Reception to Celebrate 25 Years of Wesley Medical Research

Chair of Wesley Medical Research, Mr Peter Allen; Patrons, Mr Martin Albrecht, Professor John Pearn and Associate Professor John Allan; General Manager, Dr Claudia Giurgiuman; all distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen.

It is a great pleasure for Kaye and me to host this celebration of 25 years of Wesley Medical Research – the silver anniversary!

We are able to mark many successes today. 

We celebrate advances and on-going research in better understanding the genesis of diseases including cancers and autoimmune conditions such as multiple sclerosis.

We acknowledge with gratitude Wesley Medical Research’s successful focus on the discovery and application of more precise, less invasive, and lower risk diagnostic tools for serious conditions.  

And, just as importantly, we acknowledge this institution’s capacity to apply research to improvements in the quality of life for those undergoing treatment and in recovery.

Biobank is yet another key element, acting as a powerful enabler for many kinds of medical research. 

This research institution’s close links with the medical professionals who work in Uniting Care’s four hospitals drives this patient-centred approach. 

That close and productive relationship also increases the chances of bringing new approaches to diagnosis, treatment and recovery into operation up to twice as quickly as might otherwise be the case.

As a result of all these strategies, Wesley Medical Research has become, in the relatively short space of 25 years, an institution with an enviable local, national and international reputation.

And at the personal level, the institution’s work has brought the non-tangible but important benefits of hope and comfort to patients and to their loved ones.   

As Patron and Governor, I congratulate Wesley Medical Research on these successes and on reaching this significant 25-year milestone. I especially congratulate Emeritus Professor Julie Campbell for her leadership for 16 of those years.

I extend my gratitude to this institution’s other Patrons, its Board, executive and staff, its supporters and allies, volunteers, the many medical professionals with whom it collaborates, for their professionalism and dedication.

I thank in particular today the many donors whose generosity has given such strong support to Wesley Medical Research over the past quarter of a century.

Their generosity is a vital element in enabling Wesley Medical Research to make a real and positive difference to the lives of many Queenslanders, and more widely.

That capacity to make a difference is surely the ultimate accolade for this institution’s wonderful donors and the hard work and commitment of the entire Wesley Medical Research family. Thank you.