types where ALT is common are among the most aggressive and difficult to treat. The team has also advanced the study of telomerase to the point where rational design of telomerase inhibitors will be possible in the near future. The potential long-term impact of Professor Reddel’s work is therefore improved treatments for most types of cancer.

Bone cancer cells that use the ALT mechanism for immortal growth

30

Research outcomes

Project Grants

Researchers working in NSW institutions are eligible to apply for CCNSW Project Grants which are awarded annually for periods of up to three years. CCNSW applicants submit their applications to the NHMRC, adhering to both the NHMRC and CCNSW guidelines. All cancer research grant applications are reviewed and ranked via the NHMRC Project Grant process. Applications are allocated to Grant Review Panels (GRPs) based on the Field of Research selected by applicants and will be assessed by one GRP member and two external assessors. When applicants receive their assessment reports they will be given an opportunity to respond to GRP questions and the external peer assess-ment. CCNSW believes it is important that researchers and the community value the research it supports. Since funding for external research is primarily resourced from donations from the general public, striking a balance between funding research that has significant scientific merit, and research that is especially relevant to the community will help ensure that CCNSW responds to the genuine requirements of the community that finances it. CCNSW requires applicants to complete a Consumer Review Form and all applications are also reviewed by a Consumer Review Panel (CRP) that apply the consumer relevance criteria and determine a score and ranking. Equal weighting is given to the scientific review score and the consumer review score in determining the final rankings of applications.

2011 CCNSW Annual Research Awards

31

Research outcomes

Project grant case study: Nicotinamide protection from ultraviolet radiation-induced skin carcinogenesis in humans Non-melanoma skin cancer is Australia’s most common cancer, with a lifetime risk for Aus-tralians of more than 60%. The work of Associate Professor Diona Damian and Professor Gary Halliday at the University of Sydney aimed to determine whether nicotinamide (vitamin B3) can effectively prevent the cancer-promoting , immune suppressive effects of ultraviolet (UV) radiation on human skin. It also aimed to establish whether nicotinamide influences UV-induced DNA damage and mutagenesis and to determine the molecular mechanisms by which nicotinamide is photoprotective. CCNSW has supported this work since 2008, and to date the research team has reported pre-liminary findings in human volunteers suggesting that nicotinamide has the potential to significantly reduce the incidence of skin cancer. Results from their work have indicated that nicotinamide is highly immune protective when used as either a lotion or a tablet. They have also tested the effects of specific UV wavebands on the skin, and found that both UVB (which causes sunburn) and UVA were highly immunosuppressive, and that nicotinamide provided comparable protection against both. Knowledge and discovery

Associate Professor Damian and Professor Halliday have published several papers in the Jour-nal of Investigative Dermatology, the most highly ranked Dermatology journal. It is evident from these and other papers that they play an important role in experimental studies and are leaders with their innovative work in nicotinamide. With sound clinical and experimental findings and an extensive past collaboration, Associate Professor Damian and Professor Halliday are evident leaders of dermatological research in Australia. Associate Professor Damian and Professor Halliday have conducted experiments in human cells and in human skin showing that nicotinamide boosts cellular energy levels, en-hancing the skin’s ability to repair DNA damaged by exposure to both UVA and UVB. The scientific rigour of the research has given the team confidence that nicotinamide will be a safe and effective agent for skin cancer prevention.

Their clinical trials to date have shown that nicotinamide lotion reduces precancerous actinic keratoses (AKs) in heavily sundamaged individuals and a double-blinded, randomised con-trolled trial using nicotinamide tablets has shown that after only two months, nicotinamide 500mg twice daily reduces AKs by 35% compared to placebo. The team have also completed a second randomised trial, using nicotinamide 500mg once daily and found similar protective effects against AKs at this lower dose. They then counted new skin cancers in the placebo and nicotinamide groups during these four-month studies; in this study 30% of placebo treated patients developed at least one new skin cancer, with a total of 20 new cancer arising in this group. In contrast, only 4 cancers developed in 5% of patients taking nicotinamide. These studies will now lead into a phase III randomised controlled trial.

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Research outcomes

Thought leadership

Associate Professor Damian was Convenor of the 2008 Australasian College of Dermatologists Annual Scientific Meeting, with responsibility for the scientific and social program for more than 700 delegates, including 400 dermatologists. She recently served as Co-Convenor of the 4th Meeting of Interdisciplinary Melanoma / Skin Cancer Centres, Sydney 2010, convened a full day Melanoma Update for Primary Care Clinicians running during the same meeting and was a member of the Local Organising Committee for the con-current 7th International Congress of the Society for Melanoma Research. Together these melanoma meetings attracted more than 950 delegates. Associate Professor Damian is an Associate Member of the Melanoma Institute Australia and serves on its Research Committee, is a Director on the Board of the Skin and Cancer Foundation, and Board Member of the Dermatology Research Foundation and the Australasian Society for Dermatology Research. Diona serves on the Editorial Board of the Australasian Journal of Dermatology, is Convener of the Australasian College of Dermatologists Scientific Advisory Committee, and has been the College’s representative of Standards Australia Committee CS/42 (Sunscreen Agents) for the past ten years. CCNSW has included her in its Skin Cancer Reference Group and she features in the Cancer Council’s Sun Sound and Sun Smart for Teachers campaigns. This year gave the keynote address at the Cancer Council’s largest NSW Relay for Life event. Diona Damian runs busy general dermatology clinics at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, with an emphasis on the management of patients with large numbers of skin cancers and severe actinic field change. She also sees patients with locally recurrent and cutaneously metastatic melanoma in her topical immunotherapy clinics, and runs a weekly photodynamic therapy clinic for skin cancer patients. Her work showing the immune suppressive effects of even low dose UV on human skin, and the importance of using broad spectrum sunscreens in order to reduce UV immunosuppression, has been translated into standard clinical practice for Austra-lian dermatologists. Her topical immunotherapy protocols for recurrent melanoma are now being adopted in other Australian states, in the UK, Italy and the USA.

