The Irish Cancer Society has awarded a Clinician Research Leadership Award to Professor Jarushka Naidoo to support pioneering clinical research on lung cancer and immunotherapy over the next two years.

Professor Jarushka Naidoo, Consultant Medical Oncologist and clinician researcher at the Beaumont RCSI Cancer Centre, will be dedicating her efforts to advancing clinical trials for patients with lung cancer, including a novel investigator-initiated clinical trial of a new targeted therapy for lung cancer. She will also lead a series of projects that will help improve our understanding of immunotherapy, a treatment that harnesses the body’s own immune system to target cancer cells.

The funding is provided as part of a record €450,000 investment by the Irish Cancer Society that will support three emerging Irish clinician researchers in pursuing exciting projects across areas including lung cancer, breast cancer and cancer genetics. The award ‘buys out’ the time of hospital-based clinicians who are at the forefront of patient care so they can devote time to forward-looking research projects, with the aim of attracting and retaining world-class oncology consultants for Ireland who will drive evidence-based advances for patients.  

"An award like this is truly transformative," said Professor Naidoo. "It allows those with an interest and commitment to research to set out their stall in an Irish context, and to take the first steps that will lead to long-term benefits for patients. Many consultants across Ireland have pursued extra training and developed expertise in the best centres in the world. An award like this allows us the time and opportunity to bring that experience home, by building new and needed programs that will help our patients."

Professor Fergal O’Brien, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, said: "As a dedicated medicine and health sciences university, RCSI is uniquely positioned to focus on clinical and patient-centred research. The Irish Cancer Society Clinician Research Leadership Award enables clinical researchers to dedicate time to pioneering research that has the potential to improve cancer treatments for patients in Ireland and worldwide. I congratulate Professor Jarushka Naidoo on this prestigious award which is a testament to the outstanding quality of her cancer and immunotherapy research."

Commenting on the Clinician Research Leadership Award recipients, Irish Cancer Society Director of Research Dr Robert O’Connor said: “I want to congratulate each of these talented medical professionals and researchers on their awards, which will allow them more time to focus on critical innovations that will contribute towards the overall goal of making sure more people survive cancer in future, and can look forward to a good quality of life during and after treatment.

The vision of the Beaumont RCSI Cancer Centre is to provide pioneering cancer care to patients in Ireland by combining first-class clinical care with ground-breaking translational research and high-quality education and training.

Leading hospital experts and university researchers from Beaumont Hospital, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences and St Luke’s Radiation Oncology Network work together with patients and community services to bring about critical improvements in cancer rehabilitation and prevention. 

As an OECI (Organisation of European Cancer Institutes) member, the centre collaborates with leading international cancer centres to enable world-class individualised cancer care, share best practice and benchmark processes to create brighter outcomes for people with cancer.

You can read more about Professor Jarushka Naidoo’s research here.