FUNDING THE BEST BRAINS TO BEAT BRAIN CANCER
Dr Charlie Teo AM, Professor of Neurosurgery
Director and Founder, Charlie Teo Foundation
FUNDER PROFILE
Filmed in Sydney, Australia | December 2024
The Charlie Teo Foundation is dedicated to funding and advancing research into brain cancer, with a particular focus on developing more effective treatments and finding a cure for this devastating disease. The foundation’s mission includes:
- Supporting cutting-edge research: The foundation funds innovative research into brain cancer, aiming to discover new therapies, improve outcomes, and ultimately find a cure.
- Raising awareness: The foundation works to increase public awareness about brain cancer, its impact on patients and families, and the need for more research and funding in this field.
- Helping patients: In addition to supporting research, the foundation assists individuals and families affected by brain cancer by providing information, resources, and support.
- Advocating for change: It strives to drive systemic change in how brain cancer is researched and treated, challenging the status quo and encouraging collaboration and innovation within the medical community.
Dr. Charlie Teo AM as the Founder and Director of the Charlie Teo Foundation, has for over 30 years been instrumental in the development, dissemination and acceptance of the concept of keyhole minimally invasive techniques in neurosurgery. Dr Teo ran a fellowship program that attracts over 600 applicants yearly and has trained many of the world’s leading figures in neurosurgery. He has trained at distinguished centres such as the Barrow Neurological Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Duke University, Stanford University, Vanderbilt University and Harvard University.
Initially focused on Australia, Dr Teo recognised a pressing need to raise funds for brain cancer research from a young age. To address this, he founded the Charlie Teo Foundation in 2017, which aims to increase awareness and funding for brain cancer research.
Brain cancer significantly impacts society, being the leading cause of years of life lost. Despite its high incidence, particularly among young adults and children, it remains one of the least funded cancers. The foundation operates with low overhead costs and focuses on supporting disruptive researchers who think outside the box.
Since its inception, the foundation has committed nearly $15 million to brain cancer research, funding notable projects in Australia and the United States. These projects explore innovative approaches to understand and treat brain cancer more effectively, with a focus on translating findings from animal studies to human applications. Charlie’s dedication to finding solutions for this devastating disease remains unwavering as he travels frequently to collaborate with global researchers.
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Iodine in pregnancy on baby brain and nervous system development
Dr Karen Best is Senior Research Fellow in the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) Women and Kids Theme. She is a Registered Midwife with a unique breadth of experience in clinical project management, academic skills and knowledge translation and is committed to better understanding the essential role that modifiable exposures in pregnancy play in setting the foundations for a healthy start to life.
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Environmental exposure to function of lung epithelial stem cell biology
Dr Clare Weeden has recently commenced as a Laboratory Head at WEHI in 2025, supported by the CSL Centenary Fellowship.
Dr Weeden specialises in lung epithelial cell biology in the context of homeostasis, inflammation, and lung cancer, particularly in people who don’t smoke. Her work endeavours to understand how past environmental exposures shape the responses of lung cells and the molecular mechanisms underlying this cellular recall, with the aim to develop novel early detection strategies for lung disease.
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Stem cell therapies for enteric neuropathies
Dr Stamp is a Group Leader in the Department of Anatomy and Physiology at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Dr Stamp’s PhD research (with Prof Martin Pera, Monash University) focused on the derivation of hepatopancreatic progenitors from human embryonic stem cells. He then joined the lab of Dr Don Newgreen at the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute where he began working on development of the enteric nervous system (ENS), before joining Prof Heather Young’s lab at the University of Melbourne, where he focused on developing a stem cell therapy to treat gut motility disorders such as the paediatric enteric neuropathy Hirschprung disease.
