Major VU research facility at new Footscray Hospital to catapult health solutions

Victoria University’s researchers will address urgent and complex health concerns quicker and more efficiently at VU’s new $63 million research and teaching facility.

Located in Victoria’s newest and largest hospital, the new Footscray Hospital, the 2000 square metre space spans four levels and will allow researchers to increase community participation in clinical trials by up to 50 per cent.

It will enable VU to expand its strengths in preventive disease and healthy ageing to address real community needs, particularly in Melbourne’s west. The facility will encompass disciplines including dietetics, physiotherapy, biomedicine, psychology, exercise physiology, social work and health-related AI research.

The facility has been a five-year project with industry partners including Western Health.

“The new VU Research and Teaching building will create a whole new world of opportunities for our researchers and students. And it will bring us even closer to Western Health—its clinicians, patients and partners—to drive breakthroughs for complex health challenges.

Thousands of VU students in health disciplines across TAFE and higher education will benefit enormously: learning in the same environment where the future of healthcare is being shaped,” Vice-Chancellor Professor Adam Shoemaker said.

Once fully operational, this space will support the work of hundreds of  researchers and research students. It will be fitted out with $3.1 million of new equipment including: a full-scale PC2 lab with a 3D bioprinter to print living organisms for cell studies, a large-scale clinical rehabilitation gymnasium, expansive yoga studio for wellbeing related studies, commercial kitchen for nutrition and diet intervention studies and a dedicated vascular research lab.

“We are at the precipice of enormous growth and impact for research at VU. This investment will embed our research and researchers at the heart of a growing health hub. This will mean increased opportunities to collaborate with our health partners to reduce the burden of disease. Research that supports ageing well is a strength of VU and with the resources this facility presents, I can’t wait to see what the next few years will bring,” Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Impact, Professor Andy Hill said.

The facility will open in February.