Gastric Cancer Research Grant (including Linitis Plastica)

Funded by the GI Cancer Institute

A new Gastric Cancer including Linitis Plastica Research Grant is now available to AGITG members thanks to the generous donations of our dedicated GI cancer community supporters.

The purpose of the grant is to advance the understanding of high grade gastric cancer, and improve outcomes for patients with Linitis Plastica and Signet Cell Ring Carcinoma. A grant of up to $100,000 is available to support a new translational research project.

AWARD PROCESS

To request a copy of the application form, please contact: agitg@gicancer.org.au.

Submissions are now closed.

The amount and duration of funding for individual projects will be determined as part of the application process.

Applications will be reviewed by the Grants Committee, which will provide a recommendation for funding to the AGITG Board. Management of the research funding application process is delegated to the Chief Executive Officer.

The Grant recipient is to be announced at the AGITG Annual Scientific Meeting in October 2021.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

Applications will be assessed on:

Scientific merit (20%)
Feasibility (20%)
Innovation and significance (20%)
Ability to build research or capacity for AGITG (20%)
Candidate’s track record (20%)

2021 Recipient

Professor Niall Tebbutt was awarded the inaugural Gastric Cancer Research Grant (including Linitis Plastica), worth $100,000, to develop and apply artificial intelligence (AI) based image analysis for scoring of PD-L1 immunohistochemistry in gastro-intestinal cancer. This grant will go towards ensuring that GI cancer patients receive the most efficacious and effective personalised therapy.

Why this Grant is possible

After losing her husband Matt to Linitis Plastica, Trine Kirkegaard-Simpson, established the Silly Hat for Matt Challenge in 2018 to raise funds for research through community based events. Through her efforts, and support from friends and family, the High Grade Gastric Cancer grant is now a reality.

Trine & Matt’s story

I met Matt while backpacking around Australia in 1998 – I was instantly struck by his positivity and his zest for life. We fell in love and quickly realised that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. This took us on an amazing journey together, first to London and later Singapore where we started a family.

Cancer was the last thing on our minds, when Matt began having issues with digestion a couple of months before our youngest son Oliver was born. Matt sought help and began seeing a gastroenterologist but treatment only brought temporary relief and soon his symptoms worsened and intensified with weight loss, heartburn and stomach pains. We were told that Matt had a rare and very aggressive type of stomach cancer called Linitis Plastica.

There was no time to lose and Matt began chemo just a week after diagnosis. But it was too late. After months of chemo and surgery to remove his stomach, Matt’s cancer became incurable. He spent his last six weeks in a hospice surrounded by close family and friends. He passed away in November 2013, aged 40 – a few days after celebrating our son Daniel‘s 4th birthday and only a year after diagnosis.

I don’t want Matt’s cancer and his death to be just another statistic in the rare cancer book, which nobody ever reads. Matt is missed by so many and has left a void in our lives – he was the kind of person who would call people on their birthdays every year without fail. This is why my family, friends and I, are supporting the GI Cancer Institute High Grade Gastric Cancer – Research Grant. Only through research will we be able to answer the many unknowns about this deadly stomach cancer that cut Matt’s life short and robbed us of a much loved husband, father, son and friend.

Quick links:

Take on a Gutsy Challenge

How to develop your research with us

Funding opportunities for members

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