From Lab to Life

Barely a month goes by without a media report of the next breakthrough in cancer or other rare and life-threatening diseases.  Unfortunately, it can take precious time for patients to receive the benefit of the latest medical innovation. 
In June 2023, Bellberry gathered representatives of regulators, reimbursement agencies, pharmaceutical companies and, most importantly, patient groups from around the globe to Adelaide, Australia, to examine the issue of accelerated access to potentially beneficial medicines. 
The challenge for the group was to agree on the principles to be considered when establishing processes to provide faster access to life-saving treatments. 
Gathering these experts in one place to focus on this difficult issue for three-and-a-half days was an achievement in itself. 
In this episode of From Lab To Life we meet some of the experts who attended this International Scientific Congress and hear their thoughts on this complex issue.

As a Not-For-Profit organisation, Bellberry allocates surplus funds raised from HREC review back into the health and medical research sector.  In this episode, ‘Chasing The Money’, we hear about Bellberry’s flagship philanthropic program, the Bellberry-Viertel Fellowship, and the impact this funding can have on research careers.

The role of a Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) is to ensure that all kinds of research involving or impacting on humans conform to the highest standards of ethical practice and academic integrity.  In this episode, ‘Behind Closed Doors’, we meet four members of Bellberry’s HRECs to understand what motivates people to take on this responsibility and how the process works. 

As Bellberry celebrates its 20th year of operation in 2023/24, in this first episode ‘Creating Difference’ we speak with Bellberry’s CEO, Kylie Sproston, to understand what Bellberry is and how it works.