Turning research into reality

30 Mar 2015
Turning research into reality

A new South Australian health initiative, the South Australian Advanced Health and Research Translational Centre, a collaboration between the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), the three South Australian universities, SA Health and other health and research institutions, has been recognised as one of the top four centres in Australia by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). 

Announced as one of the first ever NHMRC Advanced Health Research and Translation Centres, in an extremely competitive environment, the South Australian partnership has been recognised as being amongst the world’s best for using medical research to improve patient care. 

The South Australian Advanced Health Research and Translation Centre (SA Centre) will focus on research, clinical services, education and training, helping to enhance South Australia’s reputation as an internationally recognised research destination. 

The vision of the SA Centre is to continuously enhance the rate of translation of research into health care in order to create a self-improving and high-quality health system, which is also sustainable. 

Professor Steve Wesselingh, Executive Director at SAHMRI, said that the bid for this recognition was incredibly competitive, and that each one of the Centres was judged to be on par with the world’s best research and translation centres by a panel of international experts. 

“This is a significant milestone for health and research in South Australia, with only four Centres announced across Australia. It demonstrates that not only can South Australia compete with the larger interstate centres, but also that we lead the way in translational health,” Professor Wesselingh said. 

“This will ensure that these research breakthroughs lead to direct clinical benefits for patients and help eliminate the need for people going to hospital in the first place. 

“It will also look at the South Australian public as a whole to analyse health trends and determine where health promotion and prevention programs can have the most impact. 

“Traditionally such centres are planned around a single site but the state-wide approach to South Australia’s system makes us unique. 

“One of many anticipated outcomes of the SA Centre is to turn research discoveries into improved clinical practice and commercial opportunities,” Professor Wesselingh said. 

Acting South Australian Minister for Health, the Hon Martin Hamilton-Smith MP, said that health and medical research is vitally important to the ongoing welfare of all South Australians. 

“The integration of the SA Centre with Transforming Health will be the vehicle that provides the link between the research outcomes and translating advances in medical research into clinical practice, day-to-day care of patients and training of health professionals,” he said. 

“In addition to the advances in translational research, the SA Centre will attract researchers from all over the world to South Australia, strengthening our existing clinical and primary healthcare workforce and our ability to bring additional grant funding into the State.” 

Partners in the South Australian Advanced Health Research and Translation Centre are: 

  • South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) 

  • SA Health - including Central, Southern, Northern, Country and Women’s and Children’s Local Health Networks 

  • Central Adelaide Hills Medicare Local 

  • Country North SA Medicare Local 

  • Country South SA Medicare Local 

  • Northern Adelaide Medicare Local 

  • Southern Adelaide-Fleurieu Kangaroo Island Medical Local 

  • The University of Adelaide 

  • University of South Australia 

  • Flinders University 

  • Aboriginal Health Council of South Australia (AHCSA) 

  • Health Consumers Alliance