What we do

At Australian Cancer Research Foundation, we believe a world without cancer is possible. Guided by some of the brightest minds in cancer research we continuously look for new and improved ways to prevent, detect and treat cancer. We back bold ideas – ideas that lead to breakthroughs and discoveries that help each individual diagnosed with this complex and disruptive disease.

Thanks to our generous supporters, we have awarded 90 grants totalling over $204 million to 44 Australian research institutions.

The initiatives selected for research funding are those that have the potential to provide us with the greatest health and social returns.

ACRF grants, awarded to cancer research initiatives, have led to some ground-breaking discoveries

Some key achievements of ACRF grant recipients include;

• Development of a new HPV Cervical Cancer Vaccine: ACRF gave initial seed funding to Professor Ian Frazer’s research into the cervical cancer (HPV) vaccine. Over 150 million doses of the vaccine have been delivered worldwide to date. 
• Major study which uncovered new breast cancer genes: ACRF has given three grants, totalling AUD 8.4 million to QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute which led to a team of researchers at this Institute discovering at least 12 new genes that influence the risk of developing breast cancer.
• A new blood test that detects early stages of cancer: ACRF provided $5.5 million in funding to The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute where researchers developed a blood test that can detect the presence of eight common cancers. The test has been shown to reliably detect early stage and curable cancers.