The major focus of Te Aka Mātauranga Matepukupuku is on improving health outcomes while reducing inequalities for all New Zealanders by engaging strongly with the community at all levels.
Research in the Centre for Cancer Research will be patient centric, with a multidisciplinary and translational framework with the purpose of developing new approaches to understand, diagnose, treat and prevent cancer. To facilitate this approach research will be loosely grouped into the following themes:
- Prevention
- Discovery/Understanding
- Health Service integration and system design including supportive and palliative care
- Translational research
- Clinical (in partnership with DHBs)
These themes enable a range of overlapping and complementary research activities, and provide a basis for developing new studies and platforms of trans disciplinary research across institutions and investigators.
Strategic objectives are:
- Developing and implementing an overarching cancer research and teaching strategy.
- Providing a “front door” for cancer research, teaching and education in Auckland, with respect to the development of the Comprehensive Cancer Centre within the Auckland Academic Health Alliance framework.
- Articulating a clear and developed strategy and plan for philanthropic investment in cancer research capability, infrastructure, and projects.
- Identifying, developing, establishing and operating appropriate research platforms/infrastructure to support and enable cancer researchers.
- Implementing appropriate and responsible governance frameworks to strengthen, support and enable cancer research in Auckland.
- Implement and promote research focused on reducing health inequities for Māori and Pacifica.