Question: Why do you want to find or ( what inspired you) a way to cure the cancer?

Ken Dutton-Regester answered on 19 Mar 2012:

Well, in regards to melanoma, it’s pretty prominent here in Australia. In fact, the state that I live in (Queensland) has one the highest rates of melanoma in the world. As such, I have an increased risk of getting skin cancer due to where I live. Also, I am probably at a medium risk of getting melanoma as I am male, am an office worker with intermittant sun exposure, have pale skin and have a significant number of moles on my body. So I guess, it’s in my best interest to try and find a cure!

That being said, when I first started research I wanted to get into either cancer (not specfically any type) or stem cell research because thats what I was interested in. I decided for cancer research as I thought it would be easier in the long term in regards to getting funding and not being limited by ethical issues (as is associated with stem cell research).

What’s really cool is the fact that melanoma is such a hot field at the moment. There is a handful of drugs, the first in 40 years, that are beginning to make a big impact on overall survival. It’s been such a great ride so far and am looking to stay in melanoma research for my next job position.