Much of CMRI's cancer research focuses on telomeres (including telomerase) and the Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres (ALT) mechanism, which was discovered at CMRI in 1997.[2]
History
The foundation was founded by Professor Lorimer Dods, who was Australia's first professor of children's health, and Sir John Fulton. The foundation raised a lot of money from early telethons in Australia.[3] Dods eventually gave up his teaching role at the University of Sydney to work with the foundation.[4] In 1968 one of the foundations supporters, Glynde Nesta Griffiths who was a writer, died and she left her estate of £300,000 to the foundation.[5]
The director of the foundation is "the Lorimer Dods Professor".[4]
^"About Us". Children's Medical Research Institute.
^Bryan, Tracy M.; Englezou, Anna; Dalla-Pozza, Luciano; Dunham, Melissa A.; Reddel, Roger R. (1997). "Evidence for an alternative mechanism for maintaining telomere length in human tumors and tumor-derived cell lines". Nature Medicine. 3 (11): 1271–1274. doi:10.1038/nm1197-1271. ISSN1078-8956. PMID9359704.
^ abYu, John, "Sir Lorimer Fenton Dods (1900–1981)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 17 October 2023
^Rutledge, Martha, "Gwendolin Winifred Griffiths (1886–1968)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 17 October 2023