Neuroscience researchers support Brain Cancer Awareness month

by Dr Loretta Piccenna, Department of Neuroscience

(L-R): Ms Katrina Kan, Dr Mastura Monif (group leader) and
 Mr Matthew Drill. Dr Monif did a podcast for The Aftershock,
and explains more about her research in a video. 

This month is Brain Cancer Awareness Month, a time of the year for raising awareness of brain cancer or tumours and the need for greater research to discover safe and effective new treatments. 

Brain cancers may be rare, but there are more than 100 different types of brain cancer. This requires a collective effort by lots of researchers, clinicians, patients and their families to understand brain cancers at a molecular level to help find a cure. 

Dr Mastura Monif and her research team (pictured) from the Department of Neuroscience within the Central Clinical School study the most common form of primary brain cancer or tumour, called glioblastoma. She said, 

“We must ensure that every person who develops cancer is given the best possible chance of surviving and living well”.

Monash researchers bond with donors to fight rare cancers

Suzanne Neate (right) with her mother Teresa, who died in 2016.

Image: The Aftershock

by Anne Crawford

After Suzanne Neate’s mother Teresa died of thyroid cancer five years ago, Suzanne wanted to make an impact on the lives of other people similarly enduring high mortality rate cancers.

Teresa had spent time in rehabilitation; Suzanne thought of funding equipment, walkers or wheelchairs for those in care. “Then I thought ‘No, the problem is she shouldn’t have been there to begin with – how do you stop someone being there to begin with?’,” she said. “You research – everything comes back to research.”

Suzanne, CEO of The Aftershock, the not-for-profit organisation she founded in 2017, has joined forces on a research project into lethal oesophageal cancer with Professor Wendy Brown, Alfred Hospital surgeon, researcher and Head of Monash University’s Department of Surgery.

Imaging of brain tumours (gliomas) research supported by The Aftershock

Prof Meng Law (right) with a colleague. Image: The Aftershock

In 2019, The Aftershock committed to support research within the Department of Neuroscience at Monash University (CCS, Alfred Hospital) led by Professor Meng Law, Dr Jarrel Seah, Dr Andrew Dixon and Dr Jennifer Tang. 

The research aims to show the potential of using information from MRIs of patients with brain tumours (gliomas) for the prediction of characteristics and future growth with artificial intelligence. The current project aims to collect a large dataset of brain tumours on MRI with associated pathology results, and apply unsupervised deep learning techniques to improve the diagnosis and classification of gliomas and other brain tumours.

See The Aftershock full update.