$6M gift contributes to research impact and world-class facilities

NICM welcomes The Jacka Foundation of Natural Therapies generous gift and legacy of $6 million. The gift will support a new world-class conference centre, located on the top floor of NICM’s new building at the Westmead campus, in addition to expanding The Jacka Foundation Integrative Medicine research program at NICM and advancing research translation.

The funding will advance research with the establishment and support for a postdoctoral fellowship and PhD scholarship in integrative medicine, expanding NICM’s capability in education and research and strengthening research collaborations.

The establishment of The Jacka Foundation Conference Centre at NICM will be also be matched with University funding.

NICM Director Professor Alan Bensoussan says the generous gift provided a further reason to celebrate at NICM’s Stage 1 building completion celebrations held in October, which marked a significant milestone in the Institution’s history relocating to Westmead – one of the world’s largest dedicated health and medical research precincts.

“We were delighted to signal Judy Jacka’s advocacy work and legacy in complementary medicine with The Jacka Foundation announcing ongoing support for our research and education by donating $6 million over the next 15 years.

“Donors and supporters help sustain our mission, NICM and our researchers certainly are the beneficiaries, but the impact reaches far beyond to our communities, our research partners, and to the promotion of global health,” said Professor Bensoussan.

It is envisaged the new world-class conference centre will be a hub for information and education exchange in best practice and research in integrative medicine.

In addition to the new conferencing facilities, Stage 2 of NICM’s building will include the construction of NICM’s scientific laboratories set for completion in September 2019.