Associate Professor Diona Damian

Professor Gary Halliday

33

Research outcomes

Application of research The prevention of non-melanoma skin cancers is particularly relevant in Australia due to the high incidence and economic burden of these cancers in the Australian population. Diona and Gary’s work recognises that sunscreens are not as effective at screening UVA as UVB, and therefore, sunscreens might be improved by adding nicotinamide. In a relatively short period of time, the team have confirmed the effectiveness of nicotinamide in protecting from a range of immune suppression models and discovered its effects on UV induced mutagenesis and molecular changes in humans. This is a an excellent example of translational research, with nicotinamide now ready for large scale clinical trials of its efficacy in skin cancer prevention. The results from their work are very promising and if successful are likely to influence current practice using a readily avail-able and affordable protective agent.

Nicotinamide also has the potential to have a profound impact on clinical practice for individuals at high risk of skin cancer, and to enable further research to assess low-dose supplementation and ultimately dietary fortification with nicotinamide in those at more moderate skin cancer risk. As a nontoxic and widely available agent, nicotinamide can rapidly become a standard component of the skin cancer prevention strategy of all clinicians treating patients with skin cancer.

Treatment of non-melanoma skin cancer in Australia currently costs upwards of $300 million per year. If nicotinamide reduces skin cancer by ≥50% as the research team anticipates, and was initially used by even 10% of the at-risk population, this would conservatively translate to ongoing healthcare savings of more than $15 million each year.

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Research outcomes

Consumer participation in research Since 2005, CCNSW has delivered a formal process engaging consumers in external research funding decisions. The Consumer Participation in Research Program has evolved over the past five years, including but not limited to the development of specific consumer review criteria and the training and convening of a consumer panel in the assessment of research applications on behalf of cancer consumers and the wider community. In 2010, CCNSW commissioned an external evaluation of the program which aimed to guide future policy decisions. Throughout the evaluation, all stakeholders commented that the CCNSW Consumer Review Training was an excellent example of consumer training and provided a unique opportunity for consumers. Some of the agreed areas of improvement included a need to better identify and respond to the needs of consumers, provide more opportunities for involvement, increase recruitment of interested consumers to ameliorate ‘burn out’ with current consumers and develop better guiding principles and policies for consumer involvement. It was also recommended that a framework for consumer involvement in research be developed through the working group. Through our own internal evaluation, CCNSW has monitored how the consumer review affects Project Grant outcomes. Over the past five years, we have seen little variance between the NHMRC and Consumer Review Panel scores.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Average NHMRC score

Average consumer score

Figure 22: Comparison of NHMRC and Consumer Review Panel Scores

0

1

2

3

4

5

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2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Unsuccessful Project Grants Successful Project Grants

35

Appendices

36

1 References

Australian Government, Cancer Australia. Cancer research in Australia: An overview of

cancer research projects and research programs in Australia 2003 to 2005. Canberra: Austra-

lian Government, 2006.

Australian Research Council. Canberra: Australian Government, 2010. Available at: http://

www.arc.gov.au/xls/ERA2010_discipline_matrices.xls.

Cancer Institute NSW Annual Report 2010. Sydney: Cancer Institute NSW, 2010.

National Health and Medical Research Council. Canberra: Australian Government, 2010.

Available at: http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/grants/research-funding-statistics-and-data/funding-

asets/cancer-0.

Tracey E, Kerr T, Dobrovic A, Currow D. Cancer in New South Wales: Incidence and

Mortality Report 2008. Sydney: Cancer Institute NSW, 2010.s

37

2 Methods and data sources

Figure or Table Data source NotesFigure 1: Distribution of funds to administering institutions 2006-2010

CCNSW TM1 Research Cube Original grant application. Administering Institution field.

All external research expenditure between 2006 and 2010 was included. Administering institutions listed on grants commencing between 2006 and 2010 were included.


Original grant application. Facilitating Institution or Actual Institution fields. Australian Bureau of Statistics Population by Age and Sex, Regions of Australia (cat. no. 3235.0) Table 6. Estimated Resident Population by Age, New South Wales, Persons – 30 June 2009

Facilitating institutions listed on grants commencing between 2006 and 2010 were included.


Figure 4: Number of Institutions per project and no. of investigators 2006-2010

Original grant application. Facilitating Institution or Actual Institution fields. Original grant application. Chief Investigator fields

Facilitating institutions and Chief Investigators listed on grants commencing between 2006 and 2010 were included. Associate Investigators were not included in the number of investigators calculation.


