About us
What is KCA
“KCA through its first 5 years has accelerated translational cancer research in the field of childhood cancer across NSW and Australia in a way no other research body has been able to achieve”
Professor Glenn Marshall AM, KCA Director
The Kids Cancer Alliance is a Translational Cancer Research Centre supported up until July 2021 by the Cancer Institute NSW and funded by taxpayers.
The Kids Cancer Alliance brings together leading doctors and scientists working in child cancer medicine and research across NSW to improve the care of children with cancer. KCA directs 60% of its funding towards infrastructure such as biobanking, bioinformatics and other services. KCA also fosters early career researchers through support with travel grants, scholarships and workshops.
KCA focuses on good translational research as it bridges the gap between basic science and clinical medicine producing promising clinical treatment endpoints. KCA is the ultimate example of ‘bench-to-bedside’ medicine, taking new discoveries from development in the laboratory, with the data analyzed and translated all the way through to their application in the clinic.
KCA has been strongly supported by the University of Sydney and UNSW Sydney and is one of only a small number of research entities that sits across the two universities.
In the past, KCA has consistently scored at the highest level by Cancer Institute NSW annual evaluations for its innovation and high levels of impact on outcomes of children with cancer. Funding was renewed to June 2021 as part of the Cancer Institute Translational Cancer Research Centre Program in 2016 and KCA now comprises 230 active members.
As a result of the funding, KCA has established strong research collaborations across the Children’s Cancer Centres at Westmead and Randwick, the Children’s Cancer Institute, the Children’s Medical Research Institute and the Sydney Children’s Hospital Kids Research Division.
KCA is comprised of a hospital research division, two medical research institutes and three child cancer clinical care centres in New South Wales. Refer to Our partners and affiliates for further details.