Archived News for Research Sector Professionals

Biofuel technology being developed by Queensland University of Technology (QUT) researchers has caught the interest of the US Navy, which is currently in Australia on an alternative fuel fact-finding mission.

Respiratory specialist Professor Geoff Laurent, currently Director of the Centre for Respiratory Research and Head of Department of Internal Medicine at University College London, will return to Australia later this year will lead a new Centre for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine to be established at The University of Western Australia.

Professor Laurent currently directs a team of scientists and physicians conducting research into basic aspects of lung inflammation and mechanisms of tissue repair.  New therapeutic approaches developed by his team are now being tested in patients suffering with chronic lung diseases.

He has published more than 200 articles in international journals of biomedical research.  He was recently awarded the European Respiratory Societies Presidential Award for his contribution to lung science and is currently its Director of Science.  He has also edited several books including a four-volume Encyclopaedia of Respiratory Medicine and is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and President of the British Association for Lung Research.

UWA Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Johnson said UWA had significant internationally-recognised stem cell expertise and the new centre would help the University take a leading global position in relation to stem cell research.

A new laboratory for the identification of Western Australian fauna using modern DNA technology has been launched at the Western Australian Museum’s Collection and Research Centre.

A group of Australia’s leading cancer charities has called for a national cancer research plan to better coordinate investment in cancer research.


The Cancer Research Leadership Forum (CRLF) released a white paper, ‘Towards a National Cancer Research Plan’, on the eve of World Cancer Day (4 February).


The paper calls for the development of an all-encompassing national cancer research plan to coordinate investment in research and accelerate progress in cancer control.


Supported by Macquarie Group Foundation, the Cancer Research Leadership Forum is a voluntary coalition of major Australian charities, including Cancer Council Australia, formed in 2009 to fund cancer researchers and research projects, drive efficiencies across the sector and explore collaboration.


In 2011, almost $300 million was awarded to Australian cancer research projects by a range of funders from the public, private and community sectors.


Cancer Council CEO, Professor Ian Olver, said the plan was needed to reduce inefficiencies and gaps in the funding of cancer research.


“A research framework will provide a useful resource to help organisations set priorities for research funding,” Professor Olver said. “It is great to work with other cancer organisations towards a common goal.”

Curtin University’s Fuels and Energy Technology Institute (FETI) at Technology Park, Bentley has been officially launched.

The NSW Government has called for applications for the second round of the NSW Government's TechVouchers, with a pool of  $500,000 available.

The Australian Research Council is seeking a new CEO, following the resignation of Professor Margaret Shiel in December last year to take up the position of University of Melbourne Provost.

Monash University has signed a new agreement with the University of Warwick in the UK to create an alliance between the two universities that aims to establish both as globally networked universities.

The Climate and Health Alliance (CAHA), a national coalition of health care groups, has released findings that disproves any correlation between wind power and decreased human health.

The CSIRO has announced that construction of its new $120 million Marine National Facility research vessel, the Investigator, has begun in Singapore.

The Tasman Sea has been identified as a global warming hotspot, according to research released in scientific journal Nature Climate Change.  

Nominations have opened for the Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science.

The Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS), Monash University,  has signed a collaborative agreement with European pharmaceutical company, Les Laboratoires Servier, covering drug discovery and research on G Protein Coupled Receptors (GPCRs), the largest drug target family in the human genome.

The Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes (AAMRI) has urged the Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan to protect the future health and prosperity of Australians by maintaining the Government’s investment in health and medical research in the 2012-13 Budget.

AAMRI President, Professor Julie Campbell, said the Government had recognised the importance of health and medical research in the 2011-12 Budget, maintaining investment and announcing a Strategic Review of the sector.

“We ask that it stays on course in the upcoming Budget for the benefit of the nation.” 

AAMRI’s 2012-13 Federal Budget submission also requests that the Government create a level playing field in health and medical research, based on merit, not organisation type. 

“Australia’s enviable international record in health and medical research is in large part due to the excellent performance of our nation’s independent medical research institutes,” Professor Campbell said. 

“Yet, under current arrangements, a researcher from an independent medical research institute would receive less than a university-based researcher to perform the same project. We’re just asking for a fair and balanced funding system.”

The Menzies Research Institute Tasmania is looking for a new Director, following the resignation of Professor Simon Foote who has taken up his new position as Dean of the Australian School of Advanced Medicine at Macquarie University, Sydney.

Applications for Round 2 of the Federal Government’s Digital Enterprise Program are due by Friday 3 February.  

Flinders University’s Centre for Nanoscale Science and Technology is launching NanoConnect, a pilot program to demonstrate to businesses how nanotechnology could help improve their products and processes.

Four new people have been appointed to the  NSW Innovation and Productivity Council which advises the Government on proposed programs and initiatives to promote both public and private sector innovation and productivity in NSW.

Senior executives are being recruited for the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), the new national regulatory and quality assurance agency for the higher education sector.

The Western Australian Government has reappointed Professor Lyn Beazley as the Chief Scientist of Western Australia.