Your impact in action: Working towards kinder treatments
2026-08-28
Your support is helping researchers develop kinder, more personalised treatments so children with cancer can live healthier lives after treatment. Dr Katherine Pillman is one of the researchers making groundbreaking discoveries.
Dr Katherine Pillman’s research aims to uncover why neuroblastoma tumours behave differently, helping doctors tailor treatment to each child. Her research combines cutting-edge gene sequencing with sophisticated computer modelling to reveal the unique biology of individual tumours.
The current treatment regime is harsh and only moderately effective, with terrible lifelong side effects.
What does Dr Pillman's research want to achieve?
Neuroblastoma is one of the most common childhood cancers affecting children under five. By gaining a deeper understanding of each individual tumour, Dr Pillman hopes to help doctors deliver the most effective personalised treatment for every child with neuroblastoma, while avoiding unnecessary intensive therapies.
As a Col Reynolds Fellow, Dr Pillman has received more than $610,000 in funding over three years thanks to supporters like you, allowing her to continue developing this important research.
Why is her work so important?
Current treatments have improved survival rates, but they remain aggressive. Help fund researchers like Dr Pillman's research to bring kinder, more effective treatments closer to every child. By gaining a deeper understanding of each child's cancer, doctors can tailor treatment to the individual – helping children receive more effective care with fewer long-term side effects.
Thanks to your generosity, researchers like Dr Pillman are working towards a future where children receive treatments that are not only more effective but also kinder.
Your compassion and commitment to making a difference in the lives of young cancer patients and your belief in the importance of paediatric cancer research made this possible.
– Dr Katherine Pillman, Col Reynolds Fellow