Childhood Cancer Awareness Month « Charlie Teo Foundation

Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

1 September 2023 – Today marks the first day of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. The sad truth is that brain cancer is the deadliest of all childhood cancers.


Charlie Teo Foundation is on a global mission to change this by funding the BRIGHTEST brain cancer researchers worldwide!

One of these remarkable researchers who we have funded locally to develop world-first tools in brain cancer is one of ‘Australia’s Superstars of STEM’ Dr Jessica Buck. Dr Buck is also a new mother, proud Kamilaroi woman and the first Aboriginal woman to graduate with a PhD from Oxford University.

Dr Buck shares more about her research into childhood brain cancer one year into her Better Tools Grant from the Charlie Teo Foundation…

Survival rates for kids with brain cancer have barely changed in 30 years. The treatments we use haven’t changed either…

To date very few new brain cancer drugs have been identified for children. We believe this is partially because children are treated as ‘small adults’ in cancer drug discovery. Virtually all pre-clinical studies are conducted in adult models rather than paediatric models.

This completely ignores massive differences that exist between adults and children in the developmental stage of their brain, immune system, organs, and tumour microenvironment.

Under my Charlie Teo Foundation Grant, I have been working to develop world-first techniques to more accurately evaluate new childhood brain cancer therapies. Our pipeline aims to enable the testing of new immunotherapies in paediatric models for the first time.

We desperately need more research into this devastating disease to develop better treatments. This is why charities like the Charlie Teo Foundation are SO important. Better research can provide HOPE to kids with brain cancer and their families.

My ultimate goal is for all kids with brain cancer to grow up to live long, happy and healthy lives.” – Dr Jessica Buck, Perth 


Help support extraordinary scientists in their quest to cure brain cancer by joining one of our upcoming events!