Cure The Future has a team working towards the goal of finding cures for up to 4,000 diseases. At the forefront of our team is Professor John Rasko, who heads up the Cure The Future research team.
Professor Rasko is a practising Haematologist who directs Cell and Molecular Therapies at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and heads the Gene and Stem Cell Therapy Program at the Centenary Institute of Cancer Medicine and Cell Biology, affiliated with the University of Sydney. His was the first formal appointment in clinical gene therapy in Australia.
Professor Rasko has an international research track record in gene therapy, experimental haematology and cell biology. His research has been successful in uncovering new mechanisms of leukaemia, understanding blood hormones, identifying the genetic causes of kidney diseases and clinical trials of new biological therapies for cancer and bleeding disorders. Most recently he developed a milestone in gene therapy for haemophilia with collaborators in the USA. He has received many awards for medical research, teaching and public service.
He serves on Hospital, Sydney University Medical Faculty, state and national bodies including the Gene Technology Technical Advisory Committee; NH&MRC and Cancer Council Grant Review Panels. He has authored almost 100 publications and recently co-edited a book on the ethics of inheritable genetic diseases.