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BOX RALLIES (SHITBOX RALLY & MYSTERY BOX RALLY) FUND OUTSTANDING CANCER RESEARCH PROJECTS NATIONALLY.

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is the pinnacle for vital funding for groundbreaking cancer research projects, but their budget only goes so far. The cancer researchers who miss out get another chance at funding via Cancer Council grants. The impact of these projects has been felt right across Australia with many of the grants made possible by Box Rallies funding.

For the first time, Box Rallies funds the next highest ranked grants after the NHMRC. This means that Box Rallies will fund some of the most exciting cancer research projects across the country – with the highest potential to significantly impact those affected by cancer.

2021/2022 net Box Rallies funds were allocated to 2023 research grants. This has meant Cancer Council could allocate funds to the 6 highest ranked grants with $2.68m net revenue.

Here are some examples of multi-state research funded by Box Rallies:

2023 RESEARCH GRANTS
FY 2021/2022

The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research VIC (Assoc Prof Joanna Groom) – $450,000: Immune Therapy – Leveraging stem-like memory T cells for effective anti-cancer mRNA vaccines

Children’s Cancer Institute NSW (Prof Maria Kavallaris) – $445,719: Childhood cancer – Engineering childhood cancer for precision medicine

Flinders University SA (Assoc Prof Luke Selth) – $444,186: Prostate cancer – Harnessing androgen-mediated viral mimicry to improve immunotherapy in prostate cancer

Children’s Cancer Institute NSW (Dr Klaartje Somers) – $450,000: Paediatric cancers – Advancing CAR-T cell therapy for extracranial solid paediatric cancers

Macquarie University NSW (Dr Seong Beom Ahn) – $449,861: Colorectal cancer – Protein Biosignatures for Predicting Recurrence of Stage II Colorectal Cancer

The Garvan Institute of Medical Research NSW (Assoc Prof Marina Pajic) – $450,000: Pancreatic cancer – Selective manipulation of tumour-stroma signalling as a novel precision medicine approach: targeting treatment resistance in pancreatic cancer

2022 RESEARCH GRANTS
FY 2020/2021

University of Melbourne (Associate Professor Michael Griffin) – $443,055: Pancreatic and colorectal – A new therapeutic opportunity for gastrointestinal cancers

University of Melbourne (Associate Professor Daniel Buchanan) – $447,752: Colorectal – Linking gut bacteria to the development of early onset colorectal cancer using multi-omic profiling

The University of Adelaide (Professor Lisa Butler) – $433,228: Prostate cancer – A patient-derived discovery platform for companion biomarker development in prostate cancer

 University of Western Australia (Associate Professor Pilar Blancafort) – $449,356: Breast cancer – Identification and targeting of a new subtype of oestrogen receptor breast positive breast cancer

University of Sydney (Dr Jenny Yingzi Wang) – $450,000: Acute myeloid leukaemia – Developing a novel targeted therapy for treating chemotherapy-resistant leukaemia

2021 RESEARCH GRANTS
FY 2019/2020

Garvan Institute of Medical Research NSW (Dr Robert Weatheritt) – $448,283: Breast – switching off the spread of triple-negative breast cancer

University of Technology Sydney NSW (Dr Doan Trang Nguyen) – $449,316: Using artificial intelligence to enhance radiotherapy effectiveness

Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research & University of Western Australia WA (Prof Peter Leedman) – $450,00: Liver – finding new ways to treat liver cancer

University of Queensland QLD (Prof Gabrielle Belz) – $382,148: Melanoma – finding new treatment targets for advanced melanoma

University of Melbourne VIC (Dr Michelle Peate) – $434,639: Improving the health and well-being of women cancer survivors

Centenary Institute NSW (Dr Jessamy Tiffen) – $447,725: Melanoma – reversing treatment resistance in melanoma

2020 RESEARCH GRANTS
FY 2018/2019

University of Newcastle NSW (Prof Xu Dong Zhang) – $445,185: Colorectal – a new treatment approach for bowel cancer

Telethon Kids Institute WA (Dr Nicholas Gottardo) – $197,432: Brain – developing less toxic treatment approaches for childhood brain cancer

Centenary Institute NSW (Prof Geoffrey McCaughan) – $450,00: Liver – using combination therapies to treat liver cancer

Garvan Institute of Medical Research NSW (Dr Joanna Achinger-Kawecka) – $434,310: Breast – reversing treatment resistance in ER+ breast cancer

Walter & Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research VIC (Dr Lorraine O’Reilly) – $450,000: Stomach – identifying the drivers of stomach cancer to find more effective treatments

Garvan Institute of Medical Research NSW (Dr Michelle McDonald) – $447,548: Myeloma – preventing the outgrowth of cancers that spread to the bone

Centenary Institute NSW (Prof John Rasko AO) – $448,850: Mesothelioma – monitoring a patient’s real-time response to a new immunotherapy


SHITBOX RALLY IS A TRI-ANNUAL EVENT DEDICATED TO RAISING MUCH NEEDED FUNDS TO SUPPORT CANCER RESEARCH. BY GETTING OUT AND DOING SOMETHING UNIQUE, POSITIVE AND PROACTIVE, IT BRINGS AN ELEMENT OF FUN AND EXCITEMENT TO THE TASK OF RAISING MONEY TO CURE THIS HEARTBREAKING DISEASE.


Our Impact

The funds raised go towards cancer research, but how do they get to the researchers?  What is the process?

Read on to discover how Shitbox Rally & Mystery Box Rally teams are directly funding improvements in diagnosis,
treatment and support for cancer patients.

 

How did Shitbox Rally come into existence?

Shitbox Rally was founded by James Freeman after he lost both of his parents to cancer 12 months apart.

James and his family nursed their parents through the last stages of their lives. When his Dad passed away, he was devastated. It was a dark time, and James needed something to excite him and help him to make a difference.

Shitbox Rally has always been about having fun, and not taking the serious task of raising money for cancer research too seriously. He spent months working out how the rally would work, and how to make the experience a real challenge for participants. He knew he’d need support to grow awareness of and participation in the rally organically… The more ridiculous the concept was, the better.

Shitbox Rally today

Shitbox Rally has grown to a total of 225 teams, plus support teams, so around 550 people.

The rally itself is only part of the project with teams working for many months on their fundraising efforts. Their hard work is rewarded by the rally itself. 

The camaraderie and friendship that is built over the 7 days of the rally surprises everyone that takes part. 

The record breaking amount of funds raised, the positive impact we have on local remote communities and the overall experiences of the rally teams themselves combine to become a hugely rewarding experience for all involved.


You can be a part of this! Help us put an end to cancer by donating to Shitbox Rally today.

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