Rotarians fund prostate cancer research

Prostate cancer research at ANU will be boosted by a new endowment fund announced recently....

16 June 2008

The Canberra North Rotarians Endowment for Prostate Cancer Research was launched recently at the ANU College of Medicine and Health Sciences.

The fund was established through the support of local Rotarians, and will support research into the causes, prevention and treatment of prostate cancer.

“Prostate cancer is such a challenge,” said the Dean of ANU College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Professor Nicholas Glasgow. “This wonderful donation provides a firm foundation on which to build research activities within The Medical School, The John Curtin School of Medical Research and the wider College. It also provides a fine example for others who want to do something practical to support health research at ANU. I sincerely thank the Rotarians for their generosity.”

Brian Lane, a Canberra North Rotarian and the Associate Director of ANU Facilities and Services (Property and Building), says that the ongoing endowment supporting prostate research has a two-fold benefit.

“Firstly and most obviously we hope that through the endowment we can help find a cure for prostate cancer,” he said.

“On the other hand, given the age profile of current club members and the difficulty for Rotary in recruiting new members, we had begun to seriously consider the limited lifespan left for our club. We wanted to provide ongoing commitment to a worthwhile cause that would give the club perpetuity.”

“Commitment to funding ongoing research for a disease that is the second highest cause of cancer deaths in Australian men was a clear-cut decision,” Mr Lane said.

The endowment will be set up to fund postgraduate scholarships and smaller grants to support specific research projects.

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Mr Brian Lane, Professor Nicholas Glasgow, Ms Joan Uhr, Mr Geoff Tuckwell, Mr Kent Keith and Mr Ian Gent at the Canberra North Rotarians Endowment for Prostate Cancer Research launch