QIMR and UQ join forces to fight infectious disease

Two leading Australian research organisations, QIMR and The University of Queensland, have announced a joint research partnership to tackle global problems in infectious diseases research.

The Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre will bring together researchers from these two organisations to support research into diseases such as malaria, dengue fever and schistosomiasis.

Both organisations have pledged funds to support joint PhD scholarships and to nurture collaborations in infectious diseases research.

“With a child still dying of malaria on average every minute and Australians constantly under threat from tropical diseases such as dengue fever, we still have a lot of work to do,” said Professor James McCarthy, Coordinator of QIMR’s Infectious Diseases Program.

“For QIMR, infectious diseases have been the cornerstone of our research with the Institute forming in 1945 to tackle tropical diseases affecting Queenslanders.

“This partnership is testament to the great work currently being undertaken in Queensland and will further strengthen existing collaborations between our two great Institutions.

“It will pave the way for even greater synergies and allow us to use our complementary research strengths.

“I am excited about the focus on postgraduate students as this will ensure we continue to produce high quality researchers in the area of infectious diseases for the future,” Professor McCarthy said.

The Director of UQ’s Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre, Professor Mark Walker, said the new partnership would leverage the research strengths of both organisations, resulting in exciting opportunities in health research.

“The combination of expertise from UQ and QIMR will ensure rapid progress is made in the detection, understanding, treatment and prevention of a range of infectious diseases problems,” Professor Walker said.