The Woolcock Institute of Medical Research

The Woolcock Institute for Medical Research and Macquarie University are excited to announce they have established a new primary affiliation with the intent of accelerating the scope and impact of sleep and respiratory research in Australia.

Bringing together more than 200 medical researchers, the Woolcock is ranked by Times Higher Education as the number one specialist sleep and respiratory health research centre in the world. 

The Woolcock's offices, labs and clinical services – which see more than 250 patients per week and conduct approximately 2,000 sleep studies a year – will be moving to the University's health and medical precinct in the heart of Macquarie Park Innovation District. 

The location will facilitate close ties with Macquarie’s integrated medical research, teaching and clinical hub MQ Health, providing joint opportunities for multidisciplinary research from basic discovery through to innovations in clinical practice, leading to better outcomes for patients. 

While several Woolcock researchers already hold academic positions at Macquarie, the partnership promises to open up new collaborative opportunities in fields of research including respiratory and sleep medicine, neurosciences and neurophysiology, dementia and neurodegenerative disorders, cancer and cardiology. 

MQ Health and the Woolcock will partner on clinical trials for new therapies and innovative approaches to patient management.

Professor Patrick McNeil, Deputy Vice Chancellor Medicine and Health, Macquarie University says: "Both the Woolcock and MQ Health take an integrated, patient-centred approach to healthcare, starting from lab research to its translation into clinical practice, while providing research-enriched education for future leaders in healthcare.

"By partnering and co-locating with the Woolcock on campus, we are continuing to build on the strength of MQ Health's transformative approach to healthcare, and anticipate building new cross-disciplinary research and treatments that will drive improvements for the community in all aspects of respiratory and sleep health."

Professor Carol Armour, Executive Director, the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research says: "Our aspirations and values align with the research strategy and priorities of Macquarie University and through a strategic partnership we will together become a global hub for respiratory and sleep research, clinical service provision, policy and impact."

For media enquiries please contact Caroline Zielinski – Media Consultant, Woolcock Institute of Medical Research media@woolcock.org.au 0400 172 145.