Next Generation Precision Medicine Program

There is an urgent need for new and more precisely targeted medicines to treat childhood cancers. Currently, genomic sequencing is used to identify discrete mutations that could predict a child’s responses to targeted therapies. However, fewer than one in five children with cancer are found to have actionable mutations. And of those children, only half respond to the therapies that are available.

Next Generation Precision Medicine Program Group Photo
Next Generation Precision Medicine Program team and collaborators

New treatment options are needed, particularly for paediatric cancers that have the poorest survival rates such as brain and soft tissue tumours.

The Next Generation Precision Medicine Program is a flagship program of the Victorian Paediatric Cancer Consortium (VPCC) led by Hudson Institute’s Professor Ron Firestein, a clinician-scientist and the Head of the Centre for Cancer Research at Hudson Institute. The Program is focused on

  • Generating novel models of childhood cancers that faithfully represent a patient’s tumour
  • Characterising those models at a multi-omics level (genome, transcriptome, epigenome, proteome) to find what makes them unique
  • Using comprehensive functional genomic screens that can identify the genetic drivers and dependencies of low-survival paediatric cancers
  • Developing a childhood cell line atlas and data portal to enable cohort-level integrative genomic analyses.

Childhood Cancer Model Atlas (CCMA)

The Childhood Cancer Model Atlas (CCMA) was created through this program. As the largest collection of high-risk paediatric solid tumour cell lines in the world, the CCMA is one of the most valuable resources available for childhood cancer researchers globally. It provides a collection of well annotated and characterised models of childhood cancer with associated functional genomics screens and includes a searchable data portal that can be accessed by scientists worldwide. This open-source approach, couple with precise, detailed data, helps scientists anywhere collaborate and drive clinical translation to help sick children.

Team members

Professor Ron Firestein
Centre Head, Centre for Cancer Research and Co-lead, VPCC

Naama Neeman Director of Operations VPCC

Naama Neeman
Director of Operations, VPCC

Professor Bryan Williams, along with Institute researchers have identified a key immune molecule that could underpin a bowel cancer breakthrough.

Professor Bryan Williams
Distinguished Scientist

Dr Xin (Claire) Sun

Dr Xin (Claire) Sun
Bioinformatics Team Leader

Dr Paul Daniel is a Senior Postdoctoral Research Fellow for the Hudson Monash Paediatric Precision Medicine Program at Hudson Institute

Dr Paul Daniel
Senior Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Dr Vanessa Tsui, Postdoctoral Researcher, Functional Genomics - funded by Robert Connor Dawes Foundation at Hudson Institute

Dr Vanessa Tsui
Postdoctoral Researcher, Functional Genomics – funded by Robert Connor Dawes Foundation

Melissa Loi from the Cancer Genetics and Functional Genomics Research Group at Hudson Institute

Melissa Loi
Technical Sequencing Specialist

Monty Panday

Monty Panday
Analyst Programmer

Nicole Chew, Children's Cancer Foundation Senior Organoid Specialist

Dr Nicole Chew
Senior Organoid Specialist

Rajithri (Dilru) Habarakada

Rajithri (Dilru) Habarakada
Biobank Specialist

Vikesh Ajith from the Centre for Cancer Research at Hudson Institiute

Vikesh Ajith
Bioinformatics Research Assistant

Dr Hanbyeol Lee, Postdoctoral Scientist for the Centre for Cancer research at Hudson Institute.

Dr Hanbyeol Lee
Postdoctoral Scientist

Samitha Amarapathy, VPCC Next Generation Precision Medicine

Samitha Amarapathy
PhD student, Faculty of IT, Monash University

Shazia Adjumain Photo

Shazia Adjumain
Gideon Gratzer PhD Scholar – funded by Robert Connor Dawes Foundation

Yichen Zhou, Centre for Cancer Research at Hudson Institute

Dr Yichen Zhou
Postdoctoral Scientist

Danxi Zhu from the Cancer Genetics and Functional Genomics Research Group at Hudson Institute

Danxi Zhu
Postdoctoral Scientist

Yuqing Liang

Dr Yuqing Liang
Children’s Cancer Foundation PhD Student

Hui Kheng Chua
Laboratory Manager

Bao Le
Junior Research Assistant

Hugh Gao, a PhD student from the Cancer Genetics and Functional Genomics Research Group at Hudson Institute of Medical Research

Hugh Gao
PhD Student

Lily Fraser is a member of the Centre for Cancer Research.

Lily Fraser
Honours Student

Nicole Alexia, Visiting Scholar, Hudson Research Institute

Nicole Alexia
Visiting Scholar

Dingyin Sun PhD Student in the Centre for Cancer Research at Hudson Institute

Dingyin Sun
PhD Student

James Cooper, Honorary Research Associate, Centre for Cancer Research at Hudson Institute

James Cooper
Volunteer

Abigail Yoel

Abigail Yoel
Visiting Scholar

Collaborators

Prof David Eisenstat  – The Royal Children’s Hospital/Murdoch Children’s Research Institute

A/Prof Peter Downie  – Monash Children’s Hospital

A/Prof Sefi Rosenbluh  – Monash University

A/Prof Paul Ekert – Children’s Cancer Institute

Prof Roger Daly – Monash University

Dr Pouya Faridi – Monash University

A/Prof Paul Neeson – Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre 

Learn more about VPCC