Melbourne's Medical Research Excellence: A Global Leader in Health Science

Melbourne is one of the world's great medical research cities, its cluster of research institutes, teaching hospitals, and universities producing a scientific output that is disproportionate to the city's size and that has contributed discoveries of global importance to human health. The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, established in 1915 and one of Australia's oldest and most distinguished biomedical research institutes, has produced Nobel Prize-winning discoveries and a consistent stream of research at the frontier of immunology, cancer biology, and infectious disease that has defined the institute's global standing.

The Parkville biomedical precinct, clustering WEHI, the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, the Melbourne Brain Centre, the Royal Melbourne Hospital, and the University of Melbourne's medical faculty, creates the critical mass of clinical and research activity that the most productive biomedical research environments require. The physical co-location of researchers with clinicians and their patient populations, enabling the rapid translation of research questions into clinical investigation, is the foundation of the precinct's scientific productivity.

The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Australia's only public hospital entirely dedicated to cancer care, combines the clinical oncology services for Victoria's cancer patients with research programs that are internationally recognised for their contribution to cancer biology and the development of new treatment approaches. The centre's move to the Parkville precinct in 2016 placed it in immediate proximity to the complementary research at WEHI and the University of Melbourne, creating the cancer research cluster that collaborative science requires.

Melbourne's clinical trials capacity, built on the research infrastructure of the hospital and research institute network and the patient populations of Victoria's public hospital system, makes it one of the most sought-after clinical trials locations in the Asia-Pacific region. International pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies running trials in Australia consistently choose Melbourne as their primary or secondary trial site, generating the economic activity and the research collaboration that benefits the city's biomedical community.

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