Media Release - With one in three Kiwis affected by cancer in their lifetime, Vodafone and the Vodafone Foundation have teamed up to launch an innovative app which harnesses the processing power of your smartphone to speed up cancer research.

Revolutionary research has begun to understand cancer based on a patient’s DNA profile, but hampering the speed of that genetic profiling is the lack of access to computer processing power.

The Vodafone DreamLab app turns mobiles nationwide into a virtual supercomputer network to crunch complex genetic data speeding up the search for a cure – all while you sleep.

While the Vodafone DreamLab app can be used by every Kiwi with a smartphone, for Vodafone mobile customers there’s the added reassurance of knowing that you won’t use up any of the data on your plan or be charged in any way to join in on the New Zealand network. The app also works on WiFi.

For Vodafone CEO Russell Stanners it’s all about connecting for good through the power of the Vodafone network.

“Finding a cure is so important for all of us and the beauty of the Vodafone DreamLab app is that the more Kiwis who download and use it, the faster it crunches data, and the closer researchers can get to find a cure.

“To kick it off, we’re giving our staff an extra hour of cancer-solving sleep by starting work one hour later next Friday (18 May). We’re calling it National Sleep-in Day, and we’d love as many businesses and individual Kiwis to join us as possible either starting late that day or encouraging teams to download the app,” Russell said.

Vodafone Foundation Manager Lani Evans said it’s been heartening to see high-profile support pour in for the Vodafone DreamLab app.

“We’ve had Kiwi companies’ large and small sign up to support the Vodafone DreamLab app, and we are also absolutely thrilled to have Kiwi legend Anika Moa, complete with fluffy slippers, throw her weight behind our National Sleep-in Day. DreamLab was developed in partnership with the Australian-based Garvan Institute of Medical Research, which has pioneered world-class cancer genomics research.

“Based on our tests adding just 33 new devices to the Vodafone DreamLab app enables the analysis of the same amount of data as quickly as a single CPU core of a typical research organisation’s in-house supercomputer,” Lani said.

Garvan Institute Cancer Researcher Dr Samantha Oakes said it’s only through medical research that cancer can be solved.

“Medical research generates a vast amount of complex data and information that must be analysed in order to make the next discovery. Smartphones now offer a tremendous opportunity to speed up research and unravel more of the cancer puzzle,” Dr Oakes said.

For more on how the Vodafone DreamLab app works, how to download it, and what you can do to say goodnight to cancer, head to www.vodafone.co.nz/dreamlab/ now.