New centre to fight infectious diseases

The fight against infectious diseases such as Avian influenza will receive a boost with the official opening of the China–Australia Centre for Phenomics Research at The Australian National University.

The centre, funded by the Chinese and Australian governments, will be located in the John Curtin School for Medical Research at the ANU.

“The centre will study alterations in the genome code that lead to increased resistance or susceptibility to a range of infectious diseases including Avian Influenza,” said Dr Edward Bertram, the University’s program manager for the China-Australia Centre for Phenomics Research. “It’s hoped that this work will help us to identify targets for designing new treatments to boost the immune system against these diseases.”

The centre brings together some of Australia's and China’s high-performing immunologists and virologists to work towards new discoveries in this field of research. The Australian program will be led by ANU researchers Dr Edward Bertram, Professor Chris Goodnow and Dr Steve Winslade, but will also involve some of Australia’s top immunologists including Nobel Prize winner Professor Peter Doherty, Dr Stephen Turner from the University of Melbourne, Professor Doug Hilton from The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research and Professor Paul Hertzog from Monash Institute of Medical Research.

The Chinese team will be led by Professor Hong Tang, director of the Centre for Infection and Immunity, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing.