University of Newcastle Professor and HMRI Precision Medicine researcher Matt Dun is about to become one of a handful of Australian Society for Medical Research (ASMR) medallists.  

He will receive his medal at a National Press Club ceremony and address on 22 October 2024.  

Professor Dun says he is looking forward to the opportunity to promote the importance of health and medical research around the nation.  

“Australia is a rich country. Maybe instead of just digging stuff out of the ground, we can invest more in health and education. We need to improve the health of all Australians, and we need to create a workforce that meets those needs with skill and compassion,” says Professor Dun. 

One thing he hopes to highlight is the need for sustainable funding.  

“So many researchers live year-to-year on short-term contracts. This is after they’ve spent up to ten years studying,” says Professor Dun. 

Professor Dun will also raise awareness around his research into Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG).  

“The clinical trial that started in 2021 continues. We have used a combination of drugs to double survival duration of patients enrolled with advanced or progressive disease. 

“Now we are trying to find out why some kids do better when they receive the drugs later in the journey compared to those when they are diagnosed. We think it’s because steroids that are given later in child’s journey dampen immune function, reducing side effects but also reducing negative effects that the immune cells exposed to our drugs have on the tumour.  

“The drugs we are using hyperactivate the immune response, and we have good clues how we can capitalise on this hyperactivated immune response. We’re currently doing pre-clinical work to see what happens if low-dose steroids are given upfront in combination with our therapies,” says  Professor Dun.  

“But we really need to run toxicity and efficacy studies using our treatments in living avatars. Doing studies just based on cells in a dish doesn’t provide us with patient-relevant information,” says  Professor Dun. 

Professor Dun will travel around Australia delivering ASMR Medallist speech from the 21^st – 28^th October.

He says that he remembers when he was an ASMR Direction travelling around Australia with past ASMR Medallists, Professor Ted Burger and Professor Richard Wilkinson.  

“Back then, I was inspired by their lifetime of work, so it’s a bit surreal to now be in that position, but I am extremely honoured and excited to continue to advocate for improved outcomes for patients,” he says. s,” he says.