The Lowy Cancer Research Centre is a facility at

The University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...

. It is Australia's first facility bringing together researchers in childhood and adult cancers, and one of the country's largest cancer research facilities, housing up to 400 researchers. The centre, named for businessman

Frank Lowy Sir Frank P. Lowy ( ; born 22 October 1930) is an Australian-Israeli businessman of Jewish Slovakian-Hungarian origins and the former long-time Chairman of Westfield Corporation, a global shopping centre company with billion of assets under ...

, who donated $10 million towards the project, was officially opened on 28 May 2010. It is home to researchers from the

UNSW Faculty of Medicine The Faculty of Medicine is a constituent body of the University of New South Wales, Australia. The Faculty was established in June 1960 under founding dean Professor Frank Rundle. It has nine schools: * School of Medical Sciences * School of Psyc ...

and Children's Cancer Institute Australia. The inaugural director is Professor Philip Hogg, winner of the Cancer Institute NSW Premier's Award for Outstanding Cancer Research in 2009.

Building facilities

The Lowy Cancer Research Centre was built with funding from numerous private and government organisations, including Frank Lowy, who gifted $10 million; the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government ...

, that granted $13.3 million; the Australian Cancer Research Foundation (ACRF), that granted $3.1 million for the establishment of the ACRF Drug Discovery Centre for Childhood Cancer; and the bulk of the $127 million cost was generated from the sale of the

Little Bay Little Bay is a suburb in south-eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Little Bay is located 14 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Randwic ...

sporting fields at UNSW, which were sold for $103 million. Lahznimmo Architects, in association with Wilson Architects, designed The Lowy Cancer Research Centre with environmental sustainability in mind.

Official opening

The centre was officially opened on 28 May 2010 by the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and again from June 2013 to September 2013, holding office as the leader of the ...

and the NSW Premier

Kristina Keneally Kristina Marie Kerscher Keneally (born 19 December 1968) is an American-born Australian politician who was a Labor Senator for New South Wales from February 2018 until April 2022, when she resigned to unsuccessfully contest the House of Repres ...

. At the official opening Rudd said:

Research impact

Lowy Cancer Symposium

The Lowy Cancer Symposium is a

biennial Biennial means (an event) lasting for two years or occurring every two years. The related term biennium is used in reference to a period of two years. In particular, it can refer to: * Biennial plant, a plant which blooms in its second year and th ...

cancer conference, hosted by the Lowy Cancer Research Centre in Sydney. Designed for

basic research Basic research, also called pure research or fundamental research, is a type of scientific research with the aim of improving scientific theories for better understanding and prediction of natural or other phenomena. In contrast, applied rese ...

scientists,

oncologist Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (''ó ...

s and other healthcare professionals, this cancer symposium is Australia's only Cancer Drug Discovery Symposium and focuses on the three key phases of cancer therapeutic development: discovery, pre-clinical and clinical. The symposium brings together Australian and international leading cancer researchers to discuss real-time breakthroughs in cancer treatments and cures. The first Lowy Cancer Symposium with the theme Discovering Cancer Therapeutics was held on 16–18 May 2010 leading up to the official opening of the new Centre. Among the notable guests were Nobel Laureate K Barry Sharpless, Vishva Dixit, and Nicholas Dracopoli. Launch celebrations for the new ACRF Drug Discovery for Childhood Cancer, which is housed in the Lowy Cancer Research Centre, were also held during the symposium. The second Lowy Cancer Symposium was held 15–17 May 2013 at UNSW, highlighting Australasia's cancer research breakthroughs and showcasing some of the best international cancer research, including an address from Dr Lewis Cantley, director of the Cancer Center at

Weill Cornell Medical College The Joan & Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University is Cornell University's biomedical research unit and medical school located in Upper East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York. Weill Cornell Medicine is affiliated with N ...

in New York.

References

External links