Bulletin

Issue: May/June 2007

News

The La Trobe University Precinct

World-class Bioscience cluster in Melbourne’s north

La Trobe University has a major capability in the broad field of bioscience and has identified this as one of its major growth areas. It is this expertise and commitment that underpins the planned Biosciences Research Centre.

The University is becoming increasingly well-known for its strong links between research and development, and translating that into agricultural and medical biotechnology and commercial applications, both on its campuses and Research and Development (R&D) Parks.

The La Trobe Precinct, centred on the main Melbourne campus at Bundoora, already comprises the following:

• the University’s new $30 million federally-funded medical Co-operative Research Centre for Biomarker Translation (to develop diagnostic and therapeutic agents for cancer and autoimmune diseases)
• the $20 million Victorian AgriBiosciences Centre, opened last year
• the $28 million Victorian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics
• the Microarray and Bioinformatics consortia.

The State Government has also joined with the University in the Centre for Research and Training in Environmental Sciences – which includes the Murray- Darling Freshwater Research Centre in Wodonga and Mildura.

The University operates a successful Technology Enterprise Centre on the Bundoora R&D Park.

Professor Parish says this extensive co-location of expertise fosters an environment that promotes effective interactions, networks and the incubation of spin-off companies.