Strategic leadership to deliver high impact programs

Announcing five new VCCC Research & Education Leads

A foundation principle of the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC) is that, as an alliance, we are greater than the sum of our parts. Translating this into real-world practicality requires more than traditional collaboration. It demands strong, collegiate leadership and strategic, systematised ways of working across organisational boundaries and disciplines.

This is what the VCCC Research & Education (R&E) Lead program aims to achieve. Through identifying key opportunities and unmet needs, the VCCC R&E Leads fill gaps and capitalise on opportunities to integrate and amplify research, education and multi-site clinical trials in tumour streams or cancer themes.

Specialised leadership across the alliance

We are delighted to announce that five senior clinician-scientists have been appointed to new R&E Lead portfolios. The appointments will guide and develop high quality comprehensive cancer programs within their specialty areas, across the VCCC alliance.

Congratulations to:

	Dr Niall Corcoran, Genito-urinary cancers Urological Surgeon and Deputy Head, Urology Unit, Royal Melbourne Hospital and Senior Research Fellow, Department of Surgery, University of Melbourne
	Associate Professor David Wiesenfeld, Head and neck cancers Director, Head and Neck Tumour Stream, Royal Melbourne Hospital and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre Image credit: Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
	Associate Professor Linda Mileshkin, Gynae-oncology Deputy Director of Medical Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre Image credit: ANZGOG
	Associate Professor Hui Gan, Central nervous system and brain cancers Director of Clinical Trials, Austin Health and Senior Research Fellow, Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute
	Associate Professor Jayesh Desai, Sarcoma Head, Early Drug Development, Parkville Cancer Clinical Trials Unit, Consultant Medical Oncology Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and Senior Clinical Research Fellow, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute Image credit: Walter and Eliza Hall Institute

These five new R&E Leads join the six existing leads in haematology, melanoma and skin cancers, primary care, nursing, lung cancer, and gastro-intestinal cancers. This program is a cornerstone of the VCCC’s Strategic Research Plan 2017-20.

Progress research discoveries to clinic outcomes; enabling knowledge transfer

VCCC Executive Director, Professor Grant McArthur said, “The VCCC Research & Education Leads are a great demonstration of how the VCCC is changing the way we tackle cancer in Victoria. Our distributed leadership model supports the development of strategic programs working across disciplines and organisations to generate dynamic new approaches to the big challenges in cancer.”

Exceptional leadership traverses the research to clinic pipeline, integrates emergent knowledge and applies it to patient care; delivering improved health outcomes for our community.”

Learn more about the R&E Leads.