Professor David Ziegler was today announced as a fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (AAHMS).
The prestigious award recognises the nation’s most outstanding minds in health and medical research, innovation, and leadership.
Leader of the Brain Tumours Group at Children’s Cancer Institute and Chair of Clinical Trials for the Zero Childhood Cancer Program (ZERO), Professor Ziegler was recognised for his leadership and expertise in transforming outcomes for children with some of the most high-risk cancers. He also he heads up both the Neuro-Oncology Program and Clinical Trials Unit at the Kids Cancer Centre at Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick.
“I am incredibly grateful both for this honour and to be able to work with such fantastic friends and collaborators at the Kids Cancer Centre at Sydney Children’s Hospital and at Children’s Cancer Institute who all are united in our goal to improve outcomes for children with cancer.
“Together we have made incredible progress and this only inspires me to keep fighting the battle on behalf of all our patients.”
Professor Ziegler’s research at the Institute is focused on developing targeted therapies for brain cancers, particularly DMG (diffuse midline glioma), the most aggressive and incurable of all childhood cancers. In 2013, he established Australia’s first research program for DMG, collecting and growing tumour samples from children around Australia and screening drugs against these to identify potential new therapies. His team is looking to find which combinations of these drugs work best, with this research leading to a number of clinical trials.
As the clinical lead of trials run through the Zero Childhood Cancer Program, he has been pivotal in the establishment and growth of ZERO, Australia’s first and only precision medicine program for children with cancer.
Election to the Academy is one of the highest honours in Australian health and medical sciences. Fellows are elected by their peers for their exceptional contributions to the advancement of knowledge, the translation of research into improved health outcomes, and their commitment to mentoring the next generation of researchers and clinicians.
