Cabrini Research Annual Report 2020-21 Cabrini Research
Cabrini Research: new name, new direction, new strengths In 2021, we celebrate an incredible 25 years of Cabrini-led advancements in clinical research. First established in 1996 as the Cabrini Clinical Education and Research Foundation, we have evolved greatly during the past 25 years. In 2021, under our new name Cabrini Research, we look to the future that will see us embarking on new and ambitious research programs aligned to our clinical services and a continued pursuit of groundbreaking discoveries in clinical research. This year we also celebrated the official appointment of Professor Gary Richardson OAM as Cabrini Research Group Director. Gary’s acting role and now official appointment has been instrumental in leading the evolution of Cabrini Research over the past 20 months and driving its future capacity to deliver excellent research outcomes. Gary has had a long career at Cabrini, demonstrating exceptional research skills, strong leadership, important networking and collaborations, and an unwavering commitment to achieving the best outcomes for patients and our community. His leadership will play a significant role in shaping the future success of research at Cabrini.
Our strategy 2020-21 has been a year of change for Cabrini Research. Our new strategy takes us to 2025, with a vision to be the leading private research institute for cancer, cardiac and musculoskeletal research in Australia. We will focus on four key projects in the next five years to enable this strategy. Building the Cabrini Cancer Institute A grant from the Federal Government has allowed us to successfully develop phase one of a two-phase project to create a Cancer Institute. Phase one allows us to increase cancer clinical trials, build a state-of-the-art exercise laboratory, and establish a cancer wellness and exercise facility. The next stage sees us working towards phase two of this project, a new purpose-built, multi-storey facility 32
which will see the integration and expansion of cancer research with clinical services. The expansion will take advantage of novel partnerships and new technology and diagnostics to support future research and clinical services. Expand clinical research to align with our clinical services Cabrini Research will expand its activities in alignment with our clinical services, by establishing departments of cardiovascular, mental health and musculoskeletal research. Develop and expand the translational research program In a medical research context, translational research aims to “translate” findings in fundamental bench research into medical practice and meaningful health outcomes. There are currently strong translational programs at Cabrini Research in partnership with Monash University. We look to expand and grow in these areas, pursue novel ventures and capitalise on commercialisation opportunities. Embed health informatics and research design There are significant opportunities for expansion in data-driven healthcare and informatics. Cabrini currently supports the collection and contribution of data to some 24 registries and maintains an additional 40 or more databases for research purposes. Our aim is to streamline the coordination of data collection processes and database design at Cabrini. This will enable transformation in health research and facilitate studies that were not feasible in the past, and thus lead to new insights regarding health and disease and outcome data for funding and marketing. Research design and analysis support for clinicians and research staff employed at Cabrini is imperative for us to achieve research growth and enable expansion of research into new clinical areas. We aim to build support in development, execution and reporting of clinical research studies and clinical audits.
