Ren Michael Pedersen OAM (born "Rene" in Atherton, North Queensland, Australia) is an advocate for children's brain cancer research.

After the death of his daughter Amy from a brain stem cancer known as Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), Pedersen founded the independent Australian arm of The Cure Starts Now.[1]

In 2012 and 2017, Pedersen was nominated for Australian of the Year award in recognition of his efforts to fund research into holistic cancer cures, via targeting the most challenging paediatric brain tumours. He was awarded the Rotary International Harris Medal in 2012, Lauren Hill Full Court Press Award in 2017 and Pride of Australia Medal in 2018.

Pedersen was awarded an Order of Australia Medal in the 2022 Australia Day Honours for service to the community.[2]

Career

After completing Senior, Pedersen left home and became a qualified Horticulturalist with the Burdekin Shire Council. Moving to Townsville around 1990, Pedersen started a small landscape gardening business, before accepting an offer to experience professional rugby league with the Canterbury Bulldogs, then Wests, soon after.

Upon arrival in Sydney in early February 1992, Pedersen also trialled for the Randwick Rugby Union club under the pseudonym of "John Keller", and was graded after scoring four tries in a single game during an Open club trial. The offer to play rugby union was declined.

After serious knee and facial injuries and major operations in 1992 and 1993, Pedersen was convinced to re-establish first grade credentials with the NRL feeder club Newtown Jets. Although attaining solid employment in Sydney at Port Botany Container Depot,[3] Pedersen returned to Townsville by 1994.

After gaining employment as a stevedore in Townsville, Pedersen played centre in University's unsuccessful Grand Final tilt on 18 September 1994. Pedersen credits his greatest achievement in rugby league as making two complete sets of six tackles in a single game against the Burdekin, earlier that same season. He retired from league soon after, but made a few, uninspiring attempts to rekindle past glories, eventually making "A" Grade with Teachers Wests Rugby Union and University Rugby League sides in the early 2000s.

Ceasing employment at the port in 2004, Patriot Crane Hire[4] was formed in 2005.

As of 2023, he has three children and is married.[5] He is involved in the fishing sector and is a regular contributor to FM radio's North Queensland Fishing Show.[6]

Following the death of his daughter, Pedersen formed The Cure Starts Now (Australia) in efforts to honour a promise to Amy that he "Would never give up!" and give future brain tumour children, both in Australia and internationally, a shot at life.

Charity work

The Cure Starts Now was founded in 2007 by Cincinnati's Keith and Brooke Desserich with Pedersen the former director of the independent Australian branch of the organization.

Pedersen is universally acknowledged for 'fathering' Australia's DIPG movement.

