Christian Medical College Vellore Partnership

The partnership between the Faculty of Medicine Dentistry and Health Sciences (MDHS) and India's Christian Medical College (CMC) Vellore has a long history with University of Melbourne graduates, including Selwyn Baker, Sir Weary Dunlop, Dr Ted Gault and Dr John Moody, playing significant roles in the establishment and administration of the medical college.

CMC now has nearly 4000 beds, serving around 12,000 outpatients each day, and has become one of India’s most prominent top-ranked medical colleges.

More recently, the relationship has evolved to an institutional partnership, with MDHS and CMC working together in education, world class research and translation of this research in ways that benefit the poorest people and communities.

Shared commitment to nurturing a global network of health professionals

Since 2012, MDHS has actively nurtured a multifaceted collaboration with CMC Vellore, anchored in a shared commitment to advancing health and medical research. The research collaboration has included COVID-19 studies with the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity. In  2019, MDHS and CMC Vellore launched the Health Leaders program to network health leaders and facilitate clinical research collaborations to address regional health challenges for a changing world.

The Health Leaders program has included health webinars, intentional mentoring of leaders from CMC and the selection of 13 senior CMC faculty to joint Melbourne as PhD scholars working on strategic projects with tangible outcomes for India and Australia. These PhD candidates are jointly supervised by Melbourne and CMC, and typically undertake research at CMC - capitalising on CMC’s scale and reach. The program is also supported by the Friends of Vellore association’s Victoria chapter.

MDHS coursework students also visit CMC Vellore for placements across social work, physiotherapy, audiology, optometry and public health. One Doctor of Physiotherapy student, Jenna Kassam shared “I am grateful for the opportunity to witness the valuable impact CMC Vellore has on its community. Their holistic approach to healthcare truly goes above and beyond to uplift patients and their families throughout their journey. This experience has been a privilege to be a part of and I am thankful for the opportunity to learn in this context."

UoM students and staff undertaking a placement at the at CMC Vellore Mary Varghese Institute of Rehabilitation.

Attracting worldwide recognition

Through reciprocal visits since 2012, MDHS and CMC Vellore have strengthened the partnership and strengthened research collaborations. Since 2019 there have bene more than 120 jointly authored research papers in in critical areas, such as public health, infection and immunity, child health, cancer, optometry, and trauma and emergency care.

CMC Vellore Principal Professor Solomon Sathishkumar with MDHS and Friends of Vellore leaders during his October 2024 visit.

Growing and supporting a new generation of Indian-based clinicians and researchers

This partnership between the University of Melbourne and CMC Vellore is supporting a new cohort of clinician-researchers in India, paving the way for further collaboration, innovative research and funding from international granting bodies.  By working together in research and training this partnership will promote a healthier future for populations in both Australia and India.

One of the collaborative platforms is the UoM-CMC Vellore Health Leaders Program, where 10 - 15 participants from each institution with strong clinical and/or research backgrounds are selected to engage in dynamic online sessions, interact with each other and with distinguished expert speakers from India and Australia.

Established in 2020, the Health Leaders Program aims to develop a network of health leaders and facilitate clinical research collaborations to address regional health challenges. Each year participants from the University of Melbourne and Christian Medical College Vellore with strong clinical and/or research backgrounds are selected to participate in the Health Leaders Program, which includes interactive webinars, research collaboration and interactions with distinguished global health experts from India and Australia. Up to five PhD scholarships are available for exceptional CMC Vellore participants annually, offering the opportunity to develop as clinician-researchers through a jointly supervised PhD program.

To date, there have been over 60 CMC health leaders in the UoM-CMC Vellore Health Leaders Program and 15 PhD students in the jointly supervised UoM-CMC Vellore Health Leaders PhD Program.

UoM-CMC Vellore Health Leaders webinar series

The Health Leaders webinar series provides a collaborative platform for health leaders at the University of Melbourne and CMC Vellore to build a stronger network and foster clinical research collaborations focused on regional challenges. Five webinars will be held each year and are open to all interested academicians across CMC Vellore and the University of Melbourne.

The webinar series features presentations and interactive sessions between expert speakers, health leaders and academics from both institutions, focussed on specific themes. The series aims to spark collaborations and develop new research programs that are competitive for PhD scholarships and international grants.

Webinar Recording

UoM-CMC Vellore Health Leaders Webinar 1