Last week, Cabrini Health celebrated the launch of the newly formed Monash University Department of Cancer Medicine at a special event at the Alfred hospital.

The new Department brings together Monash University, Bayside Health and Cabrini Health in a collaboration that strengthens our position at the forefront of cancer research and treatment in Victoria.

Connecting world-class researchers, clinicians, data scientists and community partners, the Department is designed to accelerate cancer research across the full pipeline, from basic science and translational medicine through to clinical trials and real-world implementation.

Speaking at the launch, Professor Gary Richardson OAM, Group Director of Cabrini Research and Deputy Head of the new Department, said cancer research has come a long way, but he is fuelled by the formation of this Department and how much further discovery can go.

“When Bruce Springsteen released his first song back in 1969 or 1970, the cancer cure rate – as in cancer that never comes back – was 40 per cent,” Prof Richardson said. “Bruce is still working in 2026, and the cure rate is now 70 per cent. We have improved things significantly but based on what we’re doing here in this Department, discoveries are going to be much more accelerated.”

At the heart of the new Department’s mission is precision medicine, Prof Richardson said.

“In our work, precision medicine is the concept that you treat an individual tumour, in an individual, with individual therapy,” Prof Richardson explained. “It relates to the genome of the patient, the current evidence, where the tumour is and what stage it’s at. Precision medicine is about patient-centred care so that’s where our focus lies.”

As Australia’s largest private hospital clinical trials provider, Cabrini is well placed to develop and bring cutting-edge treatment options to patients, but this partnership will significantly expand Cabrini’s clinical trial capacity.

Professor Mark Shackleton, Head of the new Department and Director of Oncology at the Alfred, said the collaboration will change cancer research across the region.

“Our research is creating and catching the waves of technological innovation, cutting-edge diagnostics, and new therapeutic concepts that are radically transforming cancer research,” he said.

One of the most significant initiatives within the new Department is the ACRF Centre for Dynamic Immuno-Oncology (CDIO), a dedicated research facility funded by the Australian Cancer Research Foundation and the National Imaging Facility, headquartered at the Alfred’s Paula Fox Melanoma and Cancer Centre. The Centre was also launched at the event last week.

Equipped with world-leading scanning technology, the CDIO can track a patient’s response to immunotherapy in real time, detecting early signs of benefit or side-effects with greater precision that ever before.

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