The Lowy Cancer Research Centre is a facility at The University of New South Wales. 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 people, Australian-Israeli people, Israeli businessman of Jewish Slovak-Hungarian origins and the former long-time chairman of Westfield Corporation, a global shopping centre company ...

, 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 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 or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...

, 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 sporting fields at

UNSW The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public university, public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, ...

, which were sold for $103 million. Lahznimmo Architects, in association with Wilson Architects, designed The Lowy Cancer Research Centre with

environmental sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

in mind.

Official opening

The centre was officially opened on 28 May 2010 by the

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

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

and the NSW Premier Kristina Keneally. At the official opening Rudd said:

Research impact

Lowy Cancer Symposium

The Lowy Cancer Symposium is a biennial cancer conference, hosted by the Lowy Cancer Research Centre in Sydney. Designed for

basic research Basic research, also called pure research, fundamental research, basic science, or pure science, is a type of scientific research with the aim of improving scientific theories for better understanding and prediction of natural or other phenome ...

scientists, oncologists 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 The Nobel Prizes (, ) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make outstanding contributions in th ...

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 in New York.

References

External links