Queensland biotechnology research has been given a major boost with today's announcement of substantial funding for a world class structural biology facility.
The Australian Research Council (ARC) has awarded The University of Queensland $1.1 million for the facility for the Queensland protein crystallography community.
The funding represents the largest individual national grant under the ARC's Research Infrastructure Equipment and Facilities (RIEF) round for 2001.
The scheme aims to encourage institutions to form large-scale collaborative arrangements with other universities and the private and public sector and fund research infrastructure and facilities.
Associate Professor Jenny Martin of UQ's $105 million Institute for Molecular Bioscience said structural biology was a core discipline in biological sciences, allowing visualization of protein structure and underpinning modern structure-based drug discovery methods.
"The key technology, protein crystallography, is in an exponential growth phase in Queensland as other biotechnology developments are implemented in the State," she said.
"Until recently, my research group represented the only protein crystallography laboratory in Queensland.
"Over the past year, Associate Professor Bostjan Kobe (who moved from St Vincent's Institute for Medical Research in Melbourne) and Dr Luke Guddat have both established laboratories at UQ.
"Professor Mark von Itzstein, who moved to Queensland earlier this year from Monash University in Melbourne, is setting up a protein crystallography laboratory in his Centre for Biomolecular Science and Drug Discovery at Griffith University Gold Coast campus. The rate of growth of protein crystallography in Queensland is a direct result of biotechnology initiatives and developments in this state.
"Our aim is to establish a world-class structural biology facility that will enable the visualization of the largest and most complex of biological molecules. This information will be critical in the design of novel and improved therapeutics. The new facility will significantly increase the current capability in Queensland and will strengthen links between biotechnology research centres in Queensland.
"The facility will have the capacity to keep pace with the continued growth in biotechnology in Queensland. This represents a major leap forward for biotechnology in Queensland and Australia. The next step is to ensure that the proposal for an Australian synchrotron is strongly supported and that when it is approved, it is sited in Queensland."
The project is one of four grants valued at a total $1.8 million awarded to The University of Queensland in the RIEF scheme. Collaborating institutions have pledged $2,298,850 to the projects.
UQ placed fourth nationally in the scheme, attracting 7.43 percent of available funds.
The University is also a collaborating organisation in an additional seven projects valued at a total $2,079,000 administered by other institutions.
Other successful UQ applicants were:
o Professor David Adams, Centre for Advanced Light Microscopy, for Multi-Photon Confocal Microscopy $400,000; collaborating organisation, University of Southern Queensland;
o Professor John Devereux, WEBLAW - a subject gateway for Australian secondary legal material, $100,000; in collaboration with the University of Sydney, University of Melbourne, Murdoch University, National Library of Australia, the Australian National University, Parliamentary Library, Law Foundation of New South Wales; and the
o Centre for Hypersonics team led by Associate Professor Richard Morgan - Advanced Instrumentation and Facilities for Hypersonics - $200,000; collaborating with the Australian National University, ADFA, University of Southern Queensland and Yohoku University.
Projects in which UQ is a collaborating partner include:
o High-speed Digital Video Facility for Transient Flow Analysis (awarded to University of Newcastle) $195,000;
o the Australian Literature Electronic Gateway (ALEG): Enhancement Project (University of New South Wales ($350,000);
o A Polymer Rheology Facility (RMIT) $200,000;
o Integrated Dispersion Characterization Facility (Sydney University) $394,000;
o New Ways of seeing: Utraviolet Raman and imaging infrared microscopy (Melbourne University) $800,000;
o An Integrated Thermal Analysis Facility for Advanced Materials (QUT) $140,000; and
o Access for Australian Researchers to Advanced Neutron-Beam Techniques (AINSE) $245,000.
Media: Further information, contact Jan King at UQ Communications, 0413 601 248 or Associate Professor Jenny Martin telephone 07 3365 4942 or email: communications@mailbox.uq.edu.au.
