Rachel Mynott has commenced a three-year PhD Scholarship with the multiple myeloma research team ahead of schedule thanks to a Flinders Foundation grant, made possible by generous support from the community.

Flinders Foundation made multiple myeloma research the focus of its recent Tax Appeal and Autumn newsletter, with part of the funds raised supporting Rachel’s scholarship for the next six months.  The remaining funds will support a research project by Dr Craig Wallington-Beddoe.

Under the supervision of Dr Wallington-Beddoe, Rachel’s focus will be on finding different pathways to target and kill cancer cells, including one which looks at loading the cells with iron to see how they respond.

“There’s some really good drugs out there to improve life expectancy for people with multiple myeloma but despite that, people still develop resistance to these treatments,” Rachel says.

“So, we need to find a different way to trick the cells into dying…the end goal is to increase the efficacy of the drugs being used.”

Rachel thanked Flinders Foundation’s supporters for the opportunity to improve life expectancy and give hope to people diagnosed with the disease.

“It’s so nice to know we’re not just here on our own doing research and there are people who care and want to make it better for patients.”