One of The Kids Research Institute Australia’s leading young researchers will travel to the world’s premier conference on childhood brain cancer, to share ideas and build new collaborative links.
Dr Jessica Buck is the 2021 The Kids Research Institute Australia Aspire Award winner, which is coordinated by Western Australia’s peak body for business events, Business Events Perth. Business Events Perth’s Aspire Awards sponsor local academics, researchers and health professionals to attend a relevant international conference in their discipline, to further their professional development.
Dr Buck has a background in biomedical science, aiming to find more effective, less harmful treatments for kids with cancer.
“This is an incredibly important area of research, because at least 30% of children with the most common childhood brain cancers, medulloblastoma and ependymoma will die from their disease,” she said.
In the children who do survive, many suffer from treatment-related long-term side effects that affect their quality of life. Because of this, our research team aims to translate potential new therapies from bench to bedside, from the laboratory and into the clinic.
Dr Buck – who has training in both neuroscience and oncology – will use the funding to attend the 2022 International Symposium on Pediatric Neuro-Oncology, in Hamburg, Germany. This biennial meeting is the premier conference in childhood brain cancer in the world.
Business Events Perth Chief Executive Officer Gareth Martin said this was the sixth year Business Events Perth was sponsoring The Kids Research Institute Australia staff members to attend an international conference.
“The research and developments coming out of Western Australia, such Dr Buck’s life changing brain cancer research, show that our State is truly an incubator for knowledge, and Business Events Perth’s Aspire Awards provide opportunities each year for our brightest minds to showcase this knowledge on a global platform,” Mr Martin said.
“In-person attendance at business events provides opportunities for career and professional development that are invaluable, and we are honoured to be supporting Dr Buck and her work through the Aspire Awards.”