Clear image for future cancer research

The QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute will soon have a state-of-the-art biomedical imaging facility, thanks to a $2.6 million grant from the Australian Cancer Research Foundation (ACRF).

The ACRF Centre for Comprehensive Biomedical Imaging at QIMR Berghofer will house cutting edge new equipment, to view and measure the biological processes of cancer, from basic discovery through to clinical application.

‘We’d like to say thank you to ACRF, which has such a fine tradition of supporting world-class research, for funding this important new imaging equipment,” QIMR Berghofer Director Professor Frank Gannon said.

“This facility will mean our scientists can view and measure biological processes from the molecular level through to the whole body.

“The future of cancer research is in technology, and thanks to the ACRF, QIMR Berghofer will continue to remain world leaders.”

More than half of QIMR Berghofer’s 57 laboratories are devoted to cancer research.

The ACRF Centre for Comprehensive Biomedical Imaging will fund three crucial pieces of imaging equipment: a multiphoton intravital microscope for imaging of live cells; a laser scanning confocal microscope for high resolution imaging of cancer at the molecular level; and a spinning disc confocal microscope for imaging signalling pathways in cancer cells.

Since its inception, the ACRF has awarded more than $94.5 million in research grants to Australian cancer research institutes; two thirds of this amount has been provided since 2005.

ACRF grants are awarded on the basis of research excellence and are subject to a rigorous approval process overseen by a Medical Research Advisory Committee made up of some of Australia’s most respected researchers.

ACRF is the only private charity in Australia that provides major funding grants for cutting-edge technologies and resources.

Watch ACRF CEO David Brettell and QIMR Berghofer’s Professor Geoff HIll explain the facility here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZND0k-MEHU&feature=youtu.be