Melbourne Lands Key Role in $1bn Cancer Centre
[ Research Review 0809 : Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences ]
By Rebecca Scott
Cancer research and patient care is set to be revolutionised in Victoria after the announcement of a world-class $1 billion Parkville Comprehensive Cancer Centre, by the Premier of Victoria, John Brumby and Federal Health and Ageing Minister Nicola Roxon in May this year.
The University of Melbourne will join other leading cancer research centres and treatment institutions under the one roof: the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne Health and the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research and the Royal Women€™s Hospital are also partners in the project.
€œWith its critical mass of cancer expertise, the Parkville CCC will be a powerful tool in the fight against cancer. The University of Melbourne is delighted to be part of this exciting venture, which is truly a project of national significance,€ said University of Melbourne Vice-Chancellor Professor Glyn Davis.
The Parkville CCC will be built on the site of the former Dental Hospital in Grattan Street and the southeastern corner of the Royal Melbourne Hospital city campus site.
Professor Davis says the generous funding from both the Commonwealth and Victorian governments will enable the partner organisations to create a world-class centre for cancer research, education and treatment in Australia.
Victorian Premier John Brumby and Federal Health and Ageing Minister Nicola Roxon announced the joint funding totalling $852.2 million for the Parkville CCC. The remainder will be funded from the sale of surplus sites, partner contributions and philanthropic donations. The University will contribute $25 million to the project.
The Parkville CCC will have more than 30,000 square metres of research space capable of accommodating up to 1,400 researchers and a clinical trials facility with 24 treatment places. There will be educational and training facilities, an outpatient clinic and six radiation therapy bunkers.
The Parkville CCC follows in the tradition of leading cancer centres around the world which have grown out of partnerships of hospitals, universities and research institutes:
the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre at the Gerstner Sloan-Kettering Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in New York,
the M D Anderson Cancer Centre at the University of Texas,
the Kimmel Cancer Centre at Thomas Jefferson University; and
the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Centre at Vanderbilt University.
Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, Professor James Angus, says building enduring partnerships is a major plank in the Faculty€™s strategy.
€œThis landmark joint venture will benefit all Victorians. It will enable the University of Melbourne, as a public-spirited institution, to use its research and educational resources to enhance this great project.€
For the University of Melbourne, the Parkville Comprehensive Cancer Centre is a truly integrated approach to cancer, bringing together the University€™s research, clinical and teaching and learning expertise in cancer to the Parkville Precinct.
€œThe defining characteristic of a comprehensive cancer centre is the linkage between research and treatment of the patient,€ said Max Rogers, who has been appointed as the interim Executive Officer for the Parkville CCC collaborative project. Max Rogers is working with the six partners to facilitate the development of an interim incorporated joint venture.
€œIt€™s about having all expertise into cancer under the one roof €“ to ultimately speed up the process from research bench to patient care at the bedside.€
€œAlso that it be a seamless experience for the patient care, from hospital admission, involvement in clinical trials, through to specialist treatment,€ he says.
In addition, Professor Angus points out that by creating a critical mass of intellectual and practical endeavour, the Parkville CCC will attract and retain world-class researchers and draw the best and the brightest to study and train in cancer at the University of Melbourne.
The University of Melbourne is already renowned as Australia€™s leading biomedical enterprise, training more health professionals and attracting more nationally competitive grants for biomedical research than any other Australian university
Demolition works on the former Dental Hospital site will commence shortly with construction of the comprehensive cancer centre to begin in the first half of 2011. The centre is expected to be completed by 2015.
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