[COM] UniSA - Centre for Cancer Biology | 72m | $220 million

[Will]

From the Advertiser:

Gillard announces $100m for new cancer centre and medical school for Adelaide to revitalise West End

Brad Crouch
adelaidenow
June 15, 20131:31PM


ADELAIDE'S West End will be home to the largest health and biomedical precinct in the southern hemisphere with two major new buildings for North Terrace, next to the new Royal Adelaide Hospital.

The University of Adelaide will get a new medical school while the University of South Australia will have a new Centre for Cancer Biology thanks to $100 million in Federal Government grants announced by Prime Minister Julia Gillard in Adelaide today.

Construction on both will start next year.

The medical school will open in 2016 and the cancer centre in 2017.

The University of Adelaide will match the Federal Government's $60 million for the medical school which will bring the schools of medicine and nursing together.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Warren Bebbington said the university will seek to have the dental school also included, though this would push the cost from $120 million to around $200 million.



The new medical school will cater for 1550 students and 230 staff, ending criticism students would be too far from the hospital when the new RAH opens in 2016.

The Federal Government's $40 million for the UniSA cancer centre will see 250 researchers housed in a new building investigating blood cancers, such as leukaemia. The Uni of SA will match the $40m but a spokesperson said it was investigating funding options for the remaining $20m.

The two new buildings will be built next to the $200 million SA Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) which is now under construction, on land donated by the State Government.

Ms Gillard said the funding was an investment which would attract top researchers to Adelaide.

"This will be the biggest precinct of its type in the Southern Hemisphere," she said.

Premier Jay Weatherill said the precinct would ''attract the best and brightest to be part of the South Australian story."

He also noted the influx of students, researchers and staff would revitalise the West End.

"You can't throw 5000 or 6000 people into part of the city without changing its culture," he said.

"This precinct will enhance our ability to attract investment, students, clinicians and biomedical researchers to South Australia."

The existing skate park will be moved to another city location which is yet to be decided.

Prof Bebbington said the medical school had been located next to the RAH on Frome Rd for 130 years and the two worked together as ''a single organism''.

"This means that organism goes on and will grow and flourish into the future," he said. "That historic partnership will continue seamlessly and without interruption.

"Being next to SAHMRI means we can centralise teaching, research and patient services in a single location."

UniSA Vice-Chancellor Professor David Lloyd said: "The West is awake in Adelaide."

"The Centre for Cancer Biology will continue to forge extensive and close relationships with industry so we can find treatment solutions for cancer patients - our goal is to develop the Centre as one of the very best in the world."

[Will]

From the university's website:

$40m federal government backing for SA Pathology’s Centre for Cancer Biology and UniSA

June 15 2013



Building design for the new UniSA Centre for Cancer Biology on North Terrace


The Federal Government, through a $40m investment, has backed the formation of a powerful new partnership between the University of South Australia and SA Pathology to accommodate and support the growth of the Centre for Cancer Biology (CCB).

The Centre has a specific focus on fundamental research that is relevant to many types of cancer, as well as the research of blood-related cancers, such as leukaemia and lymphoma, which account for nearly 20 per cent of cancer mortalities in Australia and more than one third of cancers in children.

The Centre for Cancer Biology will form part of the University’s significant health and biomedical footprint in the North Terrace hospital precinct and will be housed in a new facility currently being planned.

The Centre provides world class cancer research that moves from fundamental discoveries in the laboratory straight into treatments, drug development and improved and sustainable practices to manage and diagnose cancer.

UniSA Vice Chancellor Professor David Lloyd says the move will help to sustain and grow expertise in cancer research in South Australia.

“We’re very pleased that the Federal Government has seen the merits of this project and provided funding to support new facilities and also that the State Government, via SA Health, has collaborated with us to support this initiative with the CCB,” Prof Lloyd says.

“The Centre for Cancer Biology will continue to forge extensive and close relationships with industry so that we can find treatment solutions for cancer patients, develop more reliable and effective medications and move from discovery to application with speed.

“Our goal is to develop the Centre as one of the very best in the world for cancer research.”

The Centre will be located near the SA Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) and the new Royal Adelaide Hospital and will complement expertise within SAHMRI and the wider bioscience health precinct being developed around it.

It will also complement Unisia’s acknowledged expertise in the quality use of medicines, pharmaceutical science and pharmacokinetics research and build upon its recent investment in attracting international research leaders in cancer medicinal therapy and innovative drug formulation.

There are also clear research links with the University’s advanced manufacturing capabilities in nanotechnology and coatings and with its technological leadership in the new CRC for Cell Therapy Manufacture.

Co-directors at the CCB, which is one of Australia’s top three cancer research centres, Professors Angel Lopez and Sharad Kumar believe the partnership will support the development of a cancer research community of enormous depth and capacity in South Australia.

“Already the CCB is an exciting place for fundamental research in the causes of cancer and for cancer treatment but this partnership will allow us to grow that expertise and develop a larger team,” Prof Lopez says.

“New relationships and facilities will mean we can attract the right people to join the Centre – the best and brightest - and as a Centre, contribute significant research to the fight against cancer.”

“CCB already hosts a number of key research groups studying biology, causes, differential diagnosis and treatment of cancer and with the new partnership, we hope to expand our expertise and scope of research even further,” Prof Kumar says.