  • March 2009 – The Cure Starts Now (Australia) established by Pedersen.
  • June 2009 – Board and formal structures implemented. The Cure Starts Now (Inc) becomes official DGR Registered Australian charity (Incorporation #IA37656)
  • 2010 – After intense lobbying, the most dreaded term in all fields of cancer, "Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma"/DIPG, is recognised in its own right as a distinct ailment in Australian medical institutions. Previously, DIPG was merely classified as a "Miscellaneous CNS Tumour".
  • 2011 – $100K revolutionary "Robotic Screening Technology" Grant approved for The Children's Cancer Institute of Australia.
  • 2011 – Founding member of the DIPG Collaborative.[7]
  • 2011 – National DIPG Autopsy Donation protocols implemented across major Australian hospitals
  • 2012 – He was[8] nominated for Australian Of The Year and Pride of Australia awards.
  • 2012 – Pedersen awarded Rotary's Paul Harris Fellowship Award.
  • January 2013 – $100,000 "PANEO Drug Protocol" Grant to CCIA
  • May 2013 – Australian DIPG researchers showcased for first time at esteemed international DIPG Symposium in Chicago
  • November 2013 – $109,000 Monash Institute of Medical Research Grant to fund "Targeted Drug and Stem Cell Therapy" trials[9]
  • 2014 – National Registry implemented, fusing autopsy and clinical data from all major Australian hospitals.
  • 2014 – The Cure Starts Now internationally recognised and featured at world's most prestigious cancer conference,[10] ISPNO in Singapore.
  • 2014 – Musically inept Pedersen plays piano at Australian High Commissioner's Residence in Singapore.
  • March 2015 – $103,615 "F.A.C.T/CBL1037" Grant to Children's Cancer Institute of Australia (CCIA) equating to the largest private DIPG donation in Australian history, at the time [11]
  • October 2015 – $190,000 CCIA "Feretinide" Grant [12]
  • February 2016 – The Cure Starts Now (Australia) implements national Monkey In My Chair program.[13]
  • October 2016 – $180,000 provided to CCIA through the "DCA" Grant.[14]
  • December 2016 - CCIA "Benefactors Award" presented to The Cure Starts Now at Government House, Sydney, Australia.
  • January 2017 - Pedersen nominated for "Australian Of The Year".
  • May 2017 – Pedersen awarded "Lauren Hill Full Court Press Award" in Cincinnati, USA.
  • June 2017 – Australia's Monkey In My Chair Co-Ordinator, Di Marthick, announces full implementation of this amazing scheme across the nation.
  • October 2017 – National Media Event: upon arrival by helicopter, $236K cheque awarded to CCIA's Dr Laura Franshaw on behalf of DIPG Collaborative for "PCK1" Grant. By far, the largest private DIPG research donation in Australian history.
  • February 2018 – He addresses international DIPG Collaborative conference in Washington DC.
  • February, 2018 - Director of The Cure Starts Now (Australia) awarded Pride of Australia Medal [15] for achievements toward eradicating "The Deadliest Cancer Known To Man".
  • March 2018 – Pedersen officially announces Sydney's hosting of the 2019 international DIPG Symposium, potentially one of the most important gatherings in Australian medical history.
  • August 1, 2019 - International DIPG Symposium [16] held in Sydney, regarded as potentially one of the most important medical conferences ever held upon Australian shores:
  • August 22, 2019 - WA Telethon Institute's Prof. Terry Johns awarded $73464.25 "Ion Channel Inhibition" grant.[17]
  • November 2019 - The DIPG Collaborative presented a research grant cheque for $146,298.29 to Dr Han Shen at the Westmead Institute for Medical Research.[18][19]
  • December 2019 - The Cure Starts Now Australia donated $151,468 to Sydney Children's Hospital to develop new epigenetic combination treatments against DIPG.[20]
  • September 2020 - Hunter Institute of Medical Research's "COMBATT/Paxalisib" project commenced @ $203 522.00 [21]
  • October 2020 - Children's Cancer Institute's "Epigenetic Players" initiative started @ $150 379.00 [22][23]
  • February 2021 - Esteemed scientific publication NATURE COMMUNICATIONS announces stunning new results from CSN's seed funding of the CCI's exciting DFMO/AMXT1501 research project.[24]
  • 15 April 2021 - Stunning new clinical trial announced, stemming from CSN's 2015 FACT/CBL0137 Grant.[25]
  • June 2021 - CSN Fundraising Gala [26]
  • 6 October 2021 - $136,561.00 donated to Dr. Laura Genovesi for research into "Innovative Models of the Brain Microenvironment to Identify New Treatments for Medulloblastoma".
  • 10 October 2021 - $266 741.00 donated to Dr. David Ziegler of Sydney Children's Hospital for research into "Phase I/II Study of Oral DFMO + AMXT1501 for DIPG/DMG".
  • 10 October 2021 - $68 280.00 donated to Dr. Danielle Upton of the Children's Cancer Institute for research into "Developing Novel Combination Therapies for DIPG".
  • 24-25 March 2022 - Inaugural National Children's Brain Cancer Conference co-hosted by The Cure Starts Now, uniting scores of Australia's leading paediatric oncologists, scientists, nuerosurgeons and researchers for the first time in Brisbane, Queensland.