CCNSW TM1 Research Cube

All external research expenditure between 2006 and 2010 was included.



All external research expenditure between 2006 and 2010 was included. Fields of research was classified by NHMRC Burden of Disease Reference List, Level 3 Classification


CCNSW TM1 Research Cube Mortality data extracted from Tracey E, Kerr T, Dobrovic A, Currow D. Cancer In NSW: Incidence and Mortality Report 2008. Sydney: Cancer Institute NSW, August 2010.


CCNSW TM1 Research Cube Incidence data extracted from Tracey E, Kerr T, Dobrovic A, Currow D. Cancer In NSW: Incidence and Mortality Report 2008. Sydney: Cancer Institute NSW, August 2010.

38


Figure or Table Data source NotesFigure 9: Patterns of funding 2006-2010 classified by Common Scientific Outline

Original application form (Program and STREP grants), Cancer Council Supplementary Questions form (Project Grants)

Broad Common Scientific Outline codes for grants commencing between 2006 and 2010 were collected from original application forms. Codes were recorded by main Common Scientific Outline categories and analysed in Microsoft Excel.


Original application form. Track record field.

Chief Investigators listed on grants commencing between 2006 and 2010 were included. Associate Investigators were not included.


Original application form. Researcher Name field.


Researcher qualifications and year of qualification were extracted from the original grant application.

Early Career Researcher status was classified as researchers with seven or less years post-doctoral experience or between seven or less years post MBBS qualification at the time of application.


NHMRC figure extracted from http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/grants/dataset/disease/cancer.php Cancer Australia provided information on the Priority-driven Collaborative Cancer Research Scheme. Cancer Institute NSW figure extracted from the Cancer Institute NSW 2009-10 Annual Report.

The NHMRC publishes a full list of cancer funding statistics through its National Health Priority Areas reporting. ‘State’ and ‘year’ field were used to filter for NSW-only results.


CCNSW figure from CCNSW TM1 Research Cube

The CCNSW total expenditure is net of fundraising costs but includes administrative costs.


Original grant application. Chief Investigator fields Multidisciplinary teams were classified by the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) 2010 Disciplinary Matrices. www.arc.gov.au/xls/ERA2010_discipline_matrices.xls Multidisciplinary is defined as three or more disciplines.

Chief Investigators listed on grants commencing between 2006 and 2010 were included. Associate Investigators were not included. Discipline was determined by the Chief Investigator’s department, verified by most relevant and significant publications that relate to the application and classified according to ERA 2010 Disciplinary Matrices.

39


Figure or Table Data source NotesFigure 16: Patterns of funding 2006-2010 by Common Scientific Outline (KPI 2.3)


Broad Common Scientific Outline codes for grants commencing between 2006 and 2010 were collected from original application forms. Codes were recorded by main Common Scientific Outline categories and analysed in Microsoft Excel.


Researcher qualifications and year of qualification were extracted from the original grant application.

Early Career Researcher status was classified as researchers with seven or less years post-doctoral experience or between seven or less years post MBBS qualification at the time of application.

Figure 18: CCNSW Investment in Pancreatic Cancer Research 2006 - 2010


External research expenditure between 2006 and 2010 was included.


NSW Pancreatic Cancer Network 2010 Annual Progress Report

Nil

Figure 20: Citation tree Citations tree Hudson TJ, Anderson W, Aretz A et al.

Web of Science Web of Science was used to calculate journal impact factors (at 2009) and provided the tools to develop the citation trees of those selected publications.

Figure 21: Citations tree Cesare AJ, Reddel RR.

Figure 22: Comparison of NHMRC and Consumer Review Panel Scores

Cancer Research Committee – meeting papers

The Cancer Research Committee formally reviews funding applications that have been assigned a weighting and ranking against both scientific merit and consumer criteria, and makes final funding recommendations to the Cancer Council NSW Board.



All internal and external research expenditure between 2006 and 2010 was included.


Cancer Research Committee – meeting minutes

40


Figure or Table Data source NotesTable 3: Publications by grant type 2006-2010 (KPI 3.1)

Annual Progress Reports Publications from each grant were provided through the Annual Progress report. Only publications that were relevant to the funded project were included in the review. Where it was not clear if a publication related to the funded project, researchers were contacted to verify the relevance.

To determine total citations for those particular publications stemming from the researchers’ CCNSW grant, Scopus was used in the first instance. If any publications were not available through Scopus, Web of Science was used. For some of the newly published research articles, Google Scholar was used to identify total citations. Web of Science was used to calculate journal impact factors (at 2009).


Table 5: Overview of all grants

Research inputs

Original grant application. Facilitating Institution or Actual Institution fields.

Original grant application. Chief Investigator fields

Research activity areas by Common scientific Outline


Research outputs

Annual Progress Reports and Final Reports, Researcher CVs

In relation to ‘Leveraged funding at completion of grant’, funding amount was included when the investigator was named as a Chief Investigator on subsequent grants for the same line of discovery research as the original CCNSW awarded grant.

