QIMR Berghofer and QUT sign MOU

QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute and Queensland University of Technology’s Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI) have entered a partnership which will promote greater collaboration between the two major medical research bodies.

The memorandum of understanding was signed today at the Bio International Convention, the world’s biggest biotechnology event.

QIMR Berghofer Director and CEO Professor Frank Gannon said while both organisations will remain independent under the agreement, QUT will have access to specialist health and medical research facilities on the QIMR Berghofer campus.

“For medical research to make it from the laboratory to patients there must be partnerships between institutes and clinical researchers in hospitals,” Professor Gannon said.

“Our location next to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital and our state-of-the art facilities provide the ideal location for successful translational research.

“Most importantly, this should result in more clinically-relevant research and better treatments for patients.”

QUT Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Coaldrake said successful translational research increasingly required a collaborative effort between biomedical scientists and clinical researchers with access to technologies that underpin transformational discoveries.

“QIMR Berghofer will eventually house up to 80 QUT researchers under this agreement,” Professor Coaldrake said.

QIMR Berghofer is one of Australia’s leading translational research institutes focused on cancer, infectious diseases, mental health and a range of complex diseases.

“Our institute is currently home to more than 600 scientists, students and support staff in the Herston medical precinct,” Professor Gannon said.

QIMR Berghofer scientists are major partners for a large range of joint programs internationally and at home, including the Queensland Tropical Health Alliance, The Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre, the Queensland Mental Health Research Alliance, Brisbane Diamantina Health Partners, the International Melanoma Genetics Consortium, the Psychiatric Genome Wide Association Studies Consortium and the Breast Cancer Association Consortium.