The Telethon Adventurers

Our Objectives

All funds raised by The Telethon Adventurers are for the benefit of Princess Margaret Hospital for Children and the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research.

Our overall funding target for 2011 is $2million and funds raised will go towards purchasing vital equipment, developing new treatment drugs and establishing necessary fellowships, while enabling state of the art Childhood Cancer Research that will continue over the next 5 years.

2011 Objectives include:

Equipment:

• Flow Cytometry Analyser – $434,500.

This machine is required to complement Elliot’s Machine, as the images created by Elliot’s Machine are too sophisticated for our current machines to handle.

Priority rating 1

• Upgrade of FACS sorter – around $130,000.

To allow us to match our existing cell sorter to Elliot’s Machine, an upgrade is required which involves installing a green/yellow laser on the cell sorter and updating and adapting the machine to accommodate the new laser.

Priority rating 1

• Gene Atlas Machine – around $95,000.

This is an instrument to process microarrays and would be used for our work into childhood cancers. We currently do not have any such instrument at the Institute and we need to use machines at other organisations at significant cost for each use.

Priority rating 1

• Centrifuges –

Our current centrifuges are old and approaching the end of their useful life. These machines are used for isolating cancer and separating suspensions. We require one refrigerated centrifuge (Fresco 17) $4790/each. Two non-refrigerated centrifuges cost $2190/each. Total cost $9130.

Priority rating 1.

Projects:

 • The identification of new drugs for the treatment of childhood cancer

Over the past two decades the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research has established a unique set of cancer cell lines, which were derived from children with brain tumours, leukaemia and a rare cancer known as NUT carcinoma. To identify new drugs that are effective against these cancers we propose to harness the power of new advanced technology, which includes robotics, a “library” storing 160,000 chemical compounds and a special technique called high throughput small molecule screening, to test our panel of unique cancer cell lines.  The technology to undertake this screen is has been recently installed at the Drug Discovery Centre for Childhood Cancer, based at the Lowy Institute in Sydney. In the first instance we propose to assess 2500 FDA approved compounds, since these compounds are already licensed for use and thus could be taken through to the clinic quickly, if they are found to be effective against childhood cancers.

Part A – Pilot trial-The estimated cost of pilot trial is $55,000.

Priority rating 1

Part B: The estimated cost is $82,500.

Priority rating 2

Pending the success of the initial screens additional funds for further screens may be requested.

• Genome wide profiling of childhood brain tumours

Over the past decade remarkable advances have been made in technologies that permit the visualisation of the genome. We propose to dissect the genome of childhood brain tumours in order to find genetic changes in these tumours, which will provide insights into why tumours develop and which genes are required to sustain the tumour. This technology will assist us to identify the cause and will provide genetic targets for new therapies. This project has been divided into

Parts A and B.

Part A: The estimated cost of this project is $60,000.

Priority rating 1

Part B: The estimated cost of this project is $200,000.

Priority rating 2

Fellowships:

• Elliot Parish Fellowship in Cancer Research – $300,000 per year

for 5 years – total is $1,500,000 over 5 years. We would like to establish a Cancer Research Fellowship, named in honour of Elliot. The inaugural fellowship will be dedicated to discovering the cause of medulloblastoma. The fellowship will provide funds to support a junior research officer identified as a potential future leader in cancer research, a research assistant and adequate funds for research consumables.

Priority rating 1

• Telethon Adventurers Fellowship – $150,000 per year for 5 years –

total is $750,000 over 5 years. This fellowship will promote a young up and coming clinician who would like to pursue a career in paediatric oncology. The fellowship will combine clinical training in paediatric oncology as well as laboratory training in cancer research.

Priority rating 3

• The Telethon Adventurers Global Childhood Cancer Symposium –

An opportunity to bring leading childhood brain tumour researchers from around the world to Perth for a Brain Tumour Symposium. Estimate $110,000 to fund travel/accommodation for 10 visiting scientists plus the costs of the event itself.

Priority rating 1