Lung Cancer Clinical Quality Data Platform
Lung Cancer Clinical Quality Data Platform
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About us

Our Team

Our Approach

Our Approach

Our expert team includes respiratory physicians, thoracic surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, nurses and importantly, lung cancer patients and survivors. 

Our Approach

Our Approach

Our Approach

Following in the footsteps of the UK's National Lung Cancer Audit, our approach is patient-focused and collaborative with an emphasis on driving cultural change within cancer care. 

Our Partners

Our Approach

Our Partners

LUCAP is fully supported by the peak respiratory health and research bodies in Australia including the Lung Foundation Australia.

The LUCAP team

Fraser Brims

Shalini Vinod

Fraser Brims

"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 Consulta

"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. 

Emily Stone

Shalini Vinod

Fraser Brims

 "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 Th

 "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.

Shalini Vinod

Shalini Vinod

Shalini Vinod

"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 

"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). 

Alison Bolton

Henry Marshall

Shalini Vinod

"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 confide

"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. 

Lillian Leigh

Henry Marshall

Henry Marshall

"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 N

"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.

Henry Marshall

Henry Marshall

Henry Marshall

"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 Thoraci

"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. 

Vanessa Brunelli

Vanessa Brunelli

Vanessa Brunelli

"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, M

"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. 

Ken O'Byrne

Vanessa Brunelli

Vanessa Brunelli

"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 lif

"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.

Nicole Rankin

Vanessa Brunelli

Nicole Rankin

"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, Melbourn

"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.  

Jessica Nash

Annette McWilliams

Nicole Rankin

"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 Per

"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.   

Annette McWilliams

Annette McWilliams

Annette McWilliams

"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 inc

"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.

Gavin Wright

Annette McWilliams

Annette McWilliams

"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 Centr

"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.

Tracy Leong

Susie Harden

Susie Harden

Dr Leong is a clinician scientist as the Director of Interventional Pulmonology at Austin Health and as a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute for Medical Research.  She is a past recipient of the David Bickart Clinician Researcher Fellowship at the University of Melbourne where she undertook post-doctoral translati

Dr Leong is a clinician scientist as the Director of Interventional Pulmonology at Austin Health and as a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute for Medical Research.  She is a past recipient of the David Bickart Clinician Researcher Fellowship at the University of Melbourne where she undertook post-doctoral translational lung cancer research. 

Her specific interests are in the use of bronchoscopic techniques for translational lung cancer research, national lung cancer screening; and national lung cancer data and tissue banking. 

Dr Leong is the President of the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand Victoria branch.She also serves on committees for the Lung Foundation Australia and the Thoracic Oncology Group of Australasia. 

Susie Harden

Susie Harden

Susie Harden

"The treatment landscape and clinical outcomes for lung cancer have improved dramatically in recent years with practice-changing trials increasing overall survival for all stages of disease. The LUCAP platform is vital to ensure that there is equitable implementation of these trials and consistent delivery of guideline concordant treatmen

"The treatment landscape and clinical outcomes for lung cancer have improved dramatically in recent years with practice-changing trials increasing overall survival for all stages of disease. The LUCAP platform is vital to ensure that there is equitable implementation of these trials and consistent delivery of guideline concordant treatment, to improve outcomes for all people living with lung cancer across the country."

 

Dr Harden is a Consultant Radiation Oncologist at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, specialising in thoracic malignancies, and is a senior research fellow for the Victorian Lung Cancer Registry at Monash University. She was appointed by the Royal College of Physicians as national clinical lead for the UK lung cancer and mesothelioma audits and was seconded as national clinical lead for the National Disease Registry and National Radiotherapy Dataset, Public Health England. Her research interests are translational and radiotherapy trials for lung cancer, and utilising real world big datasets to highlight and address variation in clinical outcomes. 

A proven approach

Patient-focused and nationally collaborative

The establishment of LUCAP was inspired by the National Lung Cancer Audit (NLCA) - a group which collect information and report on how well people with lung cancer are being diagnosed and treated in hospitals in the UK. The NLCA is widely acknowledged to be responsible for improvements in lung cancer outcomes in England and Wales, both on a local institutional level and having a direct influence on national policy.


After relocating from the UK to Australia, respiratory physician Professor Fraser Brims realised the need for a similar initiative to establish national standards for the quality of clinical care for lung cancer patients. He connected with esteemed health database expert Professor Christopher Reid who had built a system for monitoring and improving cardiovascular care. And so the seeds of LUCAP were sown at Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia. 


With connections to other respiratory experts and consumer representatives Professor Brims has garnered much support across Australia. By 2021, clinicians from every state and territory in Australia were represented in the wider LUCAP consortium. LUCAP has also established collaborative relationships with lung cancer clinicians in the UK and New Zealand and strong affiliation and support from the NLCA.


Consumer collaboration is a vital component of the LUCAP approach. The NLCA has demonstrated that consumers are very powerful advocates and drivers for change. From its fruition LUCAP has been guided by individuals who have been impacted by lung cancer and worked directly with consumer groups such as the Lung Foundation Australia and Cancer Council of Western Australia.

Our Partners

LUCAP is supported by the following project partners:

Curtin University
Lung Foundation Australia
Institute for Respiratory Health

Copyright © 2022 LUCAP - All Rights Reserved.

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