Each October, the Club’s Month of Pink brings our community together in support of medical research that has meaningful impact here in Queensland. Following last year’s initiative, we would like to share how the funds raised by members have been directed and the work they are helping to advance at Griffith University’s Institute for Biomedicine and Glycomics.

Funds from the 2025 Month of Pink have been provided to the Institute to support a research program led by Professor Carolyn Mountford, which focuses on earlier evaluation of breast tissue through advanced imaging techniques. As outlined in the Institute’s update here, this long running clinical trial has “accurately identified thirty two out of thirty two women within a cohort of more than four hundred who went on to develop cancer, on average four years earlier than current detection methods.” This work forms part of a broader research environment at the Institute, which also investigates infectious diseases, cancer biology, glycomics, and the development of new diagnostic approaches.

Member contributions are assisting the continuation of Professor Mountford’s research, which brings together laboratory work at the Institute for Biomedicine and Glycomics and clinical activity at the Princess Alexandra Hospital. This collaboration is focused on refining an early detection approach that has already demonstrated significant potential and may, in time, become accessible across Australia and internationally. As part of this work, the clinic will also offer scans designed to help assess breast cancer risk for women who may benefit from closer monitoring.

Funds from last year’s Month of Pink are contributing directly to the ongoing clinical trial and to the laboratory and imaging activity that supports it. This includes the analysis, development, and clinical processes required to maintain a study of this scale, along with the broader research infrastructure that enables the Institute to progress its work across multiple areas of human health.

Your generosity is supporting research that continues to advance because of community funding, and we will share further updates as this work develops.

Thank you for your continued support of the Month of Pink and for the role you play in enabling this research.