More than twenty years after a bold vision first took shape, the Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery (ACMD) has officially opened its doors in Melbourne, marking a new era for Australian healthcare, medical research and innovation.
A centre unlike any other
Located within the St Vincent's Fitzroy Health and Innovation Precinct, the $206 million Aikenhead Centre is Australia's first hospital-based biomedical engineering research translation centre. Rather than separating research, engineering and clinical care, it brings them together under one roof, enabling new discoveries to move from laboratory to patient faster than ever before.
The purpose-built facility spans 11 floors and houses 31 laboratories accommodating up to 900 researchers. It features advanced 3D printing laboratories, engineering workshops, robotics, a kinetics laboratory and dedicated clinical simulation spaces, alongside an education centre capable of training up to 300 medical professionals each year.
Research at the Centre will focus on some of Australia's most pressing health challenges, including epilepsy, cancer and osteoarthritis, harnessing cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology and regenerative medicine to improve patient outcomes.
"This isn't just a research facility. It's where the discoveries made in the lab will find their way to the bedside faster, and more reliably, than ever before."
Michal Krieg
Acting CEO, ACMD
Built on partnership
The Centre brings together St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne, Australian Catholic University, the University of Melbourne, RMIT University, Swinburne University of Technology, the Bionics Institute and St Vincent's Institute of Medical Research - uniting clinicians, researchers, engineers, educators and industry partners in a single collaborative environment uniquely positioned to tackle healthcare’s most complex challenges.
Central to the Centre’s story is Brenda Shanahan AO, whose leadership across St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne and St Vincent's Institute of Medical Research helped lay the foundations for what would become the ACMD. At a time when research, clinical care and engineering largely operated independently, Brenda saw the opportunity to bring them together. What followed was more than two decades of collaboration, uniting hospitals, universities, governments, philanthropists and industry partners around a shared conviction that healthcare innovation is most powerful when people work together.
That vision is now a reality.
Nature's Symphony
Grounded in living tradition
While the technology inside the building is world-leading, its foundations run deeper. Named in honour of Venerable Mary Aikenhead, founder of the Sisters of Charity, the Centre continues a legacy that has shaped Catholic healthcare in Australia for more than 180 years. Mary Aikenhead believed healthcare should always respond to the needs of the time with courage, compassion, and practical action. Today, that same spirit lives on in research that seeks not simply to advance science, but to improve lives.
Supporting the mission
CDF was pleased to play a part in supporting the development of the Aikenhead Centre, through a longstanding partnership with St Vincent's Health Australia and Mary Aikenhead Ministries. The official opening was attended by CDF Chief Executive Officer, John McClusky and General Manager Client Services, Brendan Hoy.
"ACMD is a wonderful example of what can be achieved when long term financial partnerships support organisations with a bold vision. We are proud to have played a part in creating a facility that will serve generations through better healthcare, world-leading research and improved patient outcomes."
John McClusky
CEO, Catholic Development Fund
As the Aikenhead Centre begins its work, its impact will extend well beyond its walls – through every new device deployed, every breakthrough treatment discovered, and every innovation that finds its way to patients to need it most.
Your savings can do more than grow. By opening an account with CDF Community Fund, you can earn a competitive rate of interest while empowering Catholic organisations like Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery (ACMD) to build, serve, and grow. It's a greater return than money alone. Learn more and apply today.
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CDPF Limited, a company established by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, has indemnified the Catholic Development Fund ABN 15 274 943 760 (the Fund) against any liability arising out of a claim by investors in the Fund. In practice, this means your investment is backed by the assets of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne. The Fund is required by law to make the following disclosure. Investment in the Fund is only intended to attract investors whose primary purpose for making their investment is to support the charitable purposes of the Fund. Investors’ funds will be used to generate a return to the Fund that will be applied to further the charitable works of the Archdiocese of Melbourne and the Dioceses of Sale and Bunbury. The Fund is not prudentially supervised by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority nor has it been examined or approved by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). An investor in the Fund will not receive the benefit of the financial claims scheme or the depositor protection provisions in the Banking Act 1959 (Cth). The investments that the Fund offers are not subject to the usual protections for investors under the Corporations Act (Cth) or regulation by ASIC. Investors may be unable to get some or all of their money back when the investor expects or at all and investments in the Fund are not comparable to investments with banks, finance companies or fund managers. The Fund’s identification statement may be viewed here or by contacting the Fund. The Fund does not hold an Australian Financial Services Licence.
