Australians of the Year, Professor Georgina Long and Professor Richard Scoyler speak on the importance of the SBA.
Speaking of his journey applying melanoma science to the treatment of his own glioblastoma, Professor Scolyer said: “This is why we are ambitious for the Accelerator because we know we’re not curing as many cancers as we could and it's time the cancer research field, and indeed all medical research, thinks big and gets courageous.”
Professor Long said:“ Our advances based on one single patient and one single tumour are the tip of the iceberg of what can be achieved when cancer researchers and clinicians, underpinned by science, are brave and prepared to challenge the status quo. And critically it is teamwork that underpins success. We are ambitious for the Accelerator because its model can advance bringing multidisciplinary teams together."
Due to open in 2027, the SBA will cover 36,000m2 and consist of two new buildings that will span both the University’s Camperdown campus and the District’s Royal Prince Alfred Hospital campus, physically connecting these institutions for the first time in their over 140-year partnership. The Centenary Institute is the first research collaborator of the SBA.
The new building on the University of Sydney campus will be known as the Isaac Wakil Biomedical Building (28,000m2) in recognition of the transformative $20 million donation from the Susan and Isaac Wakil Foundation towards the establishment of the SBA.
Housing 1,200 biomedical researchers and clinical scientists, the SBA will include purpose-built facilities to transition discoveries from bench to bedside including wet labs, a biobank, a prototyping core research facility for medical devices and implant development, good manufacturing practice (GMP) cleanrooms, and clinical trial and patient-facing spaces.
With a unique global concentration of biomedical research talent, the SBA will enable dynamic collaboration with industry and start-ups as part of a world-leading hospital, university, and tech innovation ecosystem.
