The world-renowned co-inventor of the cervical cancer vaccine, Professor Ian Frazer, has been appointed chief executive of the new $345 million Translational Research Institute.
Professor Frazer has been a researcher and academic at The University of Queensland since 1985, and director of The University of Queensland Diamantina Institute since 1997. He was Australian of the Year in 2006 and has won numerous national and international awards.
Alongside his new role, Professor Frazer will continue to lead a large and important UQDI research group.
Professor Matt Brown, an internationally recognised researcher into auto-immune diseases, has been appointed interim director of the UQDI, and will move into the role in April 2011.
When the TRI opens in Brisbane in 2012, it will be the largest institute of its type in the southern hemisphere — and one of only a handful worldwide that can research, trial treatments and manufacture breakthrough drugs in one location.
The TRI will accommodate up to 650 researchers from its four partners: The University of Queensland, Queensland University of Technology, Mater Medical Research Institute and the Princess Alexandra Hospital.
Professor Frazer, whose new role begins in July, said he was honoured to accept the appointment and excited about future discoveries and advances in medical research that would be made at the TRI.
“There are a number of pressing human health issues in the world such as diabetes, cervical and prostate cancer, melanoma and obesity, and I am proud to be leading TRI in researching and developing treatments for these diseases,” he said.
“Importantly, patients, the Australian economy and our medical industry will all benefit from TRI’s ability to manufacture and commercialise these treatments.
“Too often, Australia loses promising medical scientists to overseas institutions as we are not able currently to support the development of new medical treatments and their translation from research to clinical practice.
“The TRI will change all of this, resulting in the retention of our brightest minds and therefore better health care for all Australians.
“If the TRI and its manufacturing capabilities had been established at the time of the development of the cervical cancer vaccine, much more of the economic benefit from its $5 billion-plus of worldwide sales would have returned to Australia.”
Professor Brown paid tribute to Professor Frazer’s inspiring leadership at the UQDI and said the Institute’s research programs would continue to focus on delivering practical outcomes to patients.
Professor Brown said he was thrilled to have the opportunity to lead the UQDI into new territory.
The move of UQDI into the TRI would further enhance UQDI’s ability to fulfil its central mission of turning scientific discoveries into better treatments.
The TRI chairman, Dr David Watson, said Professor Frazer played a large role in the development of the TRI vision and was the best person to move it forward.
“Appointing the right person was crucial, as the CEO will be the key driver of the vision to create an Australian-first home for medical research, clinical trials and treatment commercialisation,” Dr Watson said.
“The Board is delighted that Professor Frazer has accepted the position of CEO.”
The TRI, at Woolloongabba, will cover five floors and provide 32,000sq m of research space.
Media: Jodi Clyde-Smith, UQDI, +61 7 3176 5938, +61 434 602 949, Fiona Cameron, UQ Communications, ph +61 7 3346 7086
Funding
The TRI’s $354 million funding includes the following grants:
- $140 million from the Australian Government
- $107 million from the Queensland Government
- $50 million from The Atlantic Philanthropies
- $25 million from QUT
- $10 million from UQ
- $10 million from the Australian Government for biopharmaceutical manufacturing
