Co-Head, Brain Tumour Research
The Kids Research Institute Australia

Raelene was awarded her PhD in 2003 from the Harry Perkins Institute for Medical Research (under the supervision of Peter Klinken), undertook postdoctoral training in the Neurobiology and Brain Tumor Program at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, USA (under the supervision of Suzanne Baker), and was awarded a Fellowship in 2011 to return to Australia to establish the Brain Tumour Research Program at the The Kids Research Institute Australia which she co-leads with Nick Gottardo. This collaborative group of clinicians, neurosurgeons and laboratory scientists uses a suite of in vivo models to understand the effects of paediatric brain tumour mutations on normal brain development and tumorigenesis. Her team also investigates potential therapeutic targets and uses in vivo model systems to evaluate novel treatments prior to clinical trial.

Raelene is a passionate advocate for science and actively encourages young scientists to get involved in medical research. She has mentored high school students, undergrads, Honours, Masters and PhD students in her lab. Raelene has also chaired the The Kids Research Institute Australia Postdoctoral Council and been on the executive committee for the Australian Academy of Science Early-Mid Career Researchers Forum.

Related research projects: 

• Developing and characterising unique paediatric brain cancer models to expedite clinical translation

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Co-Head, Brain Tumour Research
The Kids Research Institute Australia

Prof Nick Gottardo is Co-Head of the Institute’s Brain Tumour Research Team and a Consultant Paediatric Oncologist/Neuro-Oncologist and Head of Department of Paediatric Oncology and Haematology at Princess Margaret Hospital for Children. Prof Gottardo is also an Adjunct Associate Clinical Professor at the University of Western Australia and a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP).

Prof Gottardo is driven by his belief that it’s unacceptable for children to die from brain tumours. His research interests include developing laboratory models of brain tumours, testing new therapies using these models and identifying areas of weaknesses in the tumours that might be suitable drug targets.

Prof Gottardo’s medical career began at Leeds University with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery/Chirurgery. He worked for two and a half years as a doctor in the UK, before heading to Australia in 1996, where he took up a position at Princess Margaret Hospital for Children and began a PhD at The Kids Research Institute Australia. After completing his PhD, Prof Gottardo headed to St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, USA, one of the world’s premier childhood cancer institutes. He spent three years at St Jude as a post-doctoral brain tumour fellow and gained extensive experience in the laboratory in brain tumour model generation, preclinical testing and brain cancer cell biology, as well as expertise in the management of children with brain tumours in the clinic. In 2008 he received the International Symposium Paediatric Neuro-Oncology (ISPNO) Young Investigator award for scientific excellence. Dr Gottardo returned to Perth Australia in 2008 as a Consultant Paediatric Oncologist/Neuro-Oncologist and established the Brain Tumour Research Programme at the The Kids Research Institute Australia. In 2012 he was awarded the Raine Clinician Research Fellowship and in 2016 the Cancer Council Western Australia Research Fellowship.

In his clinical capacity Prof Gottardo is the Deputy Chair of the Australian and New Zealand Children’s Haematology and Oncology Group (ANZCHOG) and Chair of their Central Nervous System (CNS)Tumours Subgroup, and a Board member of the Australian Children’s Cancer Therapy (ACCT) group. He is also a member of the international North American based Children’s Oncology Group (COG) CNS Tumour Committee and leads the COG’s upfront clinical trial for patients with WNT-driven medulloblastoma. He collaborates extensively both nationally and internationally; he is a founding member of the Brain Cancer Discovery Collaborative (BCDC) – a collaborative network consisting of the best brain cancer scientists and clinicians across Australia and a member of the International Medulloblastoma Working Group.

Related research projects: 

• Developing and characterising unique paediatric brain cancer models to expedite clinical translation