Cancer Council Queensland
The Cancer Council Queensland (CCQ) is Queensland’s leading non-government community organisation in cancer control. They are committed to providing all Queenslanders with the best possible prospects of preventing, detecting, effectively treating, and surviving a cancer diagnosis.
Overview for 2021
The ACEMS-CCQ collaboration has been a strong and enduring partnership that will continue beyond the lifetime of ACEMS. The partnership has resulted in multiple research outputs including publications, workshops and conference presentations, student research projects and cross-node engagement.
Highlights for 2021 include:
- Collaboration on the Australian Cancer Atlas 2.0 project with multiple ACEMS Students currently engaged on the project.
- Expansion of the Cancer Atlas project to create an equivalent resource in New Zealand.
- ACEMS-CCQ research achievements presented at the Data Science for Social Good Showcase.
- CCQ Researchers in attendance at the ACEMS Industry Meet-And-Greet events in Queensland.
The Australian Cancer Atlas 2.0
The Australian Cancer Atlas is an online tool offering insights into the spatial differences in population rates of cancer diagnoses and survival following a cancer diagnosis.
It has been used broadly by end-users in health services, research, government and in tertiary education, to deliver important outcomes and benefits or impact.
Collaboration between Cancer Council Queensland and ACEMS on the Australian Cancer Atlas 2.0 commenced in March 2021, building on what Cancer Council Queensland’s Jess Cameron describes as the “enormous success” of the original Australian Cancer Atlas.
The second phase - Australian Cancer Atlas 2.0 - aims to expand the information to include spatiotemporal modelling, cancer risk factors, cancer screening, treatment, and absolute measures of the cancer burden. Visualisation and communication of uncertainty are again key areas of investigation.
The project currently involves three PhD students, two Masters students and researchers from four different organisations – including Cancer Council New South Wales – and is attracting collaborators worldwide.
Cancer Atlas 2.0 Team Meeting and Photo
Pictured (from left to right) at in person meeting: Upeksha Chandrasiri (CCQ), Darren Wraith (QUT), Joanne Aitken (CCQ), Jess Cameron (CCQ), Conor Hassan (ACEMS\QUT), Kerrie Mengersen (ACEMS\QUT), Peter Baade (CCQ/QUT), Jesse Travaini (QUT), Susanna Cramb (ACEMS\QUT), Paramita Dasgupta (CCQ); Pictured on video conference screen (from left to right): David Smith (Cancer Council NSW) and Yuxin Huang (QUT).
Pictured (from left to right) Jess Cameron (CCQ), Peter Baade (CCQ), Jamie Hogg (ACEMS\QUT), Joanne Aitken (CCQ), Susanna Cramb (QUT), Upeksha Chandrasiri (CCQ), Kerrie Mengersen (QUT), and Thom Saunders (QUT).
International Collaboration: New Zealand Cancer Atlas
ACEMS, Cancer Council Queensland and Frontier SI are leveraging their expertise and experience developing the Australian Cancer Atlas to assist international collaborators.
They are working with the New Zealand Ministry of Health to assist them in creating an equivalent Cancer Atlas for New Zealand. Support has included running workshops, providing statistical model syntax, and discussing data and modelling issues. Learn more here.
Jamie presenting at QUT’s HDR event in July (left) and ACEMS Retreat in November (right).
Data Science for Social Good Showcase
CCQ partnered with the Data Science for Social Good program to complete a pro-bono student data science project. Learn more about the program here.
It was a pleasure working with the students and team. It benefited CCQ – hearing ideas, valuable questions, approach, and we’ll be collaborating with VISER to develop the visualisation and architecture, informed by this work.
Peter Baade, CCQ
The results of the project were featured in the Data Science for Social Good showcase held on 12 November 2021, co-organised by former ACEMS PhD Student and now ACEMS AI Farzana Jahan. It featured talks by industry and the student teams, plus a panel discussion co-moderated by ACEMS AI Tim Graham with panel members including CCQ’s Jess Cameron and Peter Baade.
Data Science for Social Good Showcase - Projects and Panel
Peter gave a presentation highlighting Cancer Council Queensland’s collaboration with ACEMS, including on the Australian Cancer Atlas, and other projects part of the Data Science for Social Good program. Peter’s talk was followed by presentations by ACEMS students including Owen Forbes. A recording of the talk is available here.
Highlights from Professor Baade’s presentation at the showcase
This was a really valuable experience for us and was a lot of fun. We really enjoyed collaborating with Jess and Peter at CCQ…It was really valuable experience that I am looking forward to putting on my CV in terms of industry collaboration and working on a really positive, socially meaningful project.
Owen Forbes, ACEMS PhD Student
ACEMS Queensland Meet-and-Greet Event
Cancer Council Queensland’s Jess Cameron was an industry guest at ACEMS Queensland’s November Meet-and-Greet event, and enjoyed an opportunity to talk about ACEMS-CCQ collaboration and meet researchers, students and other industry guests.
CCQ’s Jess Cameron and ACEMS members at the ACEMS Meet-and-Greet event in November.