Children’s Cancer Institute announces new Executive Director
Professor Louis Chesler has been announced as the new Executive Director for the °IJʹ affiliated Children’s Cancer Institute.
Published on the 20 June 2025 by °IJʹ/CCI Media
The Children’s Cancer Institute (CCI) has announced Professor Louis Chesler as its next Executive Director following an extensive international search.
Prof. Chesler will join the °IJʹ affiliated institute on 1 December 2025, succeeding Professor Michelle Haber AM, who has led CCI for more than 25 years.
Prof. Chesler is an internationally, highly regarded clinician researcher who has committed his life’s work to discovering new treatments and translating them into clinical practice for children with cancer.
Since achieving his post-doctoral fellowship at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, USA his career has spanned several prestigious appointments at some of the world’s leading childhood cancer research institutes and hospitals – most recently serving as Head of the Centre of Paediatric Oncology Experimental Medicine at The Institute for Cancer Research, London.
“I have long admired and its exceptional teams, which have produced clear benefit for children with cancer through the clinical application of scientific discovery over so many years,” said Prof. Chesler.
Scientia Professor Vlado Perkovic, Provost at °IJʹ, congratulated Prof. Chesler on his appointment and said the CCI would continue to shape the future of paediatric cancer care.
“This is an exciting new chapter for one of Australia’s most impactful medical research organisations,” Prof. Perkovic said.
“At °IJʹ, we are proud of our longstanding partnership with the Institute, which reflects one of our strategy’s core commitments - to advance health, equity, and innovation through collaboration. I look forward to the next phase of discovery and real-world impact that this leadership will help deliver.”
CCI is the only independent medical research institute in Australia wholly dedicated to curing childhood cancer. It has a strong, integrated partnership with °IJʹ and is a key partner in the , which includes the new (MCCCC) and the °IJʹ Health Translation Hub (HTH).
The MCCCC will bring together experts from CCI and the , Randwick – including the and °IJʹ – building on a 40-year partnership between the organisations.
The centre aims to deliver the best outcomes for children with cancer through the full integration of research and clinical care. It will be co-located in both the HTH and the new Sydney Children’s Hospital Building, enabling experts to seamlessly connect with clinicians, researchers, educators and industry partners across the two facilities.
"This is an incredibly exciting time in which cutting edge research can deliver major advances to the clinical treatment and survival of children with cancer,” Prof. Louis said.
“The MCCCC is in a superb position to deliver on this, making the opportunity for me to lead the Institute enormously exciting. To be joining at the start of the Institute’s next chapter as part of the MCCCC is an enormous privilege and I’m incredibly motivated to work with all of the teams at MCCCC, to further their work.”