Aims and Objectives
Our Aims
Our aim is to have a large, coordinated multidisciplinary research team who can seamlessly span the discovery, therapeutic and diagnostic development spectrum of prostate cancer.
Research Aims
The ACPRC – Q's vision is to develop new therapeutics and predictive biomarkers, via a collaborative, transdisciplinary, translational approach. We span discovery science through to clinical evaluation, and are underpinned by leading edge technology. Our activities are greatly facilitated by local, national and international collaborations.
Collaborative Aims
We link to other Institutes to encourage and foster applications of their respective expertise to prostate cancer, and is the Australian hub for the Australian-Canadian Prostate Cancer Research Alliance (Aus-CanPCRA). This is linked nationally and internationally to major prostate cancer research groups and relevant clinical societies across Australia and Canada, facilitating access to unique resources, clinical trials networks, and leading edge infrastructure. This local, national, and international collaboration boosts the existing basic and translational research efforts in the field, and create additional, complementary research groups. It helps address the problems that prostate cancer is imposing on our health care systems and on society. The ACPRC – Q and the Aus-CanPCRA are a focal point for attracting national and international funding and industry support.
Our Objectives
Objectives of the APCRC – Q focus on therapeutic target development, and biomarkers for genetic predisposition, early detection, prognosis, and treatment response indicators. Our objectives will inform and drive improved clinical practice, and are outlined as follows:
- develop, evaluate, and validate novel biomarkers for prostate cancer detection and patient risk profile stratification
- accelerate discovery and pre-clinical development of candidate drugs, and commercial development of anti-cancer therapeutics
- clinically evaluate novel therapeutics as single agent and in combination with existing therapeutic drugs in Phase I, II and III trials within a multidisciplinary prostate uro-oncology clinical trials centre including urologists, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, and endocrinologists
- improve management of prostate cancer patients in Australia through implementing the latest approved advances in prostate cancer treatments.
Our objectives related to international collaboration include:
- maintaining the ACPRC – Q as a major hub of activity for national and international translational prostate cancer research. A multidisciplinary prostate clinical trials unit has brought together urologists, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, and endocrinologists. This acts as a vehicle for the development of the ACPRC – Q's therapeutics, and will attract national and international clinical trials
- leading the coordination of national and international interactions of prostate cancer scientists and clinicians in Australia and Canada, securing a network of trans-Pacific prostate cancer expertise. This is done through the Queensland Smart State National and International Research Alliance Program, which awarded the Australian-Canadian Prostate Cancer Research Alliance with start-up funding
- raising the profile of prostate cancer research, and strengthening attraction for commercialisation, biotech investments and clinical trials in Australia.
