Qld-first Centre will prompt better care for patients

The University of Queensland Chancellor, Sir Llew Edwards, AC, today officially launched the University’s $66 million Centre for Clinical Research (UQCCR).

The UQCCR will house more than 300 researchers who will turn lab breakthroughs into better treatments and results for patient. Located beside the Royal Brisbane & Women’s Hospital, the centre is a first for Queensland and will help fill a national gap in clinical research capacity identified by the National Health and Medical Research Council.

Researchers will initially concentrate on clinical trials, diagnosis of breast and prostate cancers, diagnosis and treatment of brain disorders, and therapies for tissue inflammation and injuries.

UQCCR director, Professor Nick Fisk, a Sydney University medical graduate, comes to Brisbane from Imperial College London, where he was Professor of Obstetrics and Fetal Medicine. He has an international reputation in medical research in fetal and maternal health, stem cell biology and translational medicine.

The UQCCR has been funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies, the Queensland Government and UQ. It is the newest in a series of state-of-the-art UQ research facilities that includes the Queensland Brain Institute, the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, and the Institute for Molecular Bioscience (all of which are supported by The Atlantic Philanthropies and the Queensland Government).

Media: Marlene McKendry, telephone 040199 6847.