Prof Lloyd says consolidating advanced cancer research in this new relationship has key benefits for the State including:
•strengthening of the capacity to translate cancer research into improved practice and applications such as early diagnosis; prevention; and improved sustainability and reduced cost in the health system;
•boosting Australia’s reputation for excellence in cancer and cell biology research through the attraction of additional world-class researchers to South Australia;
•enhancing the clinical/research nexus that helps the quality of patient care and the development of new treatments;
•attracting talented international students in healthcare and bioscience disciplines;
•completing a unified world-class health and medical precinct in the north-west end of the Adelaide CBD that will provide synergies between UniSA research and teaching (and that of the other SA Universities), SAHMRI, CSIRO and the new Royal Adelaide Hospital;
•creating increased opportunities for the commercialisation of research into the global pharmaceutical and other healthcare industries and boosting local job creation;
•and, attracting investment to Australia from other parts of the world in these industries.

Media contact: Michèle Nardelli office: 08 8302 0966 mobile: 0418 823 673 email [email protected]

[Matt]

Wow, great news!

[Vee]

This is great!

Funding for world class education and research facilities in Adelaide
South Australia's health and biomedical precinct has today received a $100 million boost for two key projects.

The Prime Minister today announced in Adelaide that the Government would provide funding for two world class education and health science and research facilities:

$40 million in funding for a new University of South Australia Centre for Cancer Biology. This Centre will house 250 researchers investigating blood cancers such as leukaemia and lymphoma.

$60 million in funding for the University of Adelaide’s Integrated Clinical School to deliver teaching, learning and research facilities for medical and nursing students.

By supporting the establishment of these two new facilities in the city's north-west corner, the Gillard Government is supporting biomedical research and innovation and helping to create SA jobs.

The $100m Centre for Cancer Biology will have a specific focus on the research of blood-related cancers such as leukaemia and lymphoma which account for nearly 20 per cent of cancer mortalities in Australia and over one third of cancers in children

The new $120 million Integrated Clinical School will support more than 1550 students, in addition to 1000 clinicians and researchers tackling cancer, heart disease, and obesity.

This building will represent a new era in Australian medical education modelled on leading international university hospital precincts.

The two new facilities will be part of the South Australian Health and Biomedical Precinct, which includes the Commonwealth-funded South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute and the State Government’s new $2.1 billion Royal Adelaide Hospital.

Bringing together the University of Adelaide's clinical schools and the Royal Adelaide Hospital ensures graduates are prepared for the clinical environment.

These projects are part of the Gillard Government’s support for world class science and research, and complement other infrastructure such as the SA nodes of the Australian Phenomics Network and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory Australia.

Together they will form part of a world-leading precinct delivering health and medical research, education and clinical practice close to Adelaide’s centre.

http://zite.to/11fqSOf via @zite

Highlights for me:
New era in Australian medical education...
World leading precinct...
Knowledge economy jobs for SA.

[DaveAdl]

Fantastic News - Great to see this end of the city moving forward

[Pikey]

Brilliant news, and even better designs!

[Pikey]

Brilliant news, and even better designs!

[Waewick]

just to be sure, this is locked and loaded, not an election promise?

[Amused]

just to be sure, this is locked and loaded, not an election promise?

Gosh we can only hope. This will be incredible. Especially with the completion of the Flinders Cancer Research Center only a few years back. The potential for research collaboration in cancer is going to make Adelaide a research powerhouse. Between SAHMRI, Flinders Cancer Research AND UNISA Center for Cancer Biology... I am giddy with excitement.

[phenom]

The PM's press release says it is being funded from the 2013-14 budget but I don't think unless it gets underway (contracts signed) pretty quickly that it is locked in since we are extremely likely to have a 'mini budget' before the May 2014 budget if the government changes and this seems to me the exact sort of thing that would get cut in the search for savings. Let's hope it doesn't

[claybro]

Although it is "only" $100MIL, this type of investment has the potential to be a game changer for Adelaide. There are world renowned medical scientists fronting up money for some of these labs here in Adelaide, and to have a core of this work developing here, will create a snowball effect of attracting other sciences. Would be interesting to see the opposition match this because if they don't, and despite my dismay at the current Federal government this might change my vote (for what t is worth).

[Matt]

http://youtu.be/MU8YdXB3oZk

[Shahkar]

Can't wait for the full fly through and detailed renders. Everything looks truly awe inspiring.

[Nathan]

http://youtu.be/MU8YdXB3oZk

Interestingly, the flyovers in that video show an additional building wedged in between SAHMRI and the Adelaide Uni building (at 0:14). Also towards the end (1:07), the wide angle shot shows the riverside area north of the train lines completely redone, and some bridges across the tracks between SAHMRI and the RAH, and another from where the Adelaide Uni building is.

[monotonehell]

http://youtu.be/MU8YdXB3oZk

Interestingly, the flyovers in that video show an additional building wedged in between SAHMRI and the Adelaide Uni building (at 0:14). Also towards the end (1:07), the wide angle shot shows the riverside area north of the train lines completely redone, and some bridges across the tracks between SAHMRI and the RAH, and another from where the Adelaide Uni building is.

My guess is a car park