The Rotary Club of Emerald and District is gearing up to hold its 2023 Kids Fun Run with Puffing Billy on Sunday 26 November.
The group has raised $721,250 for children’s charities since the first event held in 2002.
This years’ recipients, Monash Children’s Hospital Cancer Centre, has received the funds over the last three years totalling $146,000.
Due to their special needs, they will again receive all money raised from the 2023 event.
Associate Professor and Head of Oncology at Monash Children’s Cancer Centre Peter Downie has advised that over the last 12 to 18 months they have been focussing their research into looking into solid tumours in childhood (which includes brain cancers).
They have developed collaborations with many other academic institutions around Australia and other parts of the world where they are sharing that reach.
What is exciting is the development of a paediatric cancer atlas – this is a collection of over 200 childhood cancer cell lines which have been analysed and gone through a process of molecular sequencing, so that they can develop new potentially targeted drugs for these cancers.
Funds from this year’s event will be a bonus, however If money was no object in the next 12 to 18 months, Monash would need to develop a stem cell program for the whole service, which means cancer and blood stem cell research and a clinical stem cell program.
Monash are also just starting to develop further research into myeloid leukaemia, looking at the functional genomics of leukaemia and leukaemia biology.
The event allows kids to raise funds for kids.
Kids can create their own go fund me page and the top fund raisers will receive prizes.
The more funds that an event of this kind can raise, allows for more childhood cancer research and that in turn means more children will be cured.
Mr Downie said what is needed is a better understanding of why children get cancer in the first place.
Monash are looking at gene dysregulation and using computer generated modelling to try and help them work on these themes of tumour biology, the complexities of the immune system and immunotherapy.
As in previous years representatives from Monash Children’s Hospital will attend the event at Gembrook Puffing Billy Railway.
Event applications are now open and registrations can be accessed via the Emerald Rotary web site at emeraldrotary.org.au
