Public Breast Cancer Research Forum 2024

Hosted by Frazer Institute

Join us for an event dedicated to breast cancer advocacy and research, generously supported by TRI, National Breast Cancer Foundation, PA Research Foundation, Health Translation Queensland, QUT and The University of Queensland Faculty of Medicine/Frazer Institute.

Our mission is to foster dynamic dialogue between breast cancer lived experience advocates (consumers), researchers, and clinicians. We are proud to collaborate with organisations that share this mission, including Project Pink - PA Research Foundation, National Breast Cancer Foundation, and Health Translation Queensland.

This event promises to be enlightening and impactful. The forum includes a workshop focused on creating international connections between breast cancer consumers in Australia and the United States, with insights from leading breast cancer oncologists, clinicians, consumers, researchers, and community.

Program

International Breast Cancer Consumer Workshop (RSVP only)

Public Breast Cancer Research Forum 

1pm: Translational Research Institute Auditorium

Acknowledgement of country, introduction by the event organisers and chairs: Prof. Rik Thompson, A/Prof. Joy Wolfram, A/Prof. Fiona Simpson & A/Prof. Fernando Guimaraes

Session 1 (Chaired by A/Prof. Joy Wolfram)

Empowerment: Sharing a common vision toward curing breast cancer

1:10pm: Session opening by Prof. Rik Thompson – QUT – Brisbane as an Australian Hub for Breast Cancer Research
1:20pm: Ms Ashley Dedmon – United States-based breast cancer consumer advocate
1:35pm: Merran Williams (Australia) and Carla Lloyd (USA) - Breast & Gynecologic Cancers Research Advocate Committee, Huntsman Cancer Institute
1:50pm: Dr/Univ. Leonie Young - Queensland/Australia-based breast cancer consumer advocate
2:05pm: Prof. Marina Reeves – Deputy Associate Dean Research, UQ Faculty of Medicine
2:20pm: CEO Damian Topp – Project Pink – PA Research Foundation
2:40pm: CEO A/Prof. Cleola Anderiesz – National Breast Cancer Foundation

Catered coffee break - TRI Atrium

3-3:30pm

Session 2 (Chaired by A/Prof. Fernando Guimaraes)

Collaboration: Bridging science, clinical practice and lived experience to advance breast cancer initiatives

Networking and entertainment opportunity - TRI Atrium

5:20-7pm

Meet our speakers

Ms Ashley Dedmon is a certified Health Education Specialist and a breast cancer advocate, author, and speaker. As a young woman, she lost her mother to stage IV metastatic breast cancer. With a family history that includes three generations of women affected by breast cancer, Ashley decided to undergo genetic testing and discovered she was BRCA2 positive, a leading marker for the disease. Ms. Dedmon serves on a myriad of breast cancer consumer committees in the United States. For example, she is a member of the National Cancer Institute's Physical Sciences in Oncology Advocacy Network, the National Breast Cancer Coalition, and the Black and BRCA Initiative. Her most recent appointment is on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advisory Committee on Breast Cancer in Young Women. She is a National Breast Cancer Coalition’s Project LEAD Institute graduate (premier science training program for activists that has created a revolution in the world of breast cancer research and public policy). Ms. Dedmon has experience contributing to large government grants on triple negative breast cancer. For example, she was a consumer advocate on a USD$9M grant to develop immunotherapies for triple negative breast cancer (U54 CA210181: Specialized Center-Cooperative Agreements, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, United States, 2016-2022). She has also authored “The Big Discovery” a children’s book that facilitates and guides families through a breast cancer diagnosis. She and her journey have been featured speakers on the TEDx platform, Women’s Health Magazine, Healthy Women, Essence Magazine, National Geographic and other media platforms.

Dr/Univ. Leonie Young was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987. Since her diagnosis she has been involved with many aspects of cancer patient/consumer advocacy, support, training, and mentoring engaging with both national and international cancer organisations and institutions.  Being diagnosed with breast cancer at the time she was, meant she was involved in consumer advocacy at a most interesting time when key cancer organisations were developing and she had the opportunity to be a part of the change. She is the President of Reach to Recovery International, a global organisation working with its members and collaborators to influence change and improve the quality of life of people affected by breast cancer; and Peer Support Coordinator for the Wesley Hospital Choices Cancer Support Centre in Brisbane. She is involved as a patient partner and investigator on several successful grant applications, and co-author on numerous publications. As well as this, she is a is a member of several national and international cancer focused organisations and committees including - ABC Global Alliance; Australia & New Zealand Urogenital and Prostate Cancer Trials Group (ANZUP) Consumer Advisory Panel; Breast Cancer Trials Australia & New Zealand (BCT) (and is immediate past Chair and an inaugural member of the BCT Consumer Advisory Panel); Co-chair of the Patient Engagement Special Interest Group of International Society for Quality of Life Research (ISOQOL); the National Breast Cancer Foundation Research Advisory Committee, and Grant Review Committee (Australia); the Cochrane Collaboration; an alumni of National Breast Cancer Coalition Project LEAD (USA); Cancer Research Economics Team (CREST) External Advisory Committee (Australia); the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia (COSA) Council; and a peer support volunteer with Cancer Council Queensland since 1990. She presents at national and international conferences on topics relating to research, peer connection, survivorship, communication, sexuality and intimacy, and patient advocacy. She is the recipient of an Honorary Degree of Doctor of the University, Griffith University (Australia, 2018), and the Reach to Recovery International Terese Lasser Award (2019) both in recognition of distinguished service to the community, particularly as an advocate for women diagnosed with breast cancer.