Hub of Discovery

The Queensland Bioscience Precinct

Australia's largest research complex dedicated to human, animal and plant biology "the Queensland Bioscience Precinct" opened this year at The University of Queensland.

The $105 million Queensland Bioscience Precinct opened at University of Queensland's St Lucia campus in May, brings together 700 scientists from UQ's Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) and CSIRO's divisions of Livestock Industries, Plant Industry and Sustainable Ecosystems.

The facility, the largest of its kind in Australia, encourages diverse collaborative research and commercialisation over a wide range of bioscientific areas.

The IMB is headed by Professor John Mattick, while its commercial arm, IMBcom, is led by Dr Peter Isdale.

The IMB research portfolio spans gene discovery to molecular applications, areas seen as drivers of future economic growth in Australia.

Projects already underway include gene transfer in microbes, the genetics of blood vessel development, junk DNA and gene regulation, protein trafficking in healthy and diseased cells and molecular genetics of skin colour and skin cancer.

The precinct covers 35,000 square metres on a 1.6 hectare site, and includes four major buildings, dedicated conference facilities and hi-tech research laboratories.

State-of-the-art facilities housed within the IMB include two nuclear magnetic resonance machines, with plans to bring in a third that would be the most powerful in the country.

There are also supercomputing facilities, electron and cryo electron microscopy and a fluorescence cell-imaging facility, one of the first of its type in Australia.

Funding for the project was contributed by UQ, CSIRO, the Queensland Government, the Federal Government's Federation Fund and The Atlantic Philanthropies.

The precinct was officially opened by Federal Minister for Education, Science and Training Dr Brendan Nelson and Queensland Premier Peter Beattie.

Dr Nelson said the IMB was an example of different groups and research projects collaborating to produce high quality outcomes.

Queensland Premier Peter Beattie has given his personal support to the IMB, lauding it as an ideal example of his government's "Smart State" initiative.

Scientists at the IMB are widely acknowledged as world leaders in their fields.

The Director of IMB's Office of Public Policy and Ethics, Professor Wayne Hall, was this year recognised as one of the world's most cited authors.

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