Western Sydney University joins Westmead Research Hub to strengthen research collaboration

Pictured from left to right: Professor Philip O'Connell (WIMR), Professor Annemarie Hennessy (The University of Sydney), Professor Kate Stevens (Director, MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour & Development, Western Sydney University), Marion Jones (Western Sydney University), Rebecca Sedicol (Westmead Research Hub), Lani Attwood (SCHN), Professor Sarah Lewis (Dean, Faculty of Health, Western Sydney University), Professor Roger Reddel (CMRI).

Western Sydney University has joined the Westmead Research Hub – a partnership that acknowledges the University’s cutting-edge research, state-of-the-art research facilities and important presence in the Westmead Health and Innovation District.

The Westmead Research Hub is a cooperative that brings together hospitals, universities and medical research institutes to support more than 1,400 researchers through shared facilities, specialist equipment and knowledge.

Membership will enable Western Sydney University researchers to work more closely with organisations across the precinct, creating new opportunities for real-world impact. It will also create new opportunities for Western Sydney University students to engage with one of Australia's leading health innovation centres.

Western brings value to the Hub beyond cutting-edge research. Westmead Research Hub partners will gain access to Western’s state-of-the-art research facilities: the GMP manufacturing and Zebrafish Facilities at NICM; the functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS), Dual EEG and infant EEG systems within the MARCS Institute; the Advanced Materials Characterisation Facility based at Parramatta South; the Next Generation Sequencing Facility located at Hawkesbury; and the Mass Spectrometry Facility and Biomedical Magnetic Resonance Facilities based at Campbelltown.

Western Sydney University Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research and Innovation, Professor Ian Anderson, said the partnership reflected the University’s commitment to collaboration that delivers tangible community benefit.

“Joining the Westmead Research Hub creates opportunities for our students and our researchers to collaborate with some of Australia’s leading health research organisations.”

“When it comes to solving society’s big health challenges, strength is in numbers. By combining our strengths, we can accelerate discoveries and translate research into better outcomes for patients and the wider community.”

Chair of the Westmead Research Hub Executive Committee, Professor Roger Reddel added:

“Westmead Research Hub is delighted to welcome Western Sydney University.”

“Their capabilities in research and education, and their strong connections with the Western Sydney community and beyond, will boost health and medical research at Westmead.”

Western Sydney University has had a presence at Westmead for decades, with the area playing a longstanding role in teacher education and other disciplines. Since 2018, the University has had a research presence in the Westmead Health and Innovation District through the NICM Health Research Institute. The opening of the Westmead Innovation Quarter in 2022 further strengthened the University's research presence, creating a vibrant health research hub that is now home to the MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development (MARCS), the Translational Health Research Institute (THRI), and the Transforming Early Education and Child Health Research Centre (TeEACH).

ENDS.

22 July 2026
Media Unit