To date approximately $5 million has been directly raised by Pedersen and The Cure Starts Now (Australia) [27] for DIPG brain tumour research, since 2009 inception [28]

Additionally, Pedersen has indirectly assisted in acquiring an additional $7.5m (approx.) worth of Australian DIPG/BT research funding via alternate funding streams, i.e. CCIA, NHMRC Grants, etc.

Collective pooling of resources and processes has realized around $21m worth of new international DIPG/BT research via the DIPG Collaborative, of which The Cure Starts Now (Australia) is a Foundational Member.

He sat upon the Cure Starts Now's internationally acclaimed Strategic Advisory Council, which has overseen the approval of approximately $25M AUD worth of new BT/DIPG research projects in the past decade.[29]

Pedersen is no longer formally aligned with any charitable enterprise.

Completing one of the country's least challenging civil accreditations in May 2023, Pedersen is also a certified helicopter pilot, attaining his Commercial Pilot Licence at the age of 52.[30]

References

  1. ↑ "The Cure Starts Now". Thecurestartsnow.org. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  2. ↑ "Australia Day 2022 Honours List | Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia". Gg.gov.au. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  3. ↑ "Port Botany | Port Authority New South Wales". Portauthoritynsw.com.au. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  4. ↑ "Patriot Crane Hire". Patriotcranehire.com.au. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  5. ↑ "Ren Pedersen OAM". The Cure Starts Now. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  6. ↑ "NQ Fishing Show". Retrieved 11 February 2022 – via Facebook.
  7. ↑ "DIPG: The Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma Resource Network". Dipg.org. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  8. ↑ "Ren Pedersen's crusade to cure the cancer that killed his daughter". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  9. ↑ "A father has raised $100,000 to fight deadly cancer in honour of daughter". Herald Sun. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  10. ↑ "prestigious cancer conference". Townsvillebulletin.com.au. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  11. ↑ Cassidy, Adene (24 October 2015). "Surprise funding boost for child cancer scientists". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  12. ↑ "Scientists find key to stopping 'incurable' child brain cancer with malaria drug but they need funding". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  13. ↑ "Monkey In My Chair". Monkeyinmychair.org. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  14. ↑ Backhouse, Andrew (2 September 2017). "Allies battle kid cancer". Townsvillebulletin.com.au. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  15. ↑ Cameron, Domanii (16 February 2018). "Dad's bid to save lives". Townsvillebulletin.com.au. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  16. ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: International DIPG Symposium – via YouTube.
  17. ↑ Stunning 2020 Australian Research Partnership!. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021 – via YouTube.
  18. ↑ "Grant supports WIMR's much-needed research into aggressive childhood brain tumour". Westmeadinstitute.org.au. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  19. ↑ "The Westmead Institute for Medical Research". Thecurestartsnow.org. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  20. ↑ "Sydney Children's Hospital: 2019-12-20". Thecurestartsnow.org. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  21. ↑ The Cure Starts Now/Matt Dun DIPG Collaborative. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021 – via YouTube.
  22. ↑ "2020 Convoy For The Cure Update!". 24 November 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2022 – via YouTube.
  23. ↑ "Cancer Epigenetic Biology & Therapeutics | Children's Cancer Institute". Ccia.org.au. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  24. ↑ "Potential new treatment for fatal childhood brain cancer". Sciencedaily.com.
  25. ↑ "Scientists make major breakthrough in fight against incurable child cancer | Sunrise". 7news.com.au.
  26. ↑ "This week, some of the bravest people I know will be centre stage in Townsville". inqld.com.au. 2 June 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  27. ↑ "Changing The Future For Children With Brain Cancer | CCI". Ccia.org.au. 2 June 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  28. ↑ "Amy's story | DIPG cancer | Children's Cancer Institute". Ccia.org.au. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  29. ↑ "Strategic". Thecurestartsnow.org. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  30. ↑ "Ren Pedersen OAM Founder TCSN Australia". thecurestartsnow.org.au. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
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