Back row (l-r), the Hon Ben Carroll, Victorian Minister for Industry and Innovation, Professor Yitshak Kreiss, Director-General of Sheba Medical Centre, Miriam Syber, Melbourne Biomedical Director, Israel-Australia Chamber of Commerce (IACC) and Victorian Government’s Tel-Aviv Trade & Investment Office. Front row (l-r) Professor Mike Ryan, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research), Monash University, and Professor Eyal Zimlichman, Chief Transformation and Innovation Officer and Head of ARC Centre for Innovation, Sheba Medical Centre.
Monash University is teaming up with one of the world’s top research hospitals, Israel’s Sheba Medical Centre, to research and develop new medical technology, digital health innovations and models of care and facilitate their commercialisation, manufacture and adoption in health service environments to benefit patients and communities both locally and overseas.
Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Wednesday 15 March, the partners will focus on collaborative research and development programs in healthcare, including digital health; remote care; cardiovascular health; precision medicine; new therapies; devices and diagnostics; and healthy ageing.
An early activity will see the partners focus on cardiovascular research – supported by a $200,000 investment by the Victorian Government – in the located within the .
This funding builds on the $1.5 million Monash intends to invest over the first three years for broader activities under the MOU.
“Our new partnership with Sheba Medical Centre is another great example of how Monash University is investing in world-class partnerships to enable global research collaborations that can deliver health benefits for communities throughout Victoria, Australia, Israel and beyond,” said Monash’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise and Engagement) and Senior Vice-President Professor Doron Ben-Meir.
“Monash’s Clayton campus is already situated at the centre of a research and enterprise ecosystem, the Monash Technology Precinct, that brings together world-leading research institutes and infrastructure with multi-national, national and small to medium enterprises,” Professor Ben-Meir said.
Monash’s Executive Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Science, Professor Christina Mitchell AO, said the collaboration with Sheba Medical Centre was a unique opportunity to accelerate the translation of health and medical research into real outcomes, policies and practices.
“This MoU, with an outstanding institution like Sheba Medical Centre, will further help us to scale up the translation of our research into innovations that improve patient outcomes and help our communities.”
The collaboration aims to work with industry partners to stimulate growth in the local medtech manufacturing sector, while also building new training opportunities for health practitioners and researchers.
“We will be working with Sheba Medical Centre to draw on their phenomenal experience and expertise in innovation to ensure that technological solutions developed locally and abroad are put into practice here to increase the efficiency and sustainability of our healthcare system,” said Professor Ross Coppel, Deputy Dean of Strategy and Innovation within the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences.
