Women's Centre for Infectious Diseases launched at Bio21
17 Sep 09
The celebrations for the official opening of the Women's Centre for Infectious Diseases (WCID) and the launch of their new name were hosted by the Institute in July.
Formerly The Royal Women's Hospital (RWH) Department of Microbiology and Immunology, the group headed by Professor Suzanne Garland moved to Bio21 Institute in late 2008/early 2009.
The launch, which included speeches from Women's CEO, Dale Fisher; Prof. Jim Angus, Dean, Faculty of Medicine Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne; Prof. Suzanne Garland and special guest and key note speaker from University of Cambridge, Professor Margaret Stanley, recognised the strength and high calibre of this clinical group which has University of Melbourne affiliations with the Faculty of Medicine Dentistry and Health Sciences and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
In her opening speech at the launch, Professor Garland spoke of the achievement of her dream to establish a centre of excellence which focuses on women's health, especially in the fields of neonatal, and infectious diseases research, including in reproductive and sexual health.
Professor Garland says the location of the WCID at Bio21 Institute offers "great opportunities for excellent collaborations, because this venue not only has expertise which we can marry with clinically-based research work, but [offers] opportunities to use fantastic equipment such as NMR and mass spectrometers. This should allow us all to be involved in groundbreaking research."
In her speech, RWH CEO Dale Fisher addressed the WCID saying that both the founders of RWH and The University of Melbourne "could never have imagined such a place as this, where state-of-the-art infrastructure and equipment support world-leading research by dedicated researchers such as yourselves."
The WCID is the first clinical group to join the Bio21 Institute, sharing our vision of recruiting research leaders who work towards improving health through biotechnology in the management and research of infections in women and infants, both here and abroad. They also have a strong focus in training and mentoring which again aligns with the Institute's purpose to provide an environment that helps broaden the minds and careers of our early career scientists.
The co-location of centre to Bio21 is a partnership, providing opportunities for sharing of equipment, economies of scale, and feedback in ideas and application "bench to the bedside and back again".
The event was coupled with two days of research conferences aimed at better understanding HPV, cervical and vulvar cancers.
(From left) Prof Margaret Stanley, RWH CEO Dale Fisher, Prof Suzanne Garland and Professor Jim Angus at the Women's Centre for Infectious Diseases launch.