Children's Cancer CoLab

18/06/2026

At Children's Cancer CoLab, we are delighted to introduce our Future Leaders. Their bold research is addressing one of the most urgent challenges in childhood cancer, where too many children are still losing their lives and survivors are often left with lifelong burdens from the treatments that saved them.

To address a critical gap in cancer therapies, our Future Leaders Fellows have been awarded a shared $1.3 million to develop purpose-built treatments for deadly and hard-to-treat childhood cancers.

CoLab Board Director and Scientific Advisor, Prof Grant McArthur AO, said:

“We have the talent, and now we have the research investment to make it count. Two of our new fellows are pioneering CAR T-cell immunotherapy, a revolutionary approach that reprograms a child's own immune cells to destroy cancer, while a third is using artificial intelligence and epigenomics to decode the unique biology of childhood brain tumours.”

CoLab Impact Program grants are made possible by CoLab's major partners, the Victorian Government News and Children's Cancer Foundation.

Meet the CoLab Future Leaders:

🟣 Dr Claire Sun, from Hudson Institute of Medical Research Medical Research | CoLab Mid-Career Researcher Fellow

🟣 Dr Stacie Wang, from The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne and WEHI - Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research | CoLab Clinician-Researcher Fellow

🟣 Dr Zoe Day, from WEHI - Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research | CoLab Early-Career Researcher Fellow

In supporting these emerging researchers, CoLab seeks to strengthen Australia's world-class standing in childhood cancer research and care. To learn more about this cohort of Fellows and their research projects, visit: https://tinyurl.com/colab-future-leaders

Nathan Lambert MP

09/06/2026

Children's Cancer CoLab is gearing up to announce our 2026–2027 funding round, and we want you to be the first to know when applications open.

Our funding model is built on scientific rigour, lived experience impact, and a clear focus: getting new treatments to young cancer patients faster, while empowering the next generation of researchers and clinicians who'll lead the way.

If you're a researcher or clinician ready to make a real impact in childhood cancer, our upcoming funding round could be your opportunity to do just that.

Stay ahead and sign up for our Funding Alerts → https://tinyurl.com/funding-alerts

Children’s Cancer CoLab funding has been made possible thanks to our major partners, the Victorian Government News and Children's Cancer Foundation.

The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne Monash Children's Hospital Monash University Hudson Institute of Medical Research Murdoch Children's Research Institute - MCRI Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre The University of Melbourne WEHI - Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute

02/06/2026

29/05/2026

The CoLab Forum may have wrapped up, but the conversations continue.

Coffees with CoLab brought together a group of Forum attendees, many with lived experience, for an informal morning catch-up to connect, reflect and keep the dialogue going. It was a valuable opportunity to deepen conversations from the Forum and hear directly from those at the heart of our work .

We’re grateful to everyone who joined us and shared their perspectives so openly. These are the conversations that continue to shape and strengthen CoLab’s work, from research funding through to survivorship advocacy and driving collaboration across the sector.

29/05/2026

We were delighted to have Tracy Hollington, Chair of Child Cancer Research Foundation play a significant role, representing the lived experience and WA at the CoLab Forum. Check out CCRF’s post and click through to read their article about the Forum 👇

28/05/2026

Where you live should never determine the quality of care your child receives after a cancer diagnosis. But for too many Australian families, it does.

Cancer Australia and Children's Cancer CoLab are co-investing to develop Australia's first Optimal Care Pathway for children with cancer — a nationally consistent, evidence-based guide that will provide clinicians, health services, and families with a clear standard of care from diagnosis through to survivorship.

CoLab CEO, Dr Udani Reets said, “For Australian families of children with cancer, particularly those in regional communities, this pathway will make a real difference. It means knowing what quality care should involve at every stage, and being able to ask for it, regardless of postcode.”

Read the full story: https://tinyurl.com/first-ocp

25/05/2026

🗞️ The May edition of CoLab Connect is out now!

Read our latest news here: https://tinyurl.com/colab-connect-may-2026

In this edition:
✅ CoLab Forum 2026 is just three days away!
✅ Cancer Australia's CAYA Roadmap announcement
✅ BioMelbourne Network Lunch, session featuring CoLab
..And that is just the beginning! There are many more updates from CoLab to explore in our latest newsletter.

Subscribe to receive future editions: cccolab.org.au/stay-informed

22/05/2026

Australia's first national roadmap for childhood, adolescent and young adult cancer has arrived, and it couldn't come sooner.

Around 20,000 Australians live with the lifelong consequences of a childhood or adolescent cancer diagnosis. Nearly 80% face at least one long-term health problem. Their mortality rates remain up to 10 times higher than their peers, even decades after treatment ends.

The Childhood, Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Roadmap, released by Cancer Australia and the Commonwealth Government, sets out a clear framework to change this. It’s built around better supportive care, access to emerging therapies, and targeted investment in research and clinical trials.

CoLab Board Chair, Prof Brendan Murphy AC said, “The Roadmap is central to what every child and young person who goes through cancer deserves. It gives us the national framework to ensure that investment in CAYA research and care reaches every child, regardless of where they live.”

Children's Cancer CoLab is committed to working alongside Cancer Australia, governments, clinicians, researchers and lived-experience communities to turn its ambitions into action.

Read the full story: www.cccolab.org.au/news-stories/caya-roadmap

18/05/2026

What does it mean to truly survive childhood cancer?

CoLab CEO Dr Udani Reets recently chaired a panel session on childhood cancer at the BioMelbourne Network Connecting Women Lunch. It was a powerful conversation about what life really looks like for children and families after cancer treatment ends.

Dr Reets was joined by Dr Shane Patella, who shared his family's lived experience with extraordinary honesty; Monique Keighery, CEO of Redkite; and paediatric oncologist Dr Anupa Kudva, together exploring what life truly looks like after the bell rings.

The conversation moved across three important themes:

◆︎ The reality of the childhood cancer journey itself, including what diagnosis, treatment and its aftermath truly feels like for families, and where the system too often falls short.

◆︎ The urgent need to design safer, more targeted therapies for rare childhood cancers, with only five new cancer therapies developed specifically for children in the last decade, despite hundreds being approved worldwide.

◆︎ The long-term quality of life impacts that are too rarely spoken about, from financial strain and disrupted education to psychological toll and a fractured sense of identity, impacts that follow families for years beyond treatment.

We are grateful to the BioMelbourne Network for creating space for this conversation, and to everyone who leaned in, listened and asked what role they can play.

The next challenge for our sector is not just helping children survive cancer. It is ensuring they thrive beyond treatment.