41

3 NHMRC burden of disease reference list

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3Cancer and other malignant neoplasms Bone and connective tissue cancers Bone and connective tissue cancers

Brain cancer Brain cancer Breast cancer Breast cancer Childhood cancers (may include some leukaemia/ lymphoma and other cancer types)

Childhood cancers (may include some leukaemia/ lymphoma and other cancer types)Medulloblastoma Neuroblastoma Retinoblastoma

Colon Bowel ColonColorectal

Endocrine cancers Endocrine cancers Ovarian Pancreatic PituitaryTesticular Thyroid

Gastrointestinal cancers Gall bladder Gastrointestinal cancers Liver Oesophagus Stomach

Genitourinary cancers Bladder Genitourinary cancers Kidney

Gynaecological cancers CervicalGynaecological cancers Uterine

Haematological cancers Blood cancer (non-leukaemic) Haematological cancers Myeloma

Health system issues related to cancer Health system issues related to cancer Leukaemia Leukaemia Lung cancers Asbestosis

Lung cancers Mesothelioma

Lymphonas Hodgkin’s disease Lymphonas Non-Hodgkin’s lymphona

Melanoma Melanoma Mental health and psychosocial factors related to cancer

Mental health and psychosocial factors related to cancer

Other non-specific Basic Science cancer research

Other non-specific Basic Science cancer research

Other non-specific Clinical Science cancer research

Other non-specific Clinical Science cancer research

Prostate cancer Prostate cancer Public and population health related cancer issues

Public and population health related cancer issues

Skin cancers (non-melanoma) Basal cell carcinoma Head and neck cancers Skin cancers (non-melanoma) Squamous cell carcinoma

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4 Common Scientific Outline classification of cancer research

Biology 1.1 Normal functioning 1.2 Cancer initiation: Alterations in chromosomes 1.3 Cancer initiation: Oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes 1.4 Cancer progression and metastasis 1.5 Resources and infrastructure 1.6 Cancer related biology Aetiology 2.1 Exogenous factors in the origin and cause of cancer 2.2 Endogenous factors in the origin and cause of cancer 2.3 Interactions of genes and/or genetic polymorphisms with exogenous and/or

endogenous factors 2.4 Resources and infrastructure related to aetiology Prevention 3.1 Interventions to prevent cancer: Personal behaviours that affect cancer risk 3.2 Nutritional science in cancer prevention 3.3 Chemoprevention 3.4 Vaccines 3.5 Complementary and alternative prevention approaches 3.6 Resources and infrastructure related to prevention Early Detection, Diagnosis, and Prognosis 4.1 Technology development and/or marker discovery 4.2 Technology and/or marker evaluation with respect to fundamental parameters

of method 4.3 Technology and/or marker testing in a clinical setting 4.4 Resources and infrastructure related to detection, diagnosis, or prognosis Treatment 5.1 Localised therapies – Discovery and development 5.2 Localised therapies – Clinical 5.3 Systemic therapies – Discovery and development 5.4 Systemic therapies – Clinical applications 5.5 Combinations of localised and systemic therapies 5.6 Complementary and alternative treatment approaches 5.7 Resources and infrastructure related to treatmentCancer Control, Survivorship, and Outcomes Research 6.1 Patient care and survivorship issues 6.2 Surveillance 6.3 Behaviour related to cancer control 6.4 Cost analyses and healthcare delivery 6.5 Education and communication 6.6 End-of-Life care 6.7 Ethics and confidentiality in cancer research 6.8 Complementary and alternative approaches for supportive care of patients and

survivors 6.9 Resources and infrastructure related to cancer control, survivorship, and

outcomes research Scientific Model Systems 7.1 Development and characterisation of model systems 7.2 Application of model systems 7.3 Resources and infrastructure related to scientific model systems

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5 List of grants awarded 2006—2010

2006 Program Grants Philip Hogg, Ian Dawes, Richard Lock New arsenical-based cancer drugs. University of NSW CCNSW Program Grant 2006-2010

Murray Norris, Michelle Haber, Glenn Marshall, Maria Kavallaris Improved treatment outcomes for children with leukaemia. University of NSW CCNSW Program Grant 2006-2010

