As the newest faculty at Macquarie, we’re ambitiously pushing the boundaries of progressive thinking and challenging what’s possible to solve some of the big issues of our time. Key focal areas include neurosciences (especially motor neuron disease, neurological rehabilitation and the clinical neuroscience of pain), cancer medicine, and vascular science. Our prestigious areas of research foster research excellence and collaboration – both nationally and on a global scale - and drive innovation in all that we do. Our Faculty hosts the Australian Institute of Health Innovation, an internationally acclaimed powerhouse researching health systems, e-health and patient safety. Our state-of-the-art facilities, in association with the first private hospital in Australia located on a university campus, showcase the latest in technology, function and design. Research in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences spans the biomedical and clinical sciences, physiotherapy, health systems and e-health. Particular areas of research excellence include cancer, neurosciences, cardiovascular disease and innovations in healthcare systems. A key feature of our research is collaboration across multiple disciplines. Specific examples of this include the collaboration between our clinical and basic biomedical researchers in medical genomics, leading to key contributions in international consortia that have identified genetic causes of breast cancer and melanoma, and identifying the genetic origins of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as motor neurone disease). These discoveries have had a strong impact upon their respective fields, and opened new chapters in understanding the molecular origins of these diseases. In a more applied context, our biomedical engineers and computational science researchers have collaborated together with the faculty’s and international neurologists and neurosurgeons to develop software that can predict the chance of aneurysm rupture and predict the most effective surgical intervention. This technology could significantly improve patient outcomes by identifying optimal surgical interventions and determining which aneurysms don’t require treatment. Researchers from the faculty’s Australian Institute of Health Innovation are seeking to revolutionise the way patients receive care in the national healthcare system. Active areas of research include: closing the gap between clinical practice and evidenced-based treatment offered through the latest research improving clinical decision making through the use of health informatics and increasing health literacy in the community through consumer informatics changing work practices within the healthcare sector to reduce negative outcomes and save money. Physiotherapy researchers in the Department of Health Professions head up the interdisciplinary Centre for Physical Health that includes leaders in psychology and radiology to address knowledge gaps in common conditions such as stroke, brain injury, osteoarthritis and back pain. Ongoing work includes innovating internet-delivered programs to improve physical activity, as well as developing prediction models in back pain to improve patient outcomes. The department’s quantitative sensory testing facility enables a deeper understanding of mechanisms underpinning sensory changes in painful conditions.