Collaboration and commitment central to brain cancer mission
The Mark Hughes Foundation Centre for Brain Cancer Research at the University of Newcastle will bring the world’s best minds to Newcastle on February 20 for the 2025 International Brain Tumour Research Summit.
The third annual summit, hosted alternately with The Brain Cancer Centre at the WEHI in Melbourne, unites the nation’s brain cancer leaders to address the objectives of the Australian Brain Cancer Mission in the quest to deliver better outcomes for everyone impacted by the disease.
The one-day summit will initiate discussions and explore the latest developments, challenges, and opportunities in brain tumour research.
Brain cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in children, and adults aged under 40 in Australia, with approximately 2000 Australians diagnosed with brain cancer each year.
MHF Centre Director and practising radiation oncologist, Professor Mike Fay said the Summit was an exciting opportunity to bring collaborators in the fight against brain cancer together in one room.
“We’re always looking for new opportunities to see how we can work together to find solutions and better treatments for this deadly disease.”
The MHF Centre for Brain Cancer Summit is tailored for researchers, clinicians and others interested in the brain tumour research field, providing a unique platform to share insights and foster collaboration.
With two international guest speakers from the US, and a program packed with national collaborators, it is an opportunity for researchers from across the nation to hear what leaders in the sphere are working on, and to work to put together pieces of the brain cancer research puzzle.
“At the MHF Centre we have six broad research streams, working on brain cancer from a range of different angles,” Professor Fay said.
“And it’s that breadth of research that we’ll be exploring at the Summit covering diagnostics, treatments and patient care.
“New research partnerships can come from the most surprising areas – we have oncologists, nurses, neurosurgeons, physicists and engineers, alongside patients and carers all working together – each bringing their own unique insights and ideas.”
Co-founder of the Mark Hughes Foundation Kirralee Hughes said she was delighted to see how the Summit had shaped up.
“Seeing this Summit being attended by researchers from across Australia all discussing ways to work together is what it’s all about,” Kirralee said.
“When we first started dreaming about finding a cure this seemed a long way off, as we just had a couple of brain cancer researchers in the one room. Now look at where we are.”
Speakers at the 2025 Summit will cover topics including challenges for clinical trials in primary brain tumours, closing the gap for Indigenous children with cancer and new insights into radiation biology.
The Summit will be hosted at Hunter Medial Research Institute on Thursday 20 February with a half-day workshop hosted at the University’s NUspace campus on Friday to plan what’s ahead and where to next.
The Summit is proudly presented by a group of like-minded organisations, united in their commitment to foster collaboration in the field of brain tumour research. This group comprises The Robert Connor Dawes Foundation, Children's Cancer Foundation, Isabella and Marcus Foundation, Mark Hughes Foundation Centre for Brain Cancer Research at The University of Newcastle, Cure Brain Cancer Foundation and The Brain Cancer Centre.
The MHF Centre for Brain Cancer Research was established in 2022 in partnership with the Mark Hughes Foundation and the University of Newcastle. Based on a long and successful partnership committed to the same mission, the MHF Centre for Brain Cancer Research is driving critical research, education, and health care improvements at a national scale for brain cancer patients, their families and carers, and health professionals.
The research being led by the MHF Centre for Brain Cancer Research is an example of the University’s strong commitment to supporting its communities lead better, healthier lives.
HMRI is a partnership between the University of Newcastle, Hunter New England Health and the community.
WHAT: The 2025 International Brain Tumour Research Summit
WHERE: Caves Lecture Theatre, Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI), New Lambton
WHEN: 9am-4.30pm
Contact
- Carmen Swadling, Media and Communications Specialist
- Email: carmen.swadling@newcastle.edu.au
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