This International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we're acknowledging our female researchers and all women in science for their enormous contribution.
Associate Professor Raelene Endersby is one of the many female researchers in WA working to reduce the impact of cancer. You can read a summary of her research project below.
New and safer treatments for children's brain cancer
A/Prof Endersby's research looks at how to improve the survival rates and quality of life of children impacted by a brain cancer called ependymoma. This type of cancer can occur at any age, but it usually affects children under five years old.
A/Prof Endersby's team are working with a new immunotherapy drug called anti-CD47. This drug enhances the immune cells that are already abundant in children's brains.
With funding from Cancer Council WA, Raelene's research will determine if anti-CD47 combined with radiation is an effective treatment for ependymoma. If proven to work, this has the potential to save the lives of children with ependymoma and improve their quality of life.
This research will be the first step in advancing this new treatment to being administered in a clinical trial - one that will benefit WA children first.
Thanks to women in research such as A/Prof Raelene Endersby, we are finding new ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer.
