Outcome of the inaugural Professor Abdi Cancer Research Funding Initiative
SAiGENCI is thrilled to share the exciting outcome of our inaugural Professor Abdi Cancer Research Funding Initiative. This initiative is made possible by the generous donation from Professor Abdi, and the tremendous effort of everyone who have contributed to our philanthropic activities. This round drew a large number of outstanding applications, making the selection process highly competitive.
About Professor Abdi
Professor Ehtesham Abdi FRACP is a retired oncologist and a 1973 MBBS alumnus of the University of Adelaide. For over four decades, he served as Clinical Lead of Cancer and Aged Care at Griffith University and the Director of Medical Oncology at the Tweed Valley Hospital, providing care to cancer patients with a special interest in breast and lung cancers. Professor Abdi founded the Darling Downs Cancer Research Fund charity in 2002 to support cancer research and clinical trials. In 2025, after his retirement, some of the proceeds were donated to the University of Adelaide to fund SAiGENCI’s first Seed Funding Initiative.
The primary objective of this initiative is to support our early career researchers, who are the future leaders in driving scientific advancement and delivering the next generation of ground-breaking discoveries in health and medical research. Their fresh perspectives and willingness to challenge established paradigms are central to innovative discoveries.
In this round of applications, we are delighted to announce that five applicants have been successfully awarded $20,000 each for their highly innovative projects.
- Dr Sunita Basnet, “Validation of novel E3 ligase CRL2-APPBP2 for targeted protein degradation”.
- Dr Joshua Chey, “Identifying immune system regulators which ignite inflammation in pancreatic cancer”.
- Dr Ruby Dawson, “Investigation of the involvement of innate immune receptor Pyrin in Helicobacter-induced gastric inflammation and gastric cancer”.
- Dr Ashleigh Geiger, “Developing genome-engineered human mammary gland organoids as a model for understanding breast cancer”.
- Dr Moustafa Mabrouk, “Engineering next generation nanodiscs as a bispecific engager for breast cancer immunotherapy”.
We look forward to seeing the fruits of their labour and the impact of their research.