LUMEN Spring 2022 - Flipbook - Page 22
C
hristopher Sweeney has an impressive
resume. He’s currently the Medical
Oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer
Institute in Boston, Massachusetts,
and a Professor of Medicine at Harvard
Medical School.
But it’s the opportunity to head up South
Australian immunoGENomics Cancer Institute
(SAiGENCI) that is finally bringing Chris home
to Adelaide.
Founded by an $80 million investment from the
federal government, SAiGENCI is a cancerfocused medical research institute centred
on cancer research and clinical trials, which
will include new cutting-edge technologies in
immunotherapies and genomics. SAiGENCI
will bring in the most advanced technologies
and unparalleled expertise to cancer diagnosis,
treatment and care, providing an immediate
impact to all cancer patients and their families.
Collaboration is at the heart of the Institute,
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Christopher
Sweeney
Photo credit:
Josh Geelen
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THE UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE
bringing together all of the cancer research
in Adelaide from the University of Adelaide,
SAHMRI, the University of South Australia and
Flinders University.
“We can coordinate more effectively and have the
whole of Adelaide be competitive on the national
and international stage,” said Chris.
“Instead of having isolated pockets, if we can do
some big projects together and have joint seminars
to share ideas, we'll actually be one large cohesive
unit that will be much more globally competitive as
well as efficient and effective.”
The Institute is an alliance between the Central
Adelaide Local Health Network (CALHN) and
the University of Adelaide. The aim is to recruit
cancer researchers from across the globe and bring
them to Adelaide to help fight one of the world’s
most devastating diseases.
“We’ve made a very strategic decision to
complement the cancer research excellence that
is in the University of Adelaide and the state by
bringing new researchers from outside South
