WAIMR Research Centres

As part of WAIMR's commitment to collaboration and support for world-class medical research, it provides essential services to a number of leading research centres:

• Cancer Council Clinical Trials Centre (CCCTC)
• Centre for Diabetes Research (CDR)
• Centre for Food and Genomic Medicine (CFGM)
• National Centre for Asbestos-Related Diseases (NCARD)
• Neurotrauma Research Program (NRP)
• Scott Kirkbride Melanoma Research Centre (SKMRC)
• WA Centre for Health and Ageing (WACHA)

Cancer Council Clinical Trials Centre

In partnership with WAIMR the Cancer Council has established the Cancer Council Clinical Trials Centre to focus on developing new strategies for the prevention, detection, treatment, and overall improvement of the care and quality of life of people with cancer or people at high risk for developing cancer.

The Centre will also play a significant role in boosting the number of cancer patients involved in clinical trials. It is estimated that fewer than 3% of cancer patients in WA are on clinical trials. The new Cancer Council Clinical Trials Centre aims to boost that to 10% or around 1,000 patients by 2010.

Headed by Professor Michael Millward, the Centre is the Cancer Council's single largest investment in cancer research in WA totalling $1.35 million over 3 years.

The Cancer Council Clinical Trials Centre is located in WAIMR's clinical rooms at it QEII Medical Centre site.

Centre for Diabetes Research

The Centre for Diabetes Research is part of the world-wide Type 1 Diabetes Genetics Consortium, and is leading collaborative networks across Australia and the Asia-Pacific region in assembling resources to identify the genