International immunologist and innovation leader Professor Sir Robert Lechler joined UNSW Medicine & Health Dean Professor Cheryl Jones this month, to explore how global collaboration, research innovation and community trust can shape the future of precision health.
Precision health promises to transform healthcare, moving beyond treating disease towards predicting risk, preventing illness and delivering more personalised care. But how do we ensure these advances reach the people who need them most?
This question was central to Global Perspectives on Precision Health, a digital conversation hosted by UNSW Medicine & Health in October 2026.
Experts explored the opportunities and challenges of translating scientific discovery into meaningful patient and societal benefit.
Sir Robert identified precision prevention and precision treatment as two major opportunities shaping healthcare's future.
He highlighted the potential of genomics, artificial intelligence and large population datasets to better understand individual health risks. However, he cautioned that technological advances must not distract from established public health challenges, including obesity, smoking and hypertension.
Turning discovery into impact also requires institutions to rethink how they collaborate.
Reflecting on his experience establishing King's Health Partners, Sir Robert described the challenges of bringing universities and healthcare organisations together.
"If you trade a little bit of autonomy, you can have greater success," he said.
He emphasised that successful partnerships require visionary leadership, shared ambition and a willingness to work beyond institutional boundaries.
A particularly important theme was ensuring precision health does not widen existing health inequalities.
Sir Robert stressed that communities must be active partners in research, particularly as genomic information and AI become increasingly embedded in healthcare.
"We need to go to where people are," he said, advocating for more proactive community engagement and accessible communication.
He also challenged institutions to consider who benefits from digital health innovations, warning that technologies designed for digitally confident populations risk excluding those facing the greatest health challenges.
The conversation reinforced UNSW's Progress for All strategy and UNSW Medicine & Health's commitment to Better, Equitable Health for All, including the opportunities presented through the UNSW Health Translation Hub and international research partnerships.
As Australia prepares to engage with Horizon Europe in 2027, new opportunities are emerging to strengthen international research collaboration and innovation. The discussion highlighted how scientific excellence, trusted partnerships and community engagement will be critical to advancing precision health and ensuring its benefits are accessible and equitable.
Closing the conversation, Professor Jones reinforced the importance of collective action.
"We've got to continue with our culture of innovation and discovery," she said.
The message was clear: the future of precision health depends not only on what science makes possible, but on how effectively we work together to turn discovery into better health outcomes for all.