A delegation of Rotary Melbourne members and guests were warmly welcomed to WEHI on Thursday 4 April 24.
Our hosts, Professor Sant-Rayn Pasricha, Deborah Carr and Ava Pham guided us through laboratories, introduced us to brilliant young researchers and gave a compelling presentation on the history and world-leading work of WEHI.
For over 100 years many of the world’s brightest scientists have worked at WEHI to help solve the most complex health issues. WEHI actively collaborates with hospitals, universities, research institutes, supporters, alumni and the community to do more, faster, to tackle devastating diseases. As Professor Alan Cowman AC, Acting Director, says “WEHI isn’t only a place where great discoveries are made, it’s where ideas are debated, pursued and celebrated. This is how we tackle the biggest health challenges facing our community.”
WEHI makes life-changing discoveries, its scientists improve lives by solving complex health problems in the fields of cancer, immune health and infection, developmental disorders and ageing. This includes understanding the basic processes that are disrupted to generate cancer cells, and how these can be targeted to improve outcomes for people living with cancer; investigating infectious agents and our body’s immune defences, to develop new strategies to prevent and treat infectious diseases, as well as immune and inflammatory disorders; and, exploring the determinants of good health from a human’s earliest years through to old age, with a focus on achieving health equity for all people worldwide.
It was clear to us that there is significant alignment between Rotary and WEHI, in several of our areas of focus, but in particular in Disease Prevention and Treatment.
This experience is yet another reminder of how fortunate we are to be located in a city that hosts so many innovative medical research institutions such as WEHI, Bionics Institute & BioEYES Australia, with whom Rotary Melbourne has strong connections.
