LEUKAEMIA MICROENVIRONMENT & HIGH RISK CHILDHOOD LEUKAEMIA
With
Associate Professor Laurence Cheung
Curtin University
& Research Lead, Curtin Medical Research Institute,
Western Australia &
Research Lead,
The Kids Research Institute,
Western Australia
RESEARCHER PROFILE
Filmed in Perth, Western Australia | February 2026
Associate Professor Laurence Cheung is an exemplary pharmacist-scientist whose research is focused on improving outcomes in children with high-risk leukaemia.
He obtained his Bachelor of Pharmacy degree with First Class Honours from the Curtin University in 2000 and have been a registered pharmacist since 2001. In 2014, he completed the PhD studies at The Kids Research Institute Australia (The Kids) in the area of haematopoiesis and paediatric leukaemia.
He is now an Associate Professor at the Curtin Medical School as well as Curtin Medical Research Institute, and a Co-head of the Leukaemia Translational Research Laboratory at The Kids.
He has attracted over $8.7 million in research funding, including 16 awards as CIA (over $6.1 million). Assoc Prof Cheung was named the 2019 Cancer Council of WA Early Career Cancer Researcher of the Year and received the STEM Early Career Research Award at Curtin University in 2019.
Assoc Prof Cheung enjoys nurturing and motivating the next generation scientists and HDR students and he believes that the true success is about influencing others to achieve their own greatness.
He has supervised two PhD and one Masters students to completion, and is currently supervising 4 PhD students as a Primary Supervisor. In 2023, Assoc Prof Cheung received the Faulty of Health Sciences Teaching Excellence Individual Award for Honours, Postgraduate, or HDR supervision at Curtin University.
Funding sources include: Toby for Childhood Cancer, Cancer Council Western Australia, WA Government
Source: Supplied and adapted
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6298-5288
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Indigenous Australian health and ear disease
Professor Kelvin Kong feels incredibly fortunate to lead a fulfilling life surrounded by his loved ones. With a demonstrated history of service in the health industry, he brings a wealth of expertise across various sectors including clinical research, medical education, surgery, paediatrics, health policy, and Indigenous education. Kelvin started his university, residing at New College in 1992, which brings him fond memories. Graduating from medicine from the University of NSW, Kelvin continued his studies and became a fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) and Australian Society of Otolaryngology, head & neck Society (ASOHNS).
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Vaccine effectiveness against infections triggering autoimmune disease
Dr Deborah Burnett is a Scientia Senior Lecturer and Laboratory Head at UNSW, where she leads a multidisciplinary research program spanning mechanistic immunology and translational vaccinology. Her work focuses on understanding how immune responses can protect against challenging infectious threats, including bacterial infections and infections associated with autoimmune disease.
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Enhancing occupational therapy service provision with military veterans
Prof McKinstry was instrumental in the development of the occupational therapy course at the La Trobe University’s Bendigo campus and also the establishment of the Rural Health School.
Prof McKinstry’s research focus is on health workforce, particularly developing a sustainable rural health workforce through recruitment of rural students for health courses, innovative and flexible delivery of health courses, telehealth and emerging areas of practice for occupational therapists.
