About us

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"A clinical quality data platform for lung cancer is much needed in Australia to identify gaps and variations in approaches, and to ultimately improve the quality of care for patients, LUCAP will provide this"

Professor Brims is the lead investigator for the LUCAP project. He is a founding Professor at Curtin Medical School and a Consultant Respiratory Physician and the Head of Respiratory Medicine at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Perth, Western Australia. Professor Brims is also a Deputy Director and head of the Occupational and Respiratory Health Research Unit at the Institute of Respiratory Health. His main research interests include clinical and epidemiological aspects of occupational related lung disease, mesothelioma and the detection of early lung cancer using low dose CT scans. 

 "The development of LUCAP has the potential to radically improve the information environment for people with lung cancer. Knowledge is power and with that power will come the ability to implement change for the better"

Associate Professor Stone is a Consultant Respiratory Physician and Head of Thoracic Medicine within the Department of Thoracic Medicine and Lung Transplantation at St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney. She is Chair of the St Vincent’s Hospital Lung Cancer Multidisciplinary Team (MDT), a conjoint Associate Professor at the University of New South Wales, the Head of the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology Lung Cancer Assembly and Deputy Board Chair of the Thoracic Oncology Group of Australasia (TOGA). View her research profile here.

"Data is key for ensuring quality of practice and best patient outcomes. LUCAP is vitally important to measure the quality of care for patients and identify gaps in care for particular populations or jurisdictions which can then be targeted for improvement" 

Professor Vinod is a Thoracic Radiation Oncologist at Liverpool Hospital, NSW and leads the Liverpool-Macarthur Cancer Therapy Centre Lung Cancer Multidisciplinary Team which has been measuring quality indicators for many years. Prof Vinod is also a researcher at the University of New South Wales with a focus on health services research, new technologies to improve the radiotherapy treatment of cancer and datamining research. She is a member of the Board of Directors for the Thoracic Oncology Group of Australasia (TOGA). 

"As a consumer, I wanted to be involved in this project as I know it can help all lung cancer patients have the same care across Australia. LUCAP will ensure that a newly diagnosed lung cancer consumer can be diagnosed, given results and start treatment within the same time frame, no matter where they live. This will give patients confidence that no matter where they live, the same standard of good quality care will be available to them"

Alison is a consumer representative and midwife. When she was diagnosed at the age of 48 with NSCLC – ALK positive, she became involved with consumer advocacy and contribution. She has worked with Lung Foundation Australia to raise awareness and increase understanding and support for lung (and rare) cancer. Alison has a Graduate Diploma in Public Health and experience in clinical trials coordination. 

"The platform is important and potentially 'game changing' in the way it keeps the system self-accountable, ensuring that services for lung cancer are timely, efficient, optimal, consistent and appropriate"

Lillian is an Australian lawyer and a patient research advocate. She is a member of the Advisory Council of Cancer Australia and the NHMRC Australian Health Ethics Committee. Ms Leigh is a board member at the Thoracic Oncology Group of Australasia (TOGA) and co-chairs the TOGA Consumer Panel. She is a member of Cancer Voices NSW’s Executive Committee, Rare Cancers Australia’s Patient Advisory Board and Woolcock Institute’s Lung Cancer Research Network Advisory Board. 

You can read more about Ms Leigh's personal journey with lung cancer here.

"Patient and community engagement in health care has never been more important. Healthcare teams and patients working together can improve health outcomes far more effectively than when working alone. LUCAP harnesses the knowledge of both doctors and patients to propel improvements in cancer care" 

Associate Professor Marshall is a Thoracic Physician at The Prince Charles Hospital, Brisbane and a Clinical Academic Fellow at the University of Queensland's Thoracic Research Centre. Dr Marshall has a clinical and research interest in lung cancer early detection and smoking cessation, particularly in the context of lung cancer screening. He is well-published in the areas of lung cancer and mesothelioma and has experience in  research translation via guidelines and position statements on both diseases. 

"The LUCAP platform provides a visionary future for the collection of meaningful data that will enable us, the Australian lung cancer community, with the knowledge, wisdom and continuous ability to evaluate and improve care for people living with thoracic malignancies"

Dr Brunelli is an Honorary Research Fellow at the Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health at the University of Wollongong. With more than 20 years experience as an oncology nurse, Dr Brunelli has developed a strong research interest in improving experiences of people living with lung cancer, particularly through strategic cross-sector initiatives that develop data-driven evidence to inform lung cancer nursing workforce policy and practice. 

"Accurate patient registration and outcome data Is an essential tool for audits to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the service provided throughout Australia, to develop and improve on robust care pathways, to provide access to clinical trial and translational research programs and ultimately to improve survival and quality of life " 

Professor O'Byrne is a medical oncologist at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane and a Clinician Scientist with >30 years research experience in translational cancer research identifying prognostic and predictive biomarkers, novel targets for therapy and clinical trials focused on thoracic malignancies, biomarker discovery and anti-cancer drug development at the Translational Research Institute and Queensland University of Technology.

"LUCAP will provide a vital foundation for measuring outcomes in lung cancer care. This crucial infrastructure will have the potential to support a national lung cancer screening program" 

Associate Professor Rankin is an implementation scientist and Head of the Evaluation and Implementation Science Unit, Centre for Health Policy, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne. A/Prof Rankin’s research focuses on the science of research translation, including how evidence can be more rapidly translated into clinical practice, and how to improve patient and health service outcomes. In 2020 she was awarded the Lesley J. Fleming Churchill Fellowship to explore implementation strategies that enable people from disadvantaged communities to screen for lung cancer.  

"Healthcare should be equitable, evidence-based and excellent...but sometimes we fall short. LUCAP will help us understand the care gaps that affect patients with lung cancer, and develop solutions so we can provide the best possible care" 

Dr Nash is a recently qualified Respiratory and Sleep Physician, who relocated from Melbourne to Perth in 2022 to work with the LUCAP team and undertake a PhD at Curtin University. Throughout her training, Dr Nash has been extensively involved in all aspects of the care of patients with suspected lung cancer. She has research experience in a variety of fields including sexual health, respiratory medicine and emergency medicine.   

"LUCAP is more than just a clinical registry, it features live clinical indicator dashboards for clinicians to interact with, providing information in near real time, rather than reporting months or years later"

Dr McWilliams is a Consultant Respiratory Physician at the Fiona Stanley Hospital, Western Australia. Her other current roles include Clinical Associate Professor at University of Western Australia and Clinical Lead for the Thoracic Tumour Collaborative for Western Australia. The focus of the work undertaken by Dr McWilliams, both clinical and research, is the exploration and development of a comprehensive approach for the management of lung cancer by early detection, localisation, prevention and treatment.

"LUCAP will provide a platform that helps us ask the right research questions, and confirm widespread and equitable translation of research results into real world practice" 

Associate Professor Wright is a specialist thoracic surgeon  and the inaugural Research and Education Lead for Lung Cancer at the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC) Alliance. He is a clinical associate professor in the University of Melbourne Department of Surgery, based at three of the major teaching hospitals in the VCCC Alliance – St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and Royal Melbourne Hospital. He holds a PhD in the field of molecular biology of lung cancer and has published extensively in the field of surgical technique, audit and training.