Melbourne, February 3, 2025 – In a night of recognition, reflection, and inspiration, AUSiMED celebrated its 10-year milestone at an event hosted by the Wingate Group. The evening brought together 100 distinguished guests, including esteemed supporters, medical professionals, and advocates of AUSiMED’s mission to foster groundbreaking medical research collaborations between Australia and Israel.
At the heart of the celebration was the recognition of the Lowy family’s unwavering support for the AUSiMED Lowy Paediatric Fellowships Program. Since 2014, their contributions have played a pivotal role in fostering innovative research, developing new diagnostic tools, and enhancing healthcare delivery through Israeli-Australian collaborative projects. The profound impact of these fellowships was highlighted in speeches by AUSiMED Chair Antony Cohen and Patron Professor Les White AM, who praised the Lowy family’s dedication to advancing medical research.
Steven Lowy AM, the evening’s guest of honour, delivered a compelling speech reflecting on his family’s longstanding support for Israel and medical research collaborations. He also addressed the concerning rise of antisemitism in Australia, emphasizing the importance of unity and resilience in the face of challenges.
The event also welcomed Hon. Greg Hunt, Australia’s longest-serving Federal Member for Flinders and former Minister for Health. Hunt lauded the Lowy family’s contributions beyond the medical field, including their instrumental role in securing Australia’s successful bid to host the 2023 FIFA Women’s Soccer World Cup. He underscored the crucial need to combat terrorism and antisemitism while strengthening Australia-Israel ties through impactful medical collaborations.
“AUSiMED is a medical research partnership between Australia and Israel. It is a powerful example of how civilian cooperation and medical research collaboration can build ties between people, religions, and cultures,” said Hunt.
Reflecting on AUSiMED’s first decade, Antony Cohen emphasized the organization’s unique approach to medical research. Unlike other medical charities focused on a single disease or institution, AUSiMED identifies critical health challenges where joint Australian-Israeli efforts can make transformative breakthroughs.
“Our focus has been and continues to be on big health challenges where together Australia and Israel can make a difference in ways neither can do alone. We do this through support for knowledge exchange programs, fellowships, and research projects,” Cohen stated.
Over the past decade, AUSiMED has supported 14 medical fellows—11 of whom were sponsored by the Lowy family. These fellows have trained across 12 institutions in three Australian states and now contribute to six leading medical institutions in Israel. Their expertise spans cardiology, cystic fibrosis, neurology, ovarian cancer, and more. Some have risen to department heads, with their research influencing global medical advancements, such as genetic testing for heart defects originating from an AUSiMED-supported study at Monash University.
In addition to fellowships, AUSiMED’s research projects have tackled seven major diseases with pioneering approaches, including innovative studies in bowel cancer, ovarian cancer, and paediatric kidney disease. The organisation has also spearheaded international knowledge exchange initiatives, such as a Trauma and Mental Health Conference in Jerusalem that gathered 240 delegates from 15 countries and a COVID-19 delegation led by Professor Sharon Lewin AO.
With a decade of transformative impact and a future filled with promise, AUSiMED continues to build bridges through medical innovation, proving that collaboration knows no borders.
For more information on AUSiMED’s programs and initiatives, please contact Dr. Karen Teshuva at karen@ausimed.org.