Posted 11 June 2026
The Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery (ACMD), Australia’s first hospital-based medical discovery centre, officially opened on Wednesday 10 June, marking the culmination of more than two decades of planning, collaboration and investment in a new model for healthcare innovation.
Located in the St Vincent’s Fitzroy Health and Innovation Precinct together with SVI and St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, ACMD brings together researchers, engineers, clinicians and industry partners under one roof to accelerate the translation of research into new technologies, treatments and healthcare solutions.
As a founding partner of the ACMD, SVI is working alongside leading organisations in a multi-disciplinary environment designed to address some of healthcare’s most pressing challenges. The centre will create new opportunities for SVI researchers to collaborate across fields, helping accelerate progress in foundational research, while translating promising discoveries into real-world healthcare solutions.
The ACMD is a partnership between SVI, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, Australian Catholic University, Bionics Institute, RMIT University, Swinburne University of Technology and the University of Melbourne.
The $206 million biomedical engineering centre features cutting-edge laboratories, a human kinetics lab, 3D printing facilities, engineering workshops, a clinical simulation lab and dedicated education facilities to train the next generation of clinical, nursing, allied health and biomedical research leaders.
The facility houses 4,500 square metres of dedicated research space across 11 floors, including 31 laboratories, with capacity for up to 900 researchers.
“This isn’t just a research facility, it’s where the discoveries made in the lab will find their way to the bedside faster, and more reliably, than ever before,” said Michael Krieg, Acting CEO, Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery.
“For patients across Victoria and beyond, that means better outcomes, shorter stays, and care that’s built around what works.”
The ACMD stands on the site of the former Aikenhead Wing, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne’s residence for trainee nurses. The centre is named after Mary Aikenhead, founder of the Sisters of Charity, the order that established St Vincent’s.
SVI Director Professor Tom Kay noted, “As a founding ACMD partner, SVI is excited to work alongside clinicians, engineers and industry in a collaborative environment designed to accelerate medical innovation. By bringing together complementary expertise, we can help translate research to improve patient outcomes.”
