Research

Providing critical support for acute conditions

Critical care medicine provides support for seriously ill and injured patients, including those experiencing cardiac arrest, acute trauma, and multiple organ failure. Focused upon survival, the discipline requires broad competencies in acute symptom evaluation, fluid and oxygen management, and end-of-life care. The importance of critical care medicine has heightened following an increase in heart-related disease in Australia.

While SARS-CoV-2 has been a contributing factor, systemic challenges across our hospitals highlight an urgent need to return to previously declining rates, steadily achieved over the past 40 years.

Critical Care Medicine Research at Cabrini

Our research in critical care medicine centres is realised through our clinician researchers and their tireless efforts to advance the clinical services they deliver throughout Cabrini’s hospitals. Their work has focused on the design and implementation of medical innovations and critical care models towards improved patient safety, health systems, and ultimately, survival.

The success of this research has gone on to inform clinical practices and protocols in hospitals throughout Australia, particularly in cardiology where new diagnostic tools, surgical methods, and assistive technologies have transformed patient lives.

Driving healthcare decisions through data

Vast amounts of digital information are generated through patient care, medical management, and research. Spanning from clinical databases and registries, healthcare apps, and patient reporting tools, the quantity of accumulated medical data is matched only by its complexity and diversity.

Health informatics organises information into an actionable format for enhanced healthcare delivery for patients, clinicians, and healthcare systems.

For decades, Cabrini has invested in the collection, management, and analysis of clinical information, recognising the importance of evidence-based approaches to healthcare. Over time, these have evolved into an extensive library of registries and databases that have made our clinical services more effective and efficient.

Through the dedication of our researchers, bioinformaticians, and database managers, several of these collections have become integral reference points for institutions both across Australia and the globe. This impact has demonstrated the critical role health informatics research plays in outlining a roadmap for improved research and clinical practices, driving policy decisions now and into the future.

It is expected that almost half of Australia’s current population will be diagnosed with cancer by the age of 85. This poses not only a health but societal challenge, shaping not only our individual but collective futures. While significant progress has been made, current therapies for cancer are amongst the least effective when compared with other chronic diseases, with conventional chemotherapeutic approaches severely undermining patient quality of life. For this reason, integrative approaches have been developed, moving beyond the treatment of the tumours themselves to holistically support patients throughout each stage of their cancer journey.

Integrative Cancer Research at Cabrini

As Australia’s largest private provider of cancer services, Cabrini’s commitment to integrative cancer research is an extension of its end-to-end model of care, seeking out innovations with purpose and impact. This work is led by a collaboration of scientists and clinicians, who aim to improve surgical interventions, treatment responses, and both physical and non-physical rehabilitation approaches.

This patient-driven work aims to redefine the meaning of cancer care, exploring innovative methods that ultimately reduce the disease burden of cancer. A core component of Cabrini’s integrative cancer research is its clinical trials program, which works with healthcare providers and industry partners to accelerate access to potentially life-saving therapies.

The Cabrini Cancer Institute

Central to our strategic vision, the Cabrini Cancer Institute was opened in April 2021 as an integrated clinical and research facility. Since then, it has been able to achieve both of its phase one objectives, doubling its clinical trials participation and establishing a state-of-the-art exercise oncology facility.

The strategic decision to locate the Institute within Cabrini Malvern Hospital has driven this progress, fostering greater collaboration between scientists and clinicians, while laying the foundations for phase two, the development of a genomics-led precision oncology program.

Highlighting a common and complex health challenge

Over the past decade, approaches to mental health have transformed, receiving the requisite resources for systematic and effective change. Yet significant challenges remain, given the vast number of conditions that fall within the scope of mental health. Spanning from depression, to anxiety, schizophrenia, and substance abuse, mental health is embedded throughout our society and represents a complex area for research and clinical care.

Mental Health Research at Cabrini

With one in five Australians dealing with mental health issues, Cabrini Research is committed to a better understanding of this pervasive and often overlooked condition. Focusing upon the particular challenges faced by women and patients with cancer and terminal disease, our mental health research aims to identify, develop, and implement effective clinical strategies in support of patients and their family, friends, and carers.

Our globally recognised researchers lead innovative studies aimed at:

• identifying non-pharmaceutical treatment and preventative strategies;
• discovering psychological disease adaptation techniques; and
• exploring improved approaches to psychological support and care.

Personalising medicine for each individual patient

Rapid advances in technology have dramatically changed our ability to not only collect, but also arrange and analyse biological data. This has enabled a greater understanding of the human body and the specific molecules and cells responsible for disease. With this information, scientists and clinicians can come together and design personalised treatment strategies for each individual patient, reimaging the way care is delivered.

For decades, Cabrini Research has invested in scientific technologies, data management systems, and preclinical models with the aim of developing new clinical approaches that improve both patient outcomes and quality of life. During this time, we have made critical advances in understanding:

• the biological differences of each individual tumour;
• the mechanisms responsible for drug failure and resistance; and
• potential biological targets for development into next-generation therapies.

Our continued work has now reached a point whereby patients can be profiled and matched with targeted therapies that are more effective and less detrimental when compared with conventional treatment. Already, the impact of our precision medicine research is evident across our cancer care services, signalling new possibilities for current and future patients.

Translating discoveries into impact

Translational research develops discoveries made in basic science into tangible outcomes of direct benefit to patients and clinicians. In translating the theoretical into the practical, findings made in the laboratory are given clinical meaning and applied towards improved preventative, diagnostic, and therapeutic tools and approaches.

The impact generated through translational research furthers the limits of healthcare towards system-wide change, informing policy that will go on to touch the lives of future generations.

Translational Research at Cabrini

Through our commitment to clinically aligned research, translational research is essential to our work and underpins our strategic priorities. As we constantly explore for new patient-focused innovations, the Translational Research Theme spans across all our departments, covering a diverse portfolio of projects, that include:

• preclinical models, such as organoids, for therapeutic development and evaluation;
• adaptive early-stage clinical trials, informing further preclinical development;
• surgical innovations, optimising the effectiveness of conventional methods; and
• biobank and dataset generation, enabling evidence-based research and clinical decision-making.