Our Mission

DR JASON BUTLER

Icon Cancer Centre & Royal Brisbane Hospital

Dr Jason Butler is a senior staff specialist at the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital and Visiting Haematologist with Icon Cancer Centre. Dr Butler also completed a Masters in Medical Science (Clinical Epidemiology) to assist with development of investigator-initiator research studies. He is the chair of the EviQ haematology reference committee. His major clinical interests are in all aspects of malignant haematology, particularly in leukaemia, lymphoma, and myeloma, CAR T therapy, as well as autologous and allogeneic stem cell transplantation, including investigator roles on clinical studies in each of these fields. Dr Butler also undertakes other roles, including extensive educational support and clinical presentations for patients and health professionals, and advocacy roles as a board member for Lymphoma Australia.

DR RICHARD MITCHELL

Sydney Children’s Hospital

Dr Richard Mitchell is a Paediatric Haematologist/Oncologist and Bone Marrow Transplant Physician. Dr Mitchell is the Director of the Transplant and Cellular Therapies Program at the Kids Cancer Centre. Dr Mitchell has numerous national and international research positions, including current chair of the ANZCHOG Transplant and Cellular Therapy in Children (TACTIC) group, the Australasian representative on the Children’s Oncology Group Cellular Therapy Steering Committee and a current board member of the ANZCHOG executive. Dr Mitchell completed his medical training at the University of Queensland and undertook paediatric training at Sydney Children’s Hospital. He specialised in paediatric haematology/oncology, which included two clinical fellowships in paediatric bone marrow transplantation at the University of Minnesota, MN, USA and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre, NY, USA. Dr Mitchell’s research interests include high-risk leukaemia and non-malignant transplantation. He currently leads a national trial in TCR α+β+/CD19+ cell depletion in paediatric patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation.

PROF MILES PRINCE

Epworth Healthcare

Miles is the Professor/Director of Cancer Immunology and Molecular Oncology at Epworth Healthcare and a previous Director of the Centre for Blood Cell Therapies at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre after establishing the Centre in 1999. He also oversees clinical and laboratory research – the latter involving stem cell research, genomics and cancer immunology and is lead investigator for a large NHMRC Program Grant in Cancer Immunology. He has been the Principal Investigator of over 200 clinical trials in myeloma, lymphoma and leukaemia and led the first CAR-T study in Australia over 10 years ago in AML. He has published over 450 peer- reviewed manuscripts. He is one of the establishing members of the Snowdome Foundation which focuses on accelerating new therapies for Australian patients with blood cancers. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Health & Medical Sciences and a Member of the Order of Australia.

DR DUNCAN PURTILL

Fiona Stanley Hospital, Western Australia.

Dr Duncan Purtill is a consultant haematologist at Fiona Stanley Hospital, WA. He trained in WA and undertook fellowships at Hôpital Saint Louis, Paris, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre, New York. His interests are in stem cell transplantation and cellular therapies, and promoting the role of quality management and patient registries in clinical practice.

PROF JOHN RASKO

Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, NSW

Professor John Rasko is an Australian pioneer in the application of stem cells and genetic therapies. For over two decades he has directed the Department of Cell and Molecular Therapies at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and the Gene and Stem Cell Therapy Program at the Centenary Institute, University of Sydney. As a clinical haematologist, pathologist and scientist he has contributed to the understanding of stem cells and blood cell development, gene therapies, cancer causation and treatment, human genetic diseases and molecular biology. John frequently appears on radio and television to discuss biomedical research, medical tourism, and scientific fraud. He delivered the prestigious 2018 Boyer Lecture series for the Australian Broadcasting Commission. Service to national and international professional societies, as well as a series of prestigious awards, recognise his commitment to excellence in medical research, including appointment as an Officer of the Order of Australia.

PROF CON TAM

Alfred Health/Monash University, Victoria

Professor Con Tam is the Head of Lymphoma Service at Alfred Health and Professor of Haematology at Monash University. He has a keen interest in the biology and treatment of blood cancers. Professor Tam has extensive experience in the conduct of clinical trials, particularly those involving new targeted therapies. He is the global lead for the novel BTK inhibitor zanubrutinib, and he completed the first study in the world to combine ibrutinib and venetoclax (published in New England Journal of Medicine in 2018). Professor Tam participates actively in peer- review and is Associate Editor of Blood Advances. Since 2012, Professor Tam has received over $18 million in grants. He has authored 179 papers, with over 5000 Web of ScienceTM citations. Professor Tam is a member of the American Society of Hematology, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Association for Cancer Research, and the European Hematology Association.

DR MARY ANN ANDERSON

Walter and Eliza Hall Institute/University of Melbourne, Victoria

Dr Mary Ann Anderson is a clinical scientist at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute with a research focus on leukaemia and lymphoma. Her current research focuses on understanding the development of resistance to anti-cancer agents with a long-term goal of developing better treatments for people with cancer.