NSW Health Innovation Precincts are transforming healthcare by bringing together research, clinical care, and industry to accelerate discoveries and improve patient outcomes. These hubs are central to the NSW Health Research and Innovation Strategy providing cutting-edge infrastructure, access to diverse patient cohorts and world-class expertise.
"NSW Health Innovation Precincts support the aims of the NSW Health Research and Innovation Strategy," says Kim Sutherland, Executive Director of the Office for Health and Medical Research (OHMR). "They are central to strategic outcomes embedded in the Strategy, such as a thriving research ecosystem, a pipeline approach, a place-based foundation and research and innovation for all. They enable collaboration that speeds up translation of research from bench to bedside."
Co-location and collaboration
The St Vincent’s Sydney Health Innovation Precinct in Darlinghurst, co-locates leading organisations such as the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, The Kinghorn Cancer Centre, St Vincent’s hospitals and St Vincent’s Centre for Applied Medical Research. It works closely with precinct partners including UNSW Sydney, the University of Notre Dame Australia, and the Australian Catholic University. This co-location, combined with cross-precinct governance and joint appointments, fosters collaboration, resource sharing, and leverages diverse expertise.
Flagship areas of research
“St Vincent’s Sydney Health Innovation Precinct drives translational research and healthcare impact across three flagship areas: cardiovascular health, cancer and immunology. Our Cornerstone Partners are recognised as specialists and leaders in these areas,” says Anna McFadgen, CEO of St Vincent’s Health Network Sydney. “By fostering deeper collaboration between clinicians, researchers, industry partners and the broader community, the Precinct aims to cultivate an environment where innovation thrives and where breakthroughs can move swiftly from the laboratory to the bedside. This integrated approach not only strengthens our collective capacity to address today’s most pressing health challenges but also positions the Precinct as a leading force in shaping the future of personalised and precision medicine.”
“At the St Vincent’s Sydney Health Innovation Precinct, scientists focus on discovery and clinicians on care, but by working side by side, patient needs drive the science and breakthroughs move more rapidly into the clinic,” says Professor Benjamin Kile, Executive Director of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. “We are applying genomics, antibody therapeutics, and machine learning to solve complex health problems. Through the Precinct, we are building world-class teams advancing the future of medicine.”
Bringing value and investment to NSW
Beyond health benefits, precincts attract global investors and partners. “They act as powerful engines for economic growth, clinical excellence, and research translation,” says Anne O’Neill, Director, Commercialisation and Strategic Partnerships for the Office for Health and Medical Research.“Precincts can accelerate translation of discoveries, improve patient outcomes and generate new medical products, therapies, and technologies and are internationally attractive to global partners and markets. They distinguish NSW as a global destination for innovation and also ensure the state is a healthier more prosperous place to live.”
St Vincent’s Sydney Health Innovation Precinct has delivered major assets such as The Kinghorn Cancer Centre, a joint venture between St Vincent’s Hospital and the Garvan Institute, accelerating personalised cancer treatments. Other collaborative Garvan Institute initiatives are the AllClear program, which aims to identify and eliminate dormant cancer cells to prevent breast cancer relapse, and the Clinical Immunogenomics Research Consortium Australasia (CIRCA), which uses genomics to diagnose rare inherited immune diseases.
“What excites me is the scale of what’s possible,” says Kile. “We have some of the brightest minds working together to progress our innovations in medical research across NSW and beyond.”
Pioneering heart health breakthroughs
Cardiac research is another hallmark of the precinct. In a world-first, St Vincent’s Hospital implanted Australia’s first BiVACOR Total Artificial Heart, allowing a patient with end-stage heart failure to live independently at home for over 100 days before receiving a successful donor transplant. The Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute played a key role in this ground-breaking work.
“This milestone builds on a legacy that includes the ‘Heart in a Box’ technology which has increased heart transplants at St Vincent’s by around 30 percent and is now used worldwide, says Professor Jason Kovacic, Director and CEO of the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute. “These combined strengths of the St Vincent’s Sydney Health and Innovation Precinct partners have made Sydney and NSW, global leaders in heart transplantation and cardiac innovation.”
From Australia’s first hospice, to pioneering heart transplants and HIV care, St Vincent’s has led medical advances since 1857. Today, as part of the St Vincent’s Sydney Health Innovation Precinct, it continues to deliver breakthroughs that benefit NSW and national communities, and drive global impact.
The St Vincent’s Sydney Health Innovation Precinct is one of 10 NSW Health and Innovation Precincts at the heart of the state’s dynamic and evolving health and medical research network. Spread across metropolitan and regional areas, these precincts vary in size and scale but share a common purpose: to connect medicine, science, education and industry. Anchored by multiple health assets, they provide researchers and industry partners with access to world-leading clinical and academic expertise, diverse patient cohorts, and cutting-edge laboratories. This infrastructure accelerates the translation of research into new treatments, improving health outcomes and quality of life for communities across NSW.