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Two young PhD students from The University of Western Australia are among the winners in this year's annual Cancer Council Western Australia research grants.

Jennifer Girschik, a UWA public health student, will receive $12,000 towards her PhD in which she is examining lifetime sleep quality as a risk factor for breast cancer.

Ben Hug, a UWA medical physics student, will receive $8,000 towards his PhD into advanced radiotherapy techniques. Mr Hug is helping to develop a device capable of monitoring the radiation dose during treatment.

Associate Professor Robert McLaughlin, an engineer from the Optical and Biomedical Engineering Laboratory at UWA, has been awarded $300,000 over 3 years, as part of the Cancer Council WA Fellowship Program.

His team is developing miniaturised imaging probes that use light wave technology to help breast cancer surgeons test areas of tissue and identify tiny areas of cancer in a patient during surgery.

The ultimate aim of Associate Professor McLaughlin's work is to improve the prospects of removing all traces of cancer during surgery.

The grants are part of $2.1 million in research funding announced by the Cancer Council in Perth.

A full list of the grants and Fellowships awarded for 2011 is available from the Cancer Council .

Media references

Janine MacDonald (UWA Public Affairs) (+61 8)  6488 5563  /  (+61 4) 32 637 716