Roger Reddel Alternative lengthening of Telomeres: a target for cancer treatment. Children's Medical Research Institute CCNSW Program Grant 2006-2010 2006 Strategic Research Partnership Grants Andrew Biankin, James Kench, David Goldstein, Ross Smith, Minoti Apte, Garett Smith New South Wales Pancreatic Cancer Network. Garvan Institute of Medical Research CCNSW STREP Grant 2006-2010 Bettina Meiser, Elizabeth Lobb, Kathy Tucker, Lesley Andrews, Judy Kirk, Michael Friedlander, Shab Mireskandari, Nadine Kasparian Claire Wakefield Psychosocial impact of hereditary cancer and the development and evaluation of effective patient education and decision support strategies. University of NSW CCNSW STREP Grant 2006-2010 Robyn Ward, Nicholas Hawkins, Philip Hogg, Allan Spigelman The Colorectal Cancer Research Consortium: A model for the integration of biomedical research into patient care. University of NSW CCNSW STREP Grant 2006-2010 2006 Project Grants Michael Friedlander, Paul Vasey, Margaret Davy, Martin Buck, Michael Quinn, John Simes SCOTROC4—Carboplatin escalation in pa-tients with ovarian cancer. University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2006-2008 Natalka Suchowerska, George Hruby, Michael Jackson, Sue Law, David McKenzie Prostate cancer radiotherapy: Urethral dose measure-ments using fibre optic dosimetry. University of Sydney CCNSW 2006-2008 Samuel Breit, Pamela Russell The role of the TGF-b superfamily cytokine MIC-1 in the biology of cancer. University of NSW CCNSW Project Grant 2006-2008 Sharon Kilbreath, Judy Simpson, Leigh Ward, Jane Beith, Ross Hansen, Kathryn Refshauge Early exercise program for women following breast cancer surgery: A randomised controlled trial. University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2006-2008 Deborah Marsh, Robert Baxter Biomarkers of cell signalling pathways in ovarian cancer. University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2006-2008 Russell Hogg, Andreas Obermair, Anthony McCartney, Felix Chan, Monika Janda, Thomas Manolitsas Total Laparoscopic Hysterectomy (TLH) vs Total Abdominal Hysterectomy (TAH) for the treatment of endometrial cancer. University of NSW CCNSW Project Grant 2006-2007 Natalka Suchowerska, Chris Milross, Martin Ebert, Michael Jackson Radiobiological spatial model for radiation therapy. University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2006-2007 Simon Chapman, Wayne Hall Television news on health and medicine in Australia: Content, framing and impact. University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2006-2008 Beric Henderson Regulation of BARD1 localisation and apoptotic function in breast cancer. University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2006-2008 Graham Mann, Joanne Aitken, Helen Rizos, Richard Kefford Molecular genetics of melanoma predisposition. University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2006-2008 Alla Dolnikov, Richard Lock Targeting the IRF2 transcription factor to inhibit leukaemic cell growth. University of NSW CCNSW Project Grant 2006-2008 George Mendz, Hazel Mitchell, Stephen Riordan, Jani O’Rourke, Rohan Williams The role of pathogenic bacteria in hepatocarcinoma. University of NSW CCNSW Project Grant 2006-2008 Bettina Meiser, Martha Hickey, Michael Friedlander, Karen Luxford, Belinda Thewes, Michelle Peate Evaluation of a fertility-related deci-sion aid for young women with early breast cancer. University of NSW CCNSW Project Grant 2006-2008 Michael Boyer, Ian Olver, Guy Toner, Paul Maruff, Villis Marshall The effects of chemotherapy on cognitive function in patients with tes-ticular cancer. University of Sydney NSWCC Project Grant 2006-2008 Lyndal Trevena, Alexandra Barratt, Dean Christopher Del Mar, Kirsten McCaffery, Timothy Dobbins A randomised controlled trial of a meta-decision aid for evidence-based preventive activities in general practice. University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2006-2008 Barry Allen, Anne Hamilton, Peter Graham, John Thompson Response of metastatic melanoma to bi-fold targeted alpha therapy of tumour capillary pericytes and melanoma cells. University of NSW CCNSW Project Grant 2006-2008 Martin Tattersall, Michael Jefford, Ian Olver Enhancing cancer patient participation when discussing clinical trial enrolment: Evaluation of a question prompt list. University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2006-2007

44


2007 Project Grants Roger Daly Regulation of head and neck cancer cell growth. Garvan Institute of Medical Research CCNSW Project Grant 2007-2009 Robert Padbury, David Goldstein, David Grimes, Jeremy Shapiro Adjuvant chemotherapies in resectable pancreatic cancer (ESPAC-3 Pan-creatic Study). University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2007-2009 Daniel Sze, Ross Brown, Basil Roufogalis, Douglas Joshua Characterisation of cancer stem cells in myeloma leading to novel anti-tumour drug development. University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2007-2009 Robyn Ward, Megan Hitchins Methylation in sporadic colorectal cancer extends over a large chromosomal region. University of NSW CCNSW Project Grant 2007-2009 Christopher Ormandy, Matthew Naylor Does expression of the ets transcription factor Elf5 limit tumour progression? Garvan Institute of Medical Research CCNSW Project Grant 2007-2009 Peter Greer, Martin Ebert, Patricia Ostwald, Peter Lau, Sebastien Ourselin, James Denham High precision MRI based prostate radiotherapy. University of Newcastle CCNSW Project Grant 2007-2009 Helen Rizos, Richard Kefford The melanoma-associated ARF tumour suppressor modulates cell proliferation and apoptosis via target pro-tein sumoylation. University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2007-2009 Maria Kangas, Chris Milross Treatment of anxiety and depression in head and neck cancer patients. Macquarie University CCNSW Project Grant 2007-2009 Anna deFazio, Paul Harnett, Pamela Russell Chemo-sensitising pathways in ovarian cancer. University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2007-2009 Owen Ung, Neil Wetzig, Grantley Gill, John Collins, David Oliver, Ian Campbell SNAC2: A randomised trial of extending sentinel node based management to women with larger or multifocal breast cancers. University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2007-2009 Christopher Jordens, Ian Kerridge, Samantha Thomas, Stacy Carter, Paul Komesaroff A qualitative study of the experience of multiple mye-loma. University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2007-2009

