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06 Dec 2016

Melbourne Immunotherapy Network launches with inaugural symposium

Close to 200 researchers and clinicians attended the inaugural Melbourne Immunotherapy Network symposium, the first in a series of meetings designed to establish collaborations between immunology researchers and clinicians working with immunotherapy here in Melbourne.

Initiated by University of Melbourne Professors Dale Godfrey, Sharon Lewin and Fabienne Mackay at the Doherty Institute, and Professors Joe Trapani and Professor Ricky Johnstone, from The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, the network has been set-up to harness and combine the immunology and immuno-oncology excellence in the Melbourne area.

“Immunotherapy – manipulation of the immune system to fight disease - is taking the world by storm. In particular, it’s making a huge difference for cancer patients where it now represents front line treatment for some types of cancer such as metastatic melanoma and, for the first time, metastatic melanoma patients have a real chance for long term survival,” Professor Godfrey said.

“But the basic fact remains, there are still many patients who fail to respond to current immunotherapy treatments, and furthermore, many of these patients have undesirable side effects, ranging from mild to very severe complications. The more we understand about how the immune system is naturally regulated and how it can be harnessed to treat diseases like cancer, the better chance we have to make more effective, fine-tuned therapies with less risk of side effects.

“We need to take full advantage of the outstanding expertise we have here in Melbourne, where we have some of Australia’s leading immunologists and oncologists who are now trialling various types of immunotherapy in cancer patients.”

Representatives from the Doherty Institute at the University of Melbourne and Royal Melbourne Hospital, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, St Vincent’s Institute, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, the Olivia Newton John Cancer Research Institute and Monash University presented some of their latest research and trials at the symposium.

While its impact on cancer is in the spotlight, immunotherapy can also be used to treat many other types of disease including allergy, infectious disease and autoimmunity.

The Melbourne Immunotherapy Network is intended to encompass all researchers with an interest in developing this powerful form of therapy.

Professor Godfrey said it’s a first step towards building new collaborations through this network to enhance interactions between the Immunology and clinical communities, including a regular meeting series, a public forum, co-supervised PhDs, and co-funded research grants.