A new research facility to place Queensland at the forefront of international paediatric research in Australia is one step closer with the building reaching street level today.
The Queensland Children’s Hospital (QCH) Academic and Research Facility (A&RF) is an alliance between The University of Queensland (UQ), The Queensland University of Technology (QUT), the Translational Research Institute (TRI) and the Queensland Children’s Hospital, with support provided by the Children's Hospital Foundation.
The State Government has committed $80 million to the Academic and Research Facility representing the largest ever investment in child and adolescent health research in Queensland’s history and a further $45 million has been invested in equal parts in the facility by UQ, QUT and TRI.
UQ Faculty of Health Sciences Associate Dean (Clinical) Professor Gerald Holtmann said the research facility will be a central hub for a statewide network of children’s health services.
“International leaders in specialist pediatric and adolescent research will collaborate under one roof to significantly improve the lives of seriously ill children,” Professor Holtmann said.
“The state-of the-art facility will enable innovative research on conditions affecting children and young people to be better translated into clinical practice.
“UQ will base researchers in the new facility, working in areas such as childhood cancer, infectious diseases, cerebral palsy, nutrition and exercise in children with disabilities and brain injury recovery and rehabilitation.”
Researchers, students and clinicians, will work in a mix of wet and dry labs within the facility.
Once complete, the nine-level building will house wet and dry laboratories, pathology services, retail space in the foyer and be linked to the Queensland Children’s Hospital via a staff and services tunnel.
The Academic and Research Facility has been designed to accommodate more than 450 staff and has been future-proofed to allow for horizontal expansion.
Construction of the Academic and Research Facility began in January 2013 and it is on track to open alongside the new Queensland Children’s Hospital in late 2014.
Media: Kirsten Rogan, Communications and Media, University of Queensland Faculty of Health Sciences, 07 3346 4713, 0412307594 or k.rogan@uq.edu.au
Resources for media:
• QCH Academic and Research Facility website
• Fact sheet
• Artist impressions
• High resolution image of artist impression
