Robin's Reflections – March 2026
March 04, 2026
Well, that’s a wrap on #OCAM2026!
It was an OCAM that demonstrated undeniable uplift for our cause, and the OCRF had not one but two milestone research announcements to share with you across the month.
Just this week, Prof Carlos Salomon’s EARLY trial in Queensland was announced. Our community has funded this project since 2017, with more than $1.7M in community funding enabling it to progress to feasibility stage. OCRF support served to leverage an additional $1.4 million through the National Health and Medical Research Council’s Industry Partnerships Grants program as well. Since the announcement on Monday, more than 400 women have pre-registered to participate. This is proof that your voices and and fundraising are literally the key ingredient that fuels discovery.
And in the middle of the month, we witnessed the power of Australian research in action! 4 out of the 10 institutes involved in the successful $2M USD AI Accelerator Grant are based in Australia, so this was a great source of pride in our office, I can tell you. Keep going, Team Australia!
I was delighted to attend the Mother’s Day Classic Launch on 26 February with Zara Lawless, CEO, and Cleola Andereisz, CEO of the National Breast Cancer Foundation. So special to witness the Classic grow year on year, with over 90 MDC events planned across the country in May! On the day, we heard from Ann-Marie Iveson about her ovarian cancer journey, and she was eloquent and persuasive in equal measure. Brava to you, Ann-Marie, and to all involved on this warm occasion.
The Three Capes trekkers blew us away by raising over $100k, whilst showing stories and the beauty of this iconic trail along the way. What an adventure - I salute every single one of you!
Lastly, I just flew home from another day ‘pounding the pavement’ – or in this case, the carpets! - at Parliament House. The home of our nation’s leaders can be a daunting place but when we chunk our advocacy into bite size purposeful steps – as Solly Fahiz, our COO, and I did yesterday - we know progress is possible.
So, onward to International Women’s Day and another packed month at the OCRF! Thanks to all of you, our loyal supporters, and to the powerhouse team at the OCRF. You display courage, integrity, creativity and strength every single day, so I’m in awe of every one of you.
Warm regards for March,
Robin
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