Irish Cancer Society joins international prostate cancer research collaboration
The Irish Cancer Society is joining forces with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard School of Public Health to form the Boston-Ireland Prostate Cancer Collaboration with the goal of advancing research efforts to identify new treatments for prostate cancer.
The announcement was made during the Inaugural John Fitzpatrick Irish Prostate Cancer Conference at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin, in memory of Prof. Fitzpatrick, the former Head of Research at the Irish Cancer Society, marking his significant international contribution to prostate cancer research.
Prostate cancer represents a growing health challenge in both countries, affecting nearly one in six men in their lifetime.
The collaboration, will bring together experts from institutions in Ireland and, the world-renowned, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard School of Public Health with the aim of making a significant and lasting impact on the diagnosis, treatment and management of the disease.
This fellowship programme will address key clinical needs in prostate cancer such as accurate diagnosis, assessment of treatment options to ensure best quality of life and identification of new therapeutic targets for treatment-resistant disease.
The selection process to identify a talented, young scientist or clinician to undertake this unique opportunity promises to be highly competitive.
The successful recipient of the reward will initially spend a two year research mentorship in the world leading facilities provided by the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
The candidate will then bring their expertise back to Ireland and integrate emerging state-of-the-art research methods into Irish prostate cancer research practice.
Speaking at the Inaugural John Fitzpatrick Irish Prostate Cancer Conference, Head of Research at the Irish Cancer Society, Dr. Robert O’Connor said: “The Irish Cancer Society is delighted to announce the Boston-Ireland Prostate Cancer Collaboration with Dana-Farber Institute and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. This collaboration brings together internationally unique expertise in the field of prostate cancer. This novel partnership will leverage our combined knowledge and resources to make a real and lasting difference to prostate cancer patients and their families on both sides of the Atlantic."
“This collaboration also has significant meaning to the Irish Cancer Society as it is in memory of the Society’s first Head of Research, Professor John Fitzpatrick, and his enormous contribution to research, especially in the field of prostate cancer.”
The collaboration of the leading institutions in the US and Ireland will create strategic relationships enhancing already established programmes and initiatives in cancer biology, epidemiology, clinical practice and population health.
Philip Kantoff, M.D., Chief, Division of Solid Tumor Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Jerome and Nancy Kohlberg Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School added
“This initiative will enable a significant sharing of intellectual capital and resources amongst International experts in Ireland and the US to allow us to better tackle prostate cancer. The Boston-Ireland Prostate Cancer Collaboration will train bright young investigators in Ireland and Boston with a view to creating a pool of talented and internationally networked researchers. It is through exciting collaborations such as this that leading US and Irish researchers can exchange knowledge which will ultimately lead to significant prostate cancer breakthroughs.”
This fellowship is being kindly supported by Sanofi and Janssen.
