My Room backs Australian childhood cancer research with $10 million commitment
A landmark $10 million funding commitment from My Room Children's Cancer Charity to Children’s Cancer CoLab will accelerate the national scale-up of high-impact childhood cancer research and innovation across Australia.
The partnership marks a significant milestone, with $55 million now committed to Children’s Cancer CoLab: $10 million from My Room, $10 million from Children's Cancer Foundation, and $35 million from the Victorian Government.
Major charities unite behind CoLab
With two of Australia's largest childhood cancer charities now behind CoLab, the most promising childhood and adolescent cancer research in the country will have a greater chance of being funded.
Margaret Zita OAM, CEO of My Room Children's Cancer Charity, said CoLab's strategic, independent funding model gives My Room confidence that its investment will be directed to where it will have the greatest impact for Australian children facing cancer.
“My Room is driven by hope that the research we fund today will give tomorrow's children with cancer a better chance. No single organisation can achieve that alone, which is why we are proud to join CoLab as a major funding partner. My Room and our donors can be confident that every dollar of this $10 million commitment will deliver high-quality, high-impact research where children need it the most."
Building a national, coordinated research effort
Dr Udani Reets, CEO of Children's Cancer CoLab, said the partnership with My Room marks a defining moment for the childhood cancer sector.
"This partnership with My Room represents a transformational moment, not just for Children's Cancer CoLab, but for every child with cancer in Australia who deserves to survive and thrive. With My Room's funding commitment alongside those of Children's Cancer Foundation and the Victorian Government, we can build something that Australia has never had before: a truly national, coordinated approach to childhood cancer research that is strategic, accountable, and relentlessly focused on outcomes.”
“When government, philanthropy, researchers, clinicians, survivors and families all move in the same direction, the potential of what we can achieve together for children with cancer is extraordinary."
Why new, child designed treatments are needed
Every year, more than 1,000 children and adolescents in Australia are diagnosed with cancer. While overall survival rates have improved, for some childhood cancers, and particularly for those who relapse, the outlook remains devastating. A large part of the problem is the shortage of therapies developed specifically for children; more than 100 targeted cancer drugs have been approved for adults, but only 19 have ever been approved for use in children.
CoLab was purposely established to tackle this problem, uniting philanthropy and government to become Australia's first independent, collaborative funder of childhood cancer research.
My Room's $10 million, five-year commitment will accelerate CoLab’s mission by funding discovery and translational research into the hardest-to-treat childhood cancers, from early-stage breakthroughs to new therapies that could transform outcomes for children with cancers where survival has stalled.
Independent review and lived experience at the centre
CoLab's funding decisions are guided by a national and international Scientific Advisory Committee, supported by a pool of more than 40 scientific reviewers and 14 lived-experience reviewers, ensuring every proposal is assessed with independence, rigour, and the perspectives of those who have experienced childhood cancer firsthand.
This model gives both My Room and Children's Cancer Foundation and their donors the confidence that every dollar they raise for CoLab will be directed to high-quality research, cutting through duplication, breaking down institutional silos, and delivering the greatest possible impact for children and adolescents with cancer.
Supporting transformative research across Australia
With My Room’s funding commitment secured, Children's Cancer CoLab is now positioned to support transformative research by institutions and teams across all Australian states. CoLab’s milestone-based funding model ensures funding is deployed with discipline and rigour, supporting early-stage innovation and high-potential projects through a competitive, expert-reviewed process that prioritises impact above all else.
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