Recipients of the Strategic Support for Research Leaders initiative announced
5 min read 08 September 2023
Peter Mac is pleased to announce the recipients of the Strategic Support for Research Leaders initiative.
Made possible by our generous donors, this program provides research leaders with additional funding of $100,000 a year for up to five years to recognise excellence in research, and further develop the careers of our exceptional research leaders at Peter Mac.
“Our people are the lifeblood of our research enterprise, and this initiative is crucial to supporting our leaders to ensure we continue Peter Mac’s reputation for research excellence,” Executive Director Cancer Research, Professor Ricky Johnstone, said.
“These leading researchers have demonstrated sustained research funding and led investigator-initiated trials and research programs, published high impact papers that often prompts changes in national and international policy and have represented Peter Mac on various committees and conferences nationally and abroad.
“This initiative is aligned with Peter Mac’s 2020-25 Research Strategic Plan, in particular the strategic goals around developing and enhancing our workforce, and is generously funded by the Peter Mac Foundation.”
Kate Torney, CEO of the Foundation, said they are proud to support this important program.
“We are proud to be able to support this initiative and our amazing research leaders whose work and dedication is crucial towards making such remarkable progress in cancer research to improve the lives of our patients,” she said.
Strategic Support for Research Leaders Recipients:
Professor Linda Mileshkin
Medical Director, Medical Oncology at Peter Mac, Professor Mileshkin is a highly accomplished medical oncologist and clinician scientist with 210 publications accepted in peer-reviewed journals. Professor Mileshkin’s work leading academic clinical trials in the adjuvant therapy of endometrial and cervical cancer has changed clinical practice and international guidelines for recommended work-up and treatment. She runs Australia’s only specialist clinic dedicated to the care of people affected by Cancer of Unknown Primary (CUP), and has established a national network of clinicians and researchers working on a suite of practice-changing studies in this area.
Professor John Seymour AM
Medical Director, Haemotology at Peter Mac, Professor Seymour AM is a clinical haematologist and a member of several national and international scientific committees. Professor Seymour has authored 20 book chapters, more than 600 peer reviewed publications and over 900 conference abstracts. Actively involved in a broad range of collaborative research, Professor Seymour has been the principal investigator on more than 90 clinical trials predominantly in the domains of early drug development and the indolent lymphoproliferative disorders, especially CLL and follicular lymphoma.
Professor Bernhard Riedel
Bernhard is an accomplished academic anaesthesiologist who currently directs the Department of Anaesthesia, Perioperative Medicine, and Pain Medicine at Peter Mac. His research team focuses on the critical need for improved preoperative risk stratification, including pharmacogenomics, and the optimization of modifiable risk factors - a field of study known as prehabilitation. His team also aims to focus on sustaining the quality of intraoperative care into the postoperative period following major cancer surgery. These efforts aim to reduce postoperative complications, a prevalent issue in major surgeries often described as a 'hidden pandemic,' which hampers the resumption of intended oncologic therapy. Additionally, their work in oncoanaesthesia delves into the multifaceted relationship between surgical adrenergic-inflammatory stress responses and anaesthetic techniques, examining their collective impact on cancer progression. His scientific endeavours have secured more than 78 research grants, and he has contributed to over 200 peer-reviewed articles in prestigious medical journals. He is the editor of the textbook 'Acute Care of the Cancer Patient,' and he has delivered over 200 lectures globally.
Dr Marliese Alexander
Dr Alexander is a Senior Pharmacist and Research Fellow at Peter Mac and has been recognised as an emerging leader in pharmacy and cancer research. Her research interests are focused on personalised and risk-adapted therapies including primary clot prevention during anticancer therapy, precision dosing of anticancer therapies, and outcomes among patients with thoracic malignancies treated with targeted and non-targeted cancer therapeutics.
