The JW & M Cunningham Foundation is supporting one of Australia’s most ambitious breast cancer research programs, with a $1 million pledge over three years to support A/Prof Rachel Dear’s work on AllClear.
Enabled by a strategic collaboration between the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, with St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney and UNSW Sydney, AllClear brings together nearly 60 researchers across seven leading research institutes and organisations. The program was the inaugural recipient of the National Breast Cancer Foundation’s Collaborative Research Accelerator Grant.
A $25 million initiative, including $8 million raised through philanthropy, AllClear is focused on one of the most urgent and unresolved challenges in breast cancer care: understanding why some cancers return after treatment and how relapse might be prevented.
St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney is a lead clinical and research partner, engaging more than 400 patients with early-stage breast cancer through clinical trials, biobanking and research streams. St Vincent’s medical oncologist A/Prof Rachel Dear is a co-investigator and program lead, supported by the 2026 Cunningham Fellow in Breast Cancer, Dr Yaseen Omran.
The grant builds on the Cunningham Foundation’s longstanding commitment to breast cancer research and care at St Vincent’s. Since 2020, the Foundation has committed $2.4 million to breast cancer fellowships, research projects and equipment.
Through the combined power of philanthropy, clinical expertise and research capability, this support brings AllClear closer to its goal: giving more people confidence that their breast cancer will not return.
“If we can predict who is most at risk of relapse and identify dormant cells early, we can develop targeted therapies to eliminate them before they reawaken — this will save lives.”
A/Prof Rachel Dear