The Children’s
Medical Research Institute was founded in 1958 by Sir Lorimer Dodds and
was the first centre for paediatric research in Australia, then situated
at Camperdown.
In 1985 Professor
Peter Row said its mission was "to understand the root cause of the
disease (cancer)" and this meant prevention. The Institute relies heavily
on public generosity. Roger’s grandmother died of colon cancer when he was
already a cancer specialist. He trained at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
and his focus is on developmental biology – embryology, how the brain and
muscles develop. The gene therapy unit investigates how we can deliver
normal genes to people with cancer genes.
This is the most exciting time
ever to be doing medical research, says Roger.