Therese Becker, Graham Mann The tumour suppressor p16INK4a binds the chromatin remodelling factor BRG1 to regulate the cell cycle and senescence. University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2007-2009 David Gottlieb, Cameron Turtle A programme of clinical adoptive immunotherapy for treatment of Cytomegalovirus in stem cell transplant patients. University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2007-2009 Karen MacKenzie The role of p16INKa repression in telomere-driven karyotypic evolution and malignant progression. University of NSW CCNSW Project Grant 2007-2009 James Lyons, Christopher O’Brien, Gary Halliday Regulation of keratinocyte differentiation by Snail. University of Sydney CCNSW Pro-ject Grant 2007-2009 Rachel Ankeny, Ian Kerridge, Peter Shaw, Christopher Jordens, Stacy Carter, Tracey O’Brien Toward a best practice of emerging technolo-gies: PGD and HLA typing for paediatric transplantation. University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2007-2009 Kieran Scott, Qihan Dong, Garry Graham, Pamela Russell Secreted phospholipase A2 in prostate cancer. University of NSW CCNSW Project Grant 2007-2009 Peter Greer, Martin Ebert, Patrick Cadman, Clive Baldock, James Denham Improving the verification of intensity modulated radiation ther-apy dose delivery with flat-panel imagers. University of Newcastle CCNSW Project Grant 2007-2009 David Goldstein, Craig Underhill, Jennifer Harvey, Sean Bydder, Sudarshan Selva-Nayaram, Robert Simes Phase II study of chemotherapy and 3-D conformal radiotherapy for the treatment of localised pancreatic cancer. University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2007-2008

45


2008 Strategic Research Partnership Grants Jacob George, Geoffrey McCaughan, Greg Dore, Christopher Liddle, Simone Strasser Epidemiology, prevention and management of liver cancer in NSW: Towards a strategic research partnership. University of Sydney CCNSW STREP Grant 2008-2012 Anna Nowak, Kerrie McDonald, Charles Teo, Helen Wheeler, David Joseph, Bruce Robinson Clinical Outcomes and Genetic Epidemiol-ogy of high grade Glioma: COGEG University of Western Australia CCNSW STREP Grant 2008-2012 $ David Whiteman, Reginald Lord, David Watson, Wayne Phillips, Nick Hayward PROBE-NET: Progression of Barrett’s Esophagus to Cancer Network. Queensland Institute of Medical Research CCNSW STREP Grant 2008-2012 2008 Project Grants Minoti Apte , Andrew Biankin, David Goldstein, Jeremy Wilson, Romano Pirola Desmoplasia in Pancreatic Cancer: Role of Pancreatic Stellate Cells in Cancer Progression. University of NSW CCNSW Project Grant 2008-2010 Lesley Ashton, Melissa C Southey, Luciano Dalla-Pozza, Richard Cohn, John Hopper, Richard Lindley Long-term health outcomes in survi-vors of childhood cancer and their families. University of NSW CCNSW Project Grant 2008-2010 Mark Baker, Mark Molloy, Rohit Saldanha Lynchpin protein interactions that drive epithelial cancer malignancy. Macquarie University CCNSW Project Grant 2008-2010 Roderick Clifton-Bligh, Amy Au, Diana Learoyd, Bruce Robinson Cross-talk between PPARg and MAP kinase pathways in thyroid cancer. University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2008-2010 Merlin Crossley The role of zinc finger proteins in B cell cancer. University of NSW CCNSW Project Grant 2008-2010 Diona Damian, Gary Halliday Nicotinamide protection from ultraviolet radiation-induced skin carcinogenesis in humans. University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2008-2010 Michael Friedlander, Peter Grimison, Martin Stockler, Guy Toner, Damien Thomson, Nimit Singhal Accelerated first line chemotherapy for advanced germ cell tumours. University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2008-2010 Michael Friedlander, Mary Gainford, Serene Foo, Vlatka Duruic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy with Paclitaxel and Cisplatin after Optimal Debulking Surgery for Ovarian Cancer. University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2008-2010 Andrew Kneebone, Maria Pearse, Scott Williams, Gillian Duchesne, Richard Fisher, Mark Frydenberg A phase III trial comparing adjuvant versus salvage radiotherapy for high risk patients post radical prostatectomy. University of Newcastle CCNSW Project Grant 2008-2010 Fabienne Mackay, Herbert Herzog Role of neuropeptide Y1 receptor in regulatory T cell function - a new angle to treat autoimmunity and cancer. Garvan Institute of Medical Research CCNSW Project Grant 2008-2010 Karen MacKenzie Delineation of the role of telomeres and telomerase in erythropoiesis. University of NSW CCNSW Project Grant 2008-2010 John Rasko, Jeff Holst Dissecting BORIS Function In Neoplasia. University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2008-2010 Vivienne Reeve Protection against photoimmune suppression and skin cancer via oestrogen receptor signaling. University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2008-2010 Natalka Suchowerska, Chris Milross, David McKenzie, Michael Jackson, Martin Ebert Radiobiological Modelling for Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy. University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2008-2010 Alexander Swarbrick Defining the role for Id1 in breast cancer metastasis. Garvan Institute of Medical Research CCNSW Project Grant 2008-2010 Lyndal Trevena, Kirsten McCaffery, Alexandra Barratt, Julie-Ann Leask, Julia Brotherton, Timothy Dobbins A randomised trial of a web-based toolkit for applying evidence in the general practice cervical cancer prevention visit. University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2008-2010 Nicole Verrills, Leonie Ashman, Alistair Sim, Danilo Perrotti PP2A: a novel target for leukaemia therapy. University of Newcastle CCNSW Project Grant 2008-2010

