The University of Queensland School of Dentistry's Oral Oncology Research Program has secured a $500,000 grant to support the development of clinical and molecular diagnostics for the early detection and treatment of head and neck cancer.
The funding is part of the Queensland government's $3.5 million grant for the Herston Imaging Research Facility and Cancer Molecular Diagnostics, combined with $1.38 million of funding from Cancer Australia, industry partners, and the university.
The Oral Oncology Research Program brings together clinicians and scientists with expertise in head and neck cancer research. Industry collaborators include Agilent Technologies, Life Technologies, Olympus Australia, and Colgate-Palmolive Australia.
Recent advances in genomics and molecular biology technology would underpin molecular marker development, noted Camile Farah, BDSc, MDSc, PhD, chief investigator and group leader, in a press release.
"Such markers can serve as the basis for new genomics-based diagnostic tests and can also pave the way for the development of new therapeutics," he said.
