The Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery marked a milestone last month, gathering its community for a private dinner to honour the woman without whom it might never have existed.

The Auditorium was transformed for the evening, bathed in red, Brenda Shanahan AO’s favourite colour, in a fitting tribute to a founding figure who has never been short of conviction.

Brenda chaired St Vincent’s Hospital and St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research at a time when research, clinical care, and engineering existed in separate worlds. She believed they shouldn’t. What followed was two decades of early morning meetings, hard-won collaboration agreements, and the quiet, persistent work of bringing together partners across medicine, engineering, and philanthropy. The result is Australia’s premier biomedical engineering research translation centre, built on time and on budget.

The dinner, brought together by Shanthini Naidoo, CEO of the Curran Foundation Sydney supported by St Vincent’s Foundation Victoria, drew senior figures from across the ACMD partnership. Addresses were given by award-winning author and former Chair of St Vincent’s Institute Foundation Karen Inge, Paul O’Sullivan, Chair of St Vincent’s Health, and Chris Blake, CEO of St Vincent’s Health. Professor Peter Choong AO also spoke. Board member A/Prof Lih-Min Wong led a quintet from the University of Melbourne, and ACMD Ambassador General Sir Peter Cosgrove AK AC (Mil) CVO MC (Retd) attended with Lady Lynne Cosgrove.

The evening closed with an announcement that will endure long after the night itself: the auditorium at the Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery will formally bear Brenda’s name when it opens later this year.

A legacy, and a foundation for what comes next.