46


2009 Projects Grants Leonie Ashman, Nicole Verrrills, James Denham Tetraspanin proteins in prostate cancer progression and prognosis. University of Newcastle CCNSW Project Grant 2009-2011 Mary Bebawy, George Grau, Valery Combes Microparticle-mediated transfer of P-glycoprotein in conferring multidrug resistance in cancer. University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2009-2011 Jennifer Byrne, Robert Bright, Daniel Catchpoole, Brian Smith The molecular basis of cell transformation produced by TPD52 overexpres-sion. University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2009-2011 Sharon Chen, Monica Slavin, Jeff Szer, Peter Bardy, Tania Sorrell, Anthony Schwarer, Orla Morrissey Randomised trial of diagnostic strate-gies for invasive aspergillosis in at-risk haematology patients: Funding extension Westmead Hospital CCNSW Project Grant 2009-2011 Roger Daly, Christopher Ormandy Tyrosine kinase profiling of human basal breast cancers. Garvan Institute of Medical Research CCNSW Project Grant 2009-2011 Megan Fabbro , Jennette Sakoff Dynamin inhibitors as new anti-cancer drugs. University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2009-2011 David Goldstein, Nigel Spry, Robert Padbury, Jennifer Shannon, Andrew Biankin, Andrew Kneebone, Patrick Fitzgerald LAP07: Random-ised multicentre phase III study in patients with locally advanced adenocarinoma of the pancreas: gemcitabine with or without chemoradio-therapy and with or without erlotinib. University of Sydney Cancer Australia Priority-driven Collaborative Cancer Research Scheme 2009-2012 David Gottlieb, Leighton Clancy Adoptive immunotherapy for the prevention of Varicella-zoster virus reactivation post stem cell transplant. University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2009-2011 Nikolas Haass The role of melanoma stem cells in melanomagenesis. Centenary Institute CCNSW Project Grant 2009-2011 Derek Hart, Kristen Radford RNA Loading of Tumor Associated Antigens and the Activation of Blood Dendritic Cells for Prostate Cancer Immunotherapy. University of Queensland Cancer Australia Priority-driven Collaborative Cancer Research Scheme 2009-2012 Andrew Haydon, John Zalcberg, Euan Walpole, Desmond Yip, Timothy Price, Kirsten Howard SCOT - Short Course Oncology Therapy. A study of adjuvant chemotherapy in colorectal cancer. Monash University Cancer Australia Priority-driven Collaborative Cancer Research Scheme 2009-2012 Christopher Jolly, Michael McKay, John Manis, Huiling Xu Understanding AID-induced cancer: Unravelling complex mutation and repair pathways. University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2009-2011 Trevor Leong, Val Gebski, Bernard Smithers, David Watson, Nigel Spry, John Zalcberg Randomised phase II/III study of preoperative chemoradiotherapy versus chemotherapy for resectable gastric cancer. University of Sydney Cancer Australia Priority-driven Collaborative Cancer Research Scheme 2009-2012 Kerrie McDonald, Max Bennett, Ross Davey, Bruce Robinson The role of IQGAP1 in actively migrating glioma cells and its regulation by miR-124. University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2009-2011 Michael Murray, Howard Gurney, Andrew McLachlan Development of personalised dosage protocols for tyrosine kinase inhibitiors in o cology patients. University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2009-2011 Matthew Naylor Role of beta1 integrin in prostate development and carcinogenesis. Garvan Institute of Medical Research CCNSW Project Grant 2009-2011 2010 Project Grants Linda Bendall, Julius Juarez The role of sphingosine-1-phosphate in haematopoietic stem cell egress from the bone marrow. University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2010-2012 Tracy Bryan, Scott Cohen Recruitment of human telomerase to telomeres. University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2010-2012 Anna deFazio Pathways of malignant progression in ovarian cancer. University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2010-2012 Peter Greer Real-time dose monitoring for patient safety in radiation therapy. University of Newcastle CCNSW Project Grant 2010-2012 Maija Kohonen-Corish, Laurent Pangon, Elizabeth Musgrove Functional characterisation of the putative tumour suppressor gene MCC in colorectal cancer. Garvan Institute of Medical Research CCNSW Project Grant 2010-2012 Tao Liu, Antonio Bedalov, Christopher Scarlett Targeting Myc onco-protein degradation for the treatment of Myc-induced malignancies. University of NSW CCNSW Project Grant 2010-2012 Guy Lyons, Gary Halliday Restoring epithelial differentiation to squamous cell carcinomas. University of Sydney CCNSW Project Grant 2010-2012 Mark Baker, Edouard Nice A Colorectal Cancer "Interactome" Paradigm that Influences Patient Survival. Macquarie University CCNSW Project Grant 2010-2012 Bettina Meiser Too much, too soon? The impact of treatment-focused genetic testing in patients newly diagnosed with breast cancer. Univer-sity of NSW, Cancer Australia Priority-driven Collaborative Cancer Research Scheme 2010-2012 2010 Program Grants Lisa Horvath, Stephen Ackland, Rosemary Balleine, Andrew Biankin, Daniel Catchpoole , Stephen Clarke, Anna deFazio Howard Gurney, Matthew Links, Graham Mann, Pablo Moscato, Michael Murray, Christa Nath, Des Richardson, Rodney Scott. Building capacity in pharmacogenomics across NSW: PRIMe (Pharmacogenomic Research for Individualised Medicine) Garvan Institute of Medical Research CCNSW Program Grant 2010-2015

Early Career Researcher

MBBS

PhD

MBBS/PhD

South Eastern Sydney

Sydney

Western Sydney

South W

estern Sydney

Northern Sydney

Hunter New England

Illaw

arra Sutherland

Queensland

South Australia

Australian Capital Territory

Victoria

Western Australia

United

States of America

New

Zealand

1 2 3 4 5 6+ 1.1 Norm

al Functioning

1.2 Alterations in chromosomes

1.3 Oncogenes & supressor genes

1.4 Cancer progression & m

etastasis

1.5 Resources & infrastructure

1.6 Cancer related biology

2.1 Exogenous factors

2.2 Endogenous factors

2.3 Gen

e interactions polymorphisms


3.1 In

terventions: Behaviours and risk

3.2 Nutritiona; science

3.3 Chemoprevention

3.4 Vaccines

3.5 Complementary and alternative


4.1 Technology &/or m

arker discovery

4.2 Technology &/or marker evaluation

4.3 Technology &/or marker testing


5.1 Localised

: Discovery & Development

5.2 Localised: Clinical

5.3 Systemic: Discovery & developmen

t

5.4 Systemic: Clinical applications

5.5 Combination: Localised & systemic

5.6 Complementary and alternative


6.1 Patient care & survivorship

6.2 Surveillance

6.3 Behavioural

6.4 Cost analyses & healthcare delivery

6.5 Education & communication

6.6 End‐of‐life care

6.7 Ethics & confiden

tiality

6.8 Complementary & alternative


7.1 Development & characterisation

7.2 Application of model systems

7.3 Resources and infrastructure

0.5 1 2 3 4 5 6+ 1 2 3 4 5 6+ 10+ 50 ‐ 100k

101 ‐ 250k

251 ‐ 500k

501 ‐ 750k

751k ‐ 1million

Over 1 million

Cancer Type Cancer Type

1 1 1 1 1 1 1

e 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1

1 2 1 1 1 1 1 0 1

e 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1

Cervical e 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Cervical

Cancer Type

Breast cancer

Early detection,

Diagnosis and

Prognosis Treatment Survivorship and Outcomes

Scientific Model

SystemsNo. of Chief Investigators Biology Aetiology PreventionCIA qualifications

Leveraged funding at completion of

grant

Breast cancer

Mean no.of publications per

year

Research grants held by cancer type

Research activity areas by Common Scientific Outline Research outputsResearch inputs

Mean no. of citations (at 12

months after publication)Location of research

6 Overview of all grants

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Gynaecological cancers 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 Gynaecological cancers

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

1 1 1 1 1 1 1

1 1 1 1 1 1

1 2 1 1 1 1

1 1 1 1 1 1 1

1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1

Lung cancers 1 1 1 1 Lung cancers

Lymphonas 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 Lymphonas

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Melanoma

1 1 1 1 0 1

e 1 1 1 1 1 2 1

1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1

1 1 1 1 1 1

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

1 1 1 1 0 1

1 1 1 1 0 1

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

e 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Project Grants

Myeloma

Other non‐specific Basic Science

cancer research

Childhood cancers

Colorectal

Haematological cancers

Leukaemia

Childhood cancers

Colorectal

Haematological cancers

Leukaemia

Myeloma

All cancers: Basic science

Melanoma

e 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 1

e 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 4 1

1 1 1 1 1 1

1 1 1 1

1 3 1 1 1 1 1 1

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1

1 1 1 1

1 1 1 1 1 1 1

1 1 1 1 0 1

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

1 1 1 1 3 1

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1

1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1

Testicular 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Testicular

Thyroid 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 Thyroid

All cancers: Basic science 1 1 1 6+

Leukaemia 1 1 1 1 1 5

All cancers: Clinical science 1 2 1 1 1 3

Pancreatic 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3

Hereditary cancers 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3ogram

ans

REP

Grants

Other non‐specific Clinical Science

cancer research

Ovarian

Prostate cancer

All cancers: Clinical science

Ovarian

Pancreatic

Prostate cancer

Skin cancers (non‐melanoma)Skin cancers (non‐melanoma)

Pancreatic

Hereditary cancers 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3

Colorectal 1 1 1 1 1 1

47

Pro

STR

Table 5: Overview of all grants - inputs, research activity and outputs

research investment evaluation

Documents