The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research

In the institute’s second public lecture for 2010, Blood cancers: advances in research, advances in therapy, Professor Andrew Roberts gave an overview of the major questions researchers are asking about leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma and other blood cancers and presented examples of promising new areas of research that are likely to improve outcomes for patients. This was followed by a panel discussion featuring Professor Donald Metcalf, Dr Kylie Mason, Dr Ashley Ng and Ms Rosie Hoyt.

In the institute's first public lecture for 2010, Malaria: a global disease - control and eradication, Professor Alan Cowman, Dr James Beeson and Professor Sir Gustav Nossal discussed the global impact malaria has on public health, the new treatments and vaccines that are being developed for this infectious disease and the likelihood of it being eradicated.

The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute’s fourth public lecture for 2009, How will breast stem cells help find new treatments for breast cancer?, was held on 28 October. Associate Professor Geoff Lindeman, joint head of the Victorian Breast Cancer Research Consortium at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, discussed the common forms of breast cancer, new treatments for the disease and whether breast cancer is hereditary.

The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute's third public lecture for 2009, Discovery of a new drug for coeliac disease … but maybe more was held on 26 August. Dr Bob Anderson, head of the institute’s coeliac disease laboratory, outlined his research, which has led to the world’s first trials of a vaccine for the disease. His presentation was followed by a panel discussion and audience questions on the latest developments in coeliac disease.