Research icons forge closer links with the University

Improved treatments in Alzheimer’s, cancer care and the development of medical bionics are among the key research priorities for three new departments within the University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences. 

The faculty has enhanced its reputation as an international centre for research excellence with the creation of the new departments, which have been derived from affiliated research institutes: the Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, the Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, and the Medical Bionics Department. 

The establishment of these departments within the faculty will help to foster collaborative research in critical health areas, increasing research capability and impact. 

Professor Joe Trapani, Director of Cancer Research at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, says the formation of a dedicated research department at Peter Mac consolidates and enhances its longstanding links with the University.

“In 2016, Peter Mac will move to a brand-new purpose-built facility in Parkville in one of the world’s pre-eminent biomedical research precincts. As well as a brand new home for Peter Mac’s East Melbourne campus, the new facilities will include new cancer research facilities for the University and new cancer clinical and research facilities for the Royal Melbourne Hospital, bringing together a critical mass of bright minds, to help accelerate discoveries for the benefit of patients everywhere,” he says.

“As our population ages, cancer incidence is only going to increase, so working together is more important than ever.”

Research into psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder has long been the focus of the Mental Health Research Institute, which has recently merged with the Florey Neuroscience Institutes to create the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health.

Director Professor Geoff Donnan says current research will continue and strengthen with the creation of the new department. Within this department, internationally recognised research programs into neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s will run alongside groundbreaking research into psychiatric illnesses.

“One in five Australians will experience the debilitating and at times life-threatening effects of mental illness. Understanding the causes of these illnesses, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression is a major priority for us,” Professor Donnan says.

The Bionics Institute played a key role in the ongoing development of the cochlear implant (bionic ear). More recently it has expanded its portfolio to include bionic eye and neurobionics research. 

Professor Rob Shepherd, Director of the Bionics Institute, says collaboration will bring greater opportunities to identify innovative solutions to health challenges while training the next generation of researchers in the field.

“By working together in a multidisciplinary environment we will be able to address significant medical and health concerns and achieve outcomes which would potentially not be achievable by either organisation alone,” Professor Shepherd says.

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