We are delighted to see Associate Professor Ben Lawrence appointed as the inaugural Head of the University of Auckland's new Department of Cancer Sciences.
Ben is a former Gut Cancer Foundation Board member, a leading specialist in gastrointestinal cancers, and a researcher whose work we have been proud to support. He has also cared for many patients and whānau connected with our Foundation.
What makes this new department particularly important is its ambition to bring cancer research and clinical care closer together.When researchers work alongside the clinicians treating patients, research can focus on the questions that matter most in real-world care. Promising discoveries can move more quickly into clinical trials and treatment, while patients may gain earlier access to new and more personalised approaches.
The department is an important first step towards New Zealand’s first comprehensive cancer centre, connecting expertise from prevention and early detection through to laboratory research, clinical trials, treatment and living with cancer.
We congratulate Ben on his appointment and look forward to seeing this vision develop. It has the potential to make a meaningful difference to cancer care and outcomes across Aotearoa.