Welcome Josh!

Josh is completing his Honours with us, testing how certain therapies can help the immune system fight medulloblastoma, the most common brain cancer in kids.

Josh is excited to see the impact of the Cancer Centre's work through our strong researcher-clinician collaborations.

We are delighted to have Abi back with us to take next step in her research journey after completing her Honours here last year!

Abi's PhD is investigating options to boost blood cell development to combat leukaemia and reduce side effects from stem cell transplantation.

Welcome back Abi!

🧦 Today, we're wearing our brightest mismatched socks for #WorldDownSyndromeDay!

Did you know kids with Down syndrome face a 20x higher risk of leukaemia? Dr Sebastien Malinge is pioneering safer, more effective treatments to change that.

Read more: www.thekids.org.au/news--events...

Dr Omar Elaskalani has received one year of funding from Cancer Council WA for his immunotherapy project which will utilise world-first paediatric models to find new, more effective, and safer treatments for children with cancer.

Congratulations Dr Elaskalani! 👏

A/Prof Laurence Cheung received $10,000 of funding to support his project to use a new therapy to improve recovery and survival for children with high-risk leukaemia.

Dr Brittany Dewdney received the $25,000 Illuminate Award supported by The Kids' Peers & Partners workplace giving program for her project to map the brain’s healing immune response post-surgery to develop new treatments for kids with brain cancer.

Dr @zahra-abbas.bsky.social received the $25,000 Iluminate Award supported by Brown-Neaves Investments and an additional $5,000 of funding for her project to design immunotherapies for children with brain tumours to reduce life-long side effects.

This International Day of Women and Girls in Science we're wishing Dr @zahra-abbas.bsky.social & Dr Dewdney the best of luck for @thekidsau.bsky.social Illuminate Pitchfest! 👏

They'll be pitching for a chance to secure $25,000 to supercharge their research.

More: www.thekids.org.au/news--events...

Thanks to The Brain Cancer Centre funding, our Brain Tumour researchers A/Prof @raelenee-scientist.bsky.social, Dr Dewdney and Prof Gottardo are exploring how surgery could activate the immune system to better fight cancer cells and improve outcomes.

thebraincancercentre.org.au/research-pro...

A huge congratulations to our Honours and PhD students who graduated from UWA in December! 🎓

We are incredibly proud of their achievements and their contributions to the WA Kids Cancer Centre.

We can’t wait to see what they achieve next!

What a year 2024 has been!
We are taking some time to rest up before jumping into all the exciting things 2025 has in store.
We wish you a safe and happy holiday break.
- The WA Kids Cancer Centre team

PhD student Cenxi Gao has joined the team to research how dsRNA, a molecule that can fight cancer, might help strengthen immunotherapy and vaccines by boosting the immune system against cancer.

She says the Centre’s world-leading research is a perfect fit for her studies.

Welcome Cenxi!

Congrats to our Centre Head Joost Lesterhuis on his promotion to Professor!

Prof Lesterhuis is a dual-trained medical oncologist &cancer researcher. His research aims to identify new effective treatment combinations in cancer, focusing on immunotherapy & surgery.

www.thekids.org.au/contact-us/o...

We are incredibly proud of Prof Joost Lesterhuis and Joyce Oomann on receiving @thekidsau.bsky.social 2024 V.O.T.E Awards! 🤩

🏆Prof Lesterhuis - Annual Award for Excellence for his leadership and strategy
🏆Joyce - the Annual Award for Values for always going above and beyond to support others