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institutionsInstitution
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
Australia's oldest medical research institute, where the BCL-2 family of cell-death proteins was discovered, leading to venetoclax.
Also called: WEHIWalter and Eliza Hall Institute
Overview
WEHI was founded in 1915 in Parkville, Melbourne, and is best known in cancer for the discovery by David Vaux, Suzanne Cory, Jerry Adams and Andreas Strasser that BCL-2 blocks programmed cell death, which after decades of work with Genentech and AbbVie produced venetoclax, the first BH3-mimetic drug, tested in Melbourne under Andrew Roberts and John Seymour. The institute also discovered colony-stimulating factors (Donald Metcalf) that underpin G-CSF supportive care, and has strong programmes in blood cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer stem cells (Jane Visvader, Geoffrey Lindeman), structural biology and cancer immunology. WEHI runs clinical translation with the Royal Melbourne Hospital and Peter MacCallum through the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre alliance.
Location
Melbourne, AU
Type
research institute · University of Melbourne
Website
Newsweek 2026 oncology rank
Not in top 300 listing used
OnCo score
#169 · 32 points (0 Newsweek + 0 NCI + 32 from 16 linked objects) · ranking
Research output
From OpenAlex, oncology works in the last five years (2022 to 2026, current year in progress); counted on 2026-09-17.
Matched to Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, including child institutions. 298 works · 3,639 citations · 78% open access · 7% clinical trials · 3% reviews.
Oncology works per year
682022
712023
752024
542025
302026
Most works
- Peter Gibbs52 works
- Belinda Lee32 works
- Rachel Wong25 works
- Jeanne Tie22 works
- Andreas Strasser17 works
- Andrew J. Kueh17 works
- Clare L. Scott17 works
- Cassandra J. Vandenberg16 works
- Azim Jalali14 works
- Gemma L. Kelly13 works
Most cited
- BCL-2 and apoptosis (venetoclax)
- Colony-stimulating factors
- Breast and colorectal cancer biology
- Blood cancer
Andrew H. Wei
Consultant Haematologist, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and Royal Melbourne Hospital; Professor, University of Melbourne
Acute myeloid leukaemiaVenetoclaxMeasurable residual disease
Australian haematologist who led VIALE-C and QUAZAR AML-001, advancing venetoclax and oral azacitidine maintenance in AML.
Jeanne Tie
Medical Oncologist, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre; Laboratory Head, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute
Circulating tumour DNAColorectal cancerAdjuvant therapy
Led DYNAMIC, the first randomised trial to show ctDNA can safely guide who needs chemotherapy after colon cancer surgery.
Ken Smith
Director
ImmunologyMedical research leadershipTranslational medicine
Clinician-scientist and immunologist who directs WEHI, Australia's oldest medical research institute and a major centre for cancer biology.
Marco Herold
Chief Executive Officer, Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute
Blood cancerCancer immunotherapyCRISPR genome editing
Cancer biologist who leads the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute, the research arm of the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre in Melbourne.
rctNew England Journal of Medicine 2022changed practice765 citations
DYNAMIC: a blood test safely halved chemotherapy use after surgery for stage II colon cancer
For stage II colon cancer, where most patients are cured by surgery alone, a blood test can identify the minority who benefit from chemotherapy and spare everyone else its side effects. It does not yet prove that treating ctDNA-positive patients improves survival compared with not treating them.
translationalScience Translational Medicine 2016changed practice1,156 citations
Circulating tumor DNA analysis detects minimal residual disease and predicts recurrence in patients with stage II colon cancer
Minimal residual disease became measurable in solid tumours, and the DYNAMIC and CIRCULATE trials that followed turned the measurement into a treatment decision.
Similar pages
- PersonJohn F. Seymour
Shares Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, BCL-2, Venetoclax, Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.
- PersonAnthony Letai
Shares BCL-2, Venetoclax, Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, Acute myeloid leukaemia.
- Key paperMURANO: two years of venetoclax plus rituximab versus chemo-immunotherapy in relapsed CLL
Shares BCL-2, AbbVie (incl. ImmunoGen, Capstan), Venetoclax, Roche / Genentech.
- TargetBAX
Shares BCL-2, Venetoclax, Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, Acute myeloid leukaemia.
- TrialMURANO
Shares AbbVie (incl. ImmunoGen, Capstan), Venetoclax, Roche / Genentech, Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.
- TargetBIM (BCL2L11)
Shares BCL-2, Venetoclax, Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, Acute myeloid leukaemia.
- InstitutionOlivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre
Shares Marco Herold, Colorectal cancer.
- TermLeukaemia (tissue type)
Shares Marco Herold, Venetoclax, Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, Acute myeloid leukaemia.
cancers
fronts
technologies
targets
drugs
ApprovedSmall-molecule BCL-2 inhibitor
Venetoclax · Venclexta
companies
institutions
people
key papers
Open-source projects
All open source in oncology →Open-source projects that this organisation maintains, from OnCo's own catalogue: licence and last activity as the repository reported them on the day of the fetch. Listing is not endorsement; check the licence before reuse and the validation before clinical use.
A genomic rearrangement detector that assembles breakpoints across a whole genome, used inside the Hartwig pipeline and on its own.