BloodCare Centre of Research Excellence
Advancing Australian research and infrastructure to improve supportive care and outcomes in blood cancers
The BloodCare Centre of Research Excellence (CRE) is an NHMRC-funded program established in 2026, to coordinate Australian supportive care research capacity and infrastructure to drive better supportive care for patients and families living with blood cancer. The program will work towards achieving better patient outcomes, embedding research, building capacity and informing health policy and practice. At initial launch, the CRE will focus on four key pillars; transfusion support, infection prevention, nutrition and microbiome, and symptom control & psychological support. The CRE may extend to other domains of supportive care int he future, subject to funding.
Our Focus
The BloodCare Centre of Research Excellence is an NHMRC-funded program established in 2026, to coordinate Australian supportive care research focussed on blood cancers.
Transfusion Support
Patients with blood cancer frequently have low blood counts, resulting in symptoms of fatigue, reduced quality of life and increased bleeding risk. Consequently, many patients require blood transfusions and, compared to other patient groups, are the highest blood users in Australia. However, there are still many unanswered questions in how to optimise transfusion support for patients with blood cancer.
Infection Prevention
Sepsis is a major threat to blood cancer patients, affecting 10% to 25% of individuals undergoing treatment. It is the leading cause of intensive care unit (ICU) admissions for this patient group, carrying a staggering short-term mortality rate of 30% and accounting for 15% of all cancer-related healthcare costs.
Nutrition and Microbiome
Providing adequate nutrition support is incredibly challenging for blood cancer patients, especially those undergoing intensive therapies. Treatment-related toxicities—such as severe mucositis (painful mouth ulcers), constant nausea, and impaired oral intake—frequently prevent patients from eating normally.
Symptom Control and Psychological Support
Patients diagnosed with aggressive blood cancers, such as acute leukaemia, face an immense physical and psychological burden. The severe distress and debilitating symptoms experienced during intensive induction therapies can directly impact a patient’s ability to complete their treatment—sometimes leading to early cessation of therapy, which contributes to inferior survival outcomes and a vastly reduced health-related quality of life (HRQL).
Our team
Professor Zoe McQuilten
Principal Investigator, Monash University
Professor Erica Wood AO
Chief Investigator, Monash University
Professor Claire Rickard
Chief Investigator, University of Queensland
Professor Meera Agar
Chief Investigator, University of Technology Sydney
Professor Eliza Hawkes
Chief Investigator, Monash University
Associate Professor Andrea Henden
Chief Investigator, University of Queensland
Professor Jason Roberts
Chief Investigator, University of Queensland
Professor Dennis Petrie
Chief Investigator, Monash University
