The University of Melbourne Centre for Cancer Research (UMCCR) is driving discovery, innovation and implementation for clinical impact in cancer care—bringing together university leaders committed to improving the outcomes and quality of life for people affected by cancer.

In 2017, the PMF Foundation provided a significant donation to the University of Melbourne Centre for Cancer Research (UMCCR). This donation is supporting the precision oncology research program led by the Centre’s Director, Professor Sean Grimmond, and is enabling his team to acquire specialised research equipment, extend their research outputs, and translate their research into clinical care for cancer patients across the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre’s network.

Professor Grimmond says this gift will “enable unprecedented cancer discovery, accelerate translation of genomics into the clinic and ultimately improve outcomes for cancer sufferers”. Professor Grimmond and his team are now using genome discovery and precision oncology to unlock the secrets of some of the most challenging cancers.

In its first year, the donation has supported the establishment of a Single Cell Innovation lab, the appointment of a Cancer Genomics Specialist and Precision Oncology Informatics Manager, and purchasing of a robotic work station to improve research quality and efficiency for labs undertaking genomic sequencing for clinical trials and a FACS (fluorescent assisted cell sorter) machine to identify cell populations based on specific markers they display.