Monash Memo - 29 August 2001

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Millions for Monash in funding boost

Monash University has won a major slice of Federal Government funding for some of its most significant research projects.

Three programs have been allocated a large portion of the Major National Research Facilities (MNRF) program, announced by the Minister for Industry, Science and Resources, Senator Nick Minchin, on 21 August.

More than $150 million was allocated under the program for just 15 proposals from across Australia.

The MNRF program was announced as part of the Commonwealth Government’s $3 billion Backing Australia’s Ability statement, a five-year commitment to strengthen innovation.

Senator Minchin said the 15 proposals would provide Australia with the scientific infrastructure required to build leading-edge research capabilities.

“These facilities will provide increased opportunities for excellence in scientific research and attract talented overseas researchers and organisations to our shores while retaining our own high achievers,” Senator Minchin said.

The three successful Monash linked proposals are:

National Centre for Advanced Cell Engineering – $5.5 million
Based at Monash, the facility will supply academic and commercial research centres, nationally and internationally, with human stem cells for use in research. The centre involves researchers from Monash’s Medical, Science and Engineering faculties, a cell biology group at Adelaide University, and two linked commercial organizations – Bresagen Ltd and ES Cell International.

National Neuroscience Facility – $18 million
Arising from the Monash University and University of Melbourne-led Neurosciences Victoria, the facility will establish a globally competitive national neuroscience cluster and will be the preferred location for discovery and clinical product development by leading pharmaceutical companies.

Professor Malcolm Horne, of the Centre for Neuroscience at Monash, said the facility would provide fundamental research for the discovery and development of potential therapies or drugs to treat neurological and psychiatric diseases, including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, dementia, schizophrenia and brain damage from trauma and stroke.

“This new funding will make this facility the hub of expertise for the Asia Pacific region and competitive on a world scale,” he said.

Australian Computational Earth Systems Simulator (ACESS) – $4.8 million
Monash’s Australian Crustal Research Centre (ACRC) plays an integral role with ACESS through its link with the Victorian Partnership for Advanced Computing. The Queensland-based ACESS Virtual Earth simulation laboratory harnesses the power of supercomputing to look into earth systems.

The director of the ACRC, Professor Gordon Lister, said the facility would provide a national focal point for scientific and industrial earth systems simulations to form, together with climatic and oceanic research, a holistic earth simulation capability.

“The new funds will ensure that the innovative Virtual Earth project will provide scientific breakthroughs, innovations with industry and a new set of predictive tools for mineral exploration,” he said.