Contact Us
+61 (0) 419 185 491
+61 (0) 411 816 444
PO Box 636 Bondi Junction
NSW 1355
Australia
admin@lara.org.au
LARA'S Objectives
-
> Promoting research
Fostering and funding research to discover the cause and cure and better treatment for LAM. -
> Educating physicians
Improving diagnosis and treatment of LAM by promoting knowledge and awareness of LAM to general practitioners and specialists. -
> Supporting women living with LAM
Providing information and assistance to women and their families. -
> Fundraising
Raising money to support our objectives - chiefly to fund research. -
> Networking
Collaborating with countries and organisations in our region to exchange information.
Major Donors
Macquarie Group Foundation
Roth Charitable Foundation
Mr Robert Gavshon
Hollick Wines
Acknowledgements
LARA thanks the professionals who work pro bono for this not-for-profit organisation. We highly recommend the services of:
Ben Higham, Webhead
Karen Riethmuller, KGR Design
Peter Hersh, Loggica Pty Ltd
Peter Kelso
ABOUT LARA
Charitable Status
LARA is recognised as a charity for the purposes of tax deductibility. Funds raised by women with LAM and through the Henry Roth Foundation and Victorian Department of Human Services are essential to our efforts to discover treatments and, ultimately, a cure for LAM.
DONATE THROUGH OUR SECURE LINK TO PAYPAL
OR MAIL YOUR DONATION TO:
LAM Australasia Research Alliance
PO BOX 636, Bondi Junction NSW 1355, Australia
All donations over $2 are acknowledged with a receipt for tax purposes.
Patron: Bettina Arndt
Social commentator, author and feature writer, Bettina Arndt, has served on government committees looking into family law issues, child support, ageing, IVF and childcare, and spent many years on the ANU Council.
LARA's mission is to seek a cure for LAM, the rare lung disease, lymphangioleiomyomatosis. Based in Australia and working to strengthen links across the Asia-Pacific region and throughout the world, LARA aims to: improve diagnosis of LAM by informing medical practitioners how to recognise the disease; to support women who have been diagnosed: and to fund research to accelerate the discovery of a cure for LAM.
Founded in 2006, the LAM Australasia Research Alliance, LARA, is headed by an Executive and guided by a Medical & Scientific Advisory Board. LARA’s Patron, Bettina Arndt, is a journalist, social commentator, and media personality. Her enthusiastic promotion of LARA’s objectives began with a feature article in The Australian Women’s Weekly , and inspired an hour-long documentary on women with LAM. LARA’s Founding President, Heather Telford, and former Vice President, Bronwyn Gray Director of the New Zealand LAM Trust, have represented Australia and New Zealand on the Worldwide LAM Patient Coalition (WLPC), an initiative of the LAM Foundation based in Cinncinati, Ohio. LARA is also represented at international LAM conferences in the USA and Europe.
In December 2007, LARA participated in the Asia Pacific Society of Respirology conference on Queensland's Gold Coast.As Founding President of LARA, Heather Telford has attended LAM conferences in Stockholm, Cincinnati, and Udine. She and Bronwyn Gray attended the Awakening Australia to Rare Diseases Symposium in Freemantle Western Australia in April 2011.
Current research initiatives are headed by Board members: Prof Judith Black AO, A/Prof Mervyn Merrilees, Dr Helen Whitford, A/Prof Deborah Yates, Prof David Sonnabend and Dr Jeff Lindenmayer.
LARA is run on a voluntary basis by a small group of women with close links to LAM and/or concerns about improving the lives of women with LAM.
MELBOURNE MEETING
On 27 January 2012, seven Melbourne women living with LAM lunched with LARA President, Janet Neustein. They chatted, compared notes about LAM, and discussed ways in which they could help LARA's triple objectives: raising funds for research, increasing awareness of LAM, and supporting women living with LAM. L-R: Shani Eldridge, Shirley Aisbett, Nancy Reynolds, Janet Neustein, Tracy Hughan, Cynthia Schroeder, Bev Gruar, Anna Lazic.
LARA's EXECUTIVE
Voted into office on 17 November 2011 are: President, Janet Neustein; Treasurer, Mary Canniffe; Vice President, Annette Hicks and Secretary, Pam Sonnabend. They are supported by committee members: Alan Bruce, Erin Dasczyk, Michael Neustein and Natalie Stalenberg and other volunteers throughout Australia.
FOSTERING LINKS
Focusing on countries in our Asia Pacific region, including Indonesia, China and Japan, LARA is working to strengthen our links with LAM organisations worldwide. LARA belongs to the Worldwide LAM Patient Coalition (WLPC), a recent initiative of the LAM Foundation. (www.thelamfoundation.org/mission-and-history/wlpc.html)
LARA benefits from the experience of Bronwyn Gray, who is also Director of the New Zealand LAM Trust. She has worked hard over many years to foster and raise funds for research, support women with LAM, and educate the public about LAM.If we can improve rates of diagnosis so more cases are identified, vital research and clinical trials will get a boost. Research may reveal facts relevant to diseases like cancer which are widespread in the community.
LARA's EXECUTIVE
President: Janet NeusteinVice President: Annette Hicks
Treasurer: Mary Canniffe
Secretary: Pam Sonnabend
Committee Members: Alan Bruce, Erin Dasczyk, Michael Neustein, Natalie Stalenberg
Patron: Bettina Arndt
Public Officer: Peter Kelso
LARA's MEDICAL & SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY BOARD
LAM experts from Australia and New ZealandProf David Sonnabend (Convenor)
Orthopaedic Surgeon
University of Sydney / Royal North Shore Hospital
Sydney NSW
Prof Innes Asher
Professor of Pediatrics
Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences
University of Auckland NZ
Prof Judy Black AO
NH&MRC Senior Principal Research Fellow & Head Cell Biology
Woolcock Institute of Medical Research
University of Sydney NSW
Dr Tamera Corte
Respiratory Physician
Interstitial Lung Disease Clinic
Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
Sydney NSW
Dr Christina Forster
General Practitioner
Freeman's Bay Medical Centre
Auckland NZ
Prof Allan Glanville MD FRACP
Medical Director Lung Transplantation
Director Thoracic Medicine
St Vincent's Hospital
Sydney NSW
A/Prof John Kolbe
Head of Department
Respiratory Services Auckland City Hospital
Auckland NZ
Dr Jeff Lindenmayer
General Practitioner
Melbourne VIC
Prof Mervyn Merrilees
Dept of Medial and Health Sciences
Division of Anatomy and Radiology
University of Auckland NZ
Prof Greg Snell
Dept Allergy, Immunology & Respiratory Medicine
The Alfred Hospital
Melbourne VIC
Dr Helen Whitford
Respiratory Physician
The Alfred Hospital
Melbourne VIC
Dr Margaret Wilsher
Dept of Respiratory Medicine
Auckland CIty Hospital
Auckland
A/Prof Deborah Yates
Respiratory Physician
St Vincent's Hospital
Sydney NSW