New centre to push medical imaging boundaries

The next generation of scientists who will expand the boundaries of biomedical imaging to improve healthcare will be trained at an $8.5 million research hub to be established at The University of Queensland.

The Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Innovation in Biomedical Imaging Technology (CIBIT) will prepare new scientists to work in industry and develop ‘smart’ imaging probes and scanning techniques.

UQ Centre for Advanced Imaging Director Professor David Reutens said the centre would be established with a $4.7 million Australian Research Council grant and $3.8m in cash and in-kind contributions from industry partners.

“It will play a leading role in the future of biomedical imaging,” he said.

“Biomedical imaging has been one of the most important advances in the history of medicine.

“It allows medical professionals to determine the location, nature and extent of disease with high accuracy and sensitivity, and has become an integral part of modern health care.

“This new centre will train industry-ready scientists to lead research into faster, more accurate and more cost-effective diagnostic imaging.”

The centre’s industry driven research will work to overcome bottlenecks in the development and application of novel diagnostics, therapeutics and theranostics – which combine diagnostic and therapeutic capability – for important diseases like cancer.

Sixteen PhD students and five early career researchers will work on projects with industry partners.

The centre will involve researchers from across UQ, including the Centre for Advanced Imaging (CAI), UQ Business School, the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, the UQ Diamantina Institute and the School of Mathematics and Physics.

Industry partners include Siemens Healthcare Pty Ltd, Clarity Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd, Minomic International Ltd, Inter-K Peptide Therapeutics Ltd, Theranostics Australia Pty Ltd, Beijing Genomics Institute, Brisbane Veterinary Specialists Centre, Uniting Care Medical Imaging, and Red Radiology Pty Ltd.

The centre builds upon previous investments in CAI and the National Imaging Facility from the Queensland Government and the Commonwealth Government’s contributions to the National Imaging Facility through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy and the Education Investment Fund.

Media: Professor David Reutens, cai_pa@cai.uq.edu.au, +61 7 3365 4237; Nina Moore, nina.moore@cai.uq.edu.au, +61 7 3365 1785.