"Clincal Trials are Awesome."
By Zoe Waters, Executive Director Barwon Health Foundation
That was the opening line from Professor Peter Vuillermin, Barwon Health Director of Research at the launch of the Barwon Health - Deakin University Clinical Trials Alliance, an event I had the privilege of attending last week.
It was a simple statement, - but one that carries extraordinary weight.
The launch marked a significant milestone within a long partnership, between two of the biggest employers in our region, grounded in a shared ambition: to improve health outcomes for our region, while helping to shape the future of care more broadly. It was also a very proud moment for Geelong, - a reminder that world-class innovation and research is not confined to capital cities.
The Hon. Richard Marles MP, Deputy Prime Minister and Member for Corio, spoke about what this means for our community, not just in terms of investment or infrastructure, but in terms of its capacity for real and lasting impacts on the health and wellbeing of local families.
And perhaps it was Frances Diver, Chief Executive of Barwon Health, who captured the potential impact of the Alliance most powerfully: “more hope, better care, greater health outcomes.”
The Alliance means more trials delivered locally, for local people. It means greater access to cutting-edge treatments without the need to travel. It means equity, ensuring that where you live does not determine the care you have available.
Clinical trials are not abstract scientific exercises. They are pathways to possibility, offering patients access to new treatments, new technologies, and new hope, often when it is needed most.
They play a key role in ensuring the care delivered in our region goes beyond keeping pace with the rest of the world, enabling locally led innovation and collaboration that leverages the respective strengths of Barwon Health and Deakin.
But clinical trials do not happen by chance, they require investment and philanthropy can play a role.
The BHF is proud of the role our donors play in supporting research including clinical trials at Barwon Health. The Adrian Costa Clinical Trials Centre is just one example of the generosity of our donors that is making a real difference now.
I congratulate the teams at Barwon Health and Deakin University who have taken the partnership developed over many years to the next step and made this new Alliance a reality. This is good for Barwon Health, good for Deakin University and even better for our community to have these two important institutions working together.
