In 2017, Mrs Pamela Galli AO made a significant gift to the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences to establish The Lorenzo and Pamela Galli Medical Research Trust.
The Trust supports collaborative research programs across the Parkville medical precinct in the areas of cancer and developmental disorders and enables a unique partnership between the University of Melbourne, the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, the WEHI, the Royal Children's Hospital and the Murdoch Children's Research Institute.
Mrs Galli’s extraordinary philanthropic support of medical research was inspired by her late husband Lorenzo and the specialist care he received during his treatment for skin cancer and a blood related cancer.
This extraordinary gift follows the success of three professorial chairs Mrs Galli established at the University of Melbourne since 2012 to lead the research programs supported by the Trust:
- Professor David Amor, The Lorenzo and Pamela Galli Chair in Developmental Medicine
- Professor Ken Smith, The Lorenzo and Pamela Galli Chair in Medical Biology
- Professor Grant McArthur, The Lorenzo Galli Chair in Melanoma and Skin Cancers
Professor Ken Smith was announced as the new Chair in Medical Biology in April 2024, following on from outgoing Director of WEHI and inaugural Chair in Medical Biology, Professor Doug Hilton AO.
In November 2024, a new $20 million donation was announced to an audience of researchers and institute partners at the Galli Research Symposium at the University of Melbourne.
The new donation continues the impact of the Pamela and Lorenzo Galli Medical Research Trust and enables new areas of investigation and research collaboration between the University and partner organisations.
Attendees at the Inaugural Lorenzo and Pamela Galli Research Symposium, November 2024.
Research programs supported by the Trust
Under the leadership of the three Galli Chairs, Professor Grant McArthur, Professor David Amor and Professor Ken Smith, researchers from the University of Melbourne, the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research and the Royal Children’s Hospital are collaborating on three key projects that will impact developmental disorders and cancer.
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Aim: To generate new evidence about the causes of neurodevelopmental disabilities and determine whether new and existing therapies are effective in improving outcomes and quality of life for these children and their families.
Collaborators: The Royal Children’s Hospital and the University of Melbourne -
Aim: To improve the quality of life for children and their families through the identification of new treatments for patients with a wider spectrum of genetic causes of brain developmental disorders.
Collaborators: The Royal Children’s Hospital, the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research and the University of Melbourne -
Aim: To use state-of-the-art genomics and computational research methods to understand how cancer cells evolve, adapt and influence response to therapy at the single cell level.
Collaborators: The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research and the University of Melbourne.
In partnership with
Discovery of new treatments for brain development disorders
We anticipate that through this program of research, more children with intellectual disability will receive targeted treatment to enhance their brain development. By building capacity in registries, data science, clinical trials and implementation science, we will be in a position to generate new evidence about the cause, prevention and best treatment for neurodevelopment disability.
Improving outcomes and quality of life for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities
Intellectual disability occurs in 2-3% of newborn babies and results in a lifetime of dependency. Traditionally, intellectual disability has been viewed as an untreatable condition, but we are now investigating whether there may be ways to prevent or ameliorate such disability through cellular interventions.
Next generation cancer discoveries initiative
Cancers are characterised by a complex mixture of cells including cancer cells that differ from each other plus non-cancer cells such as immune cells. Technology has now emerged to allow single-cell gene sequencing and expression analysis. We apply computational methods to understand the resulting complex data, which is critical to improving response to treatment and defeating cancer growth.
Learn more about the impactful research being supported by the Lorenzo and Pamela Galli Medical Research Trust.
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Professor Alicia Oshlack
Read about how Alicia is using innovative genome-wide technologies to detect cancer-causing mutations.
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Maria Bergamasco
Learn about how the Lorenzo and Pamela Galli Medical Research Trust is supporting the work of PhD student Maria Bergamasco.
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Dr Hannah Vanyai
Read about how Dr Hannah Vanyai is using dietary supplementation to support the health brain development of children with neurodevelopmental disorders.
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Dr Jordan Wright
Find out how Jordan's research could pave the way towards exciting new treatments for epigenetic-related neurodevelopmental disorders.
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Professor Grant McArthur AO
With advances in precision medicine, personalised therapies and the possibility of a vaccine, surviving melanoma is no longer a pipe dream. 14 years after she was told her original cancer had metastasised, Wamba Wamba woman, Melissa Sheldon, can now see that the timing was fortunate.
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Associate Professor Erich Rutz
New orthopaedic surgical techniques and interventions are giving children living with cerebral palsy the chance to stand, walk, jump and run – dependent on their pre-existing level of disability.
Galli Senior Research Fellowships and Bob Dickens Senior Research Fellowships
Objective
Galli Senior Fellowships and Bob Dickens Senior Fellowships are intended to support outstanding postdoctoral researchers to conduct research aligned with the Lorenzo and Pamela Galli Medical Research Trust and the Pamela Galli and Bob Dickens Paediatric Orthopaedic Research Trust.
Fellowships are aimed at researchers with 5 to 15 years postdoctoral experience, taking into consideration career interruptions. It is expected that applicants would not already be established lab heads/program leaders, but have potential to develop that capability during the fellowship. Applicants do not need to be currently associated with a Galli program to apply, however applicants must seek support and endorsement from the relevant Galli Chair or Bob Dickens Chair prior to commencing an application.
Chairs
Professor David Amor, The Lorenzo and Pamela Galli Chair in Developmental Medicine
Professor Ken Smith, The Lorenzo and Pamela Galli Chair in Medical Biology
Professor Grant McArthur, The Lorenzo Galli Chair in Melanoma and Skin Cancers
Associate Professor Erich Rutz, The Bob Dickens Chair for Paediatric Orthopaedic Surgery
Contact
Please contact mdhs-grants@unimelb.edu.au for any questions.