Other UQ Diamantina Institute research highlights

One-stop shop for medical research
The Federal Government has announced $100 million for a Translational Research Institute (TRI) at the Princess Alexandra Hospital (PAH) – a major medical research base to test and produce new drugs and vaccines.

The TRI, brainchild of 2006 Australian of the Year, Professor Ian Frazer, will be a one-stop shop for medical research and health care, catering for medical discoveries, trials and drug manufacture.

Warts vaccine in pipeline
A genital warts vaccine could be one of the first products to come out of the new TRI. A clinical trial treating the papillomaviruses behind the warts was on target, according to Professor Frazer and trial manager, Dr David Jardine. More than 200 patients in China and Australia have taken part in the PAH-run trial to date.

Gene recipe for common diseases
Scientists have isolated at least 25 genes that cause seven of the most common hereditary diseases, including diabetes and arthritis, in the world’s largest genetic study. The genes are responsible for heart disease, hypertension, type 1 and type 2 diabetes, Crohn’s disease, bipolar disorder and rheumatoid arthritis, according to results recently published in the international science journal Nature. Another 58 genes with possible links to the same family diseases have also been uncovered by British and Australian scientists working on the $16.6 million (£7 million) study funded by the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium (WTCC).

The genetic signposts are far more accurate than using family histories alone and will allow researchers to pinpoint who is at most risk from the diseases. They will also help produce better treatments. The study analysed 540,000 varying DNA sequences from each of the 19,000 Britons who took part and was 10 times bigger than previous population genetics studies, which linked less than 12 genes to the seven hereditary diseases.

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