| Centre Highlights | |
The Centre moved to new permanent facilities at the Epworth Medical Centre in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond. While the new laboratories were being designed and constructed, the Centre moved from Monash University to temporary quarters at the Austin and Repatriation Medical Centre, which were made available due to the generosity of the University of Melbourne's Department of Surgery.
The new Centre was officially opened by the Victorian Minister for Health and Minister for Aged Care, The Honorable Rob Knowles, on 22nd October 1997. The use of the building at 185-187 Hoddle Street has been generously donated by the Board of Epworth Hospital.
Funding grants:
Grants from several public and private sources substantially increased the funding of the Centre. A grant from Monash University enabled the construction of state of the art laboratories. Grants from the Victorian Government for infrastructure and support from the private sector company, Business & Research Management Ltd, enabled the purchase of state of the art scientific equipment such as a “2-photon ready” confocal microscope, a “Taqman” quantitative PCR analysis instrument for DNA analysis and an OLIS spectrophotometer capable of real time millisecond readings. Staffing at the Centre increased to some 30 people by the end of the year. Included in the technical and scientific staff are 12 PhDs.
Honors to the Director from the University of Melbourne:
Leading scientists, including seven from the USA and Europe, attended a special in-house meeting on 28-31 March, 1998 to celebrate the opening of the new Centre. The meeting was designed to introduce some of our international friends to the new Centre and for advanced discussions of our research programs.
Advances in aging research:
Ageing is a universal condition characterized by a progressive loss of bio-energy. Centre work on the mechanisms and prevention of energy decline with ageing has established an important link in the theory first proposed by the Director, Professor Linnane and co-workers nine years ago. The research has established a direct correlation between mtDNA mutation and bioenergetic function decline, an important step towards discovering therapies aimed at lessening the impact of ageing on energy and lifestyle.
Advances in gastro-intestinal diagnostic:
Centre staff funded by Mabtech Limited finalized the SIMA-4D3 diagnostic kit for the detection of gastro-intestinal cancers. The kit has been formatted to the demanding standards of the Japanese regulatory authorities. It is now undergoing the regulatory approval process for use in Japan. This process is a long one but the kit should be available for sale in Japan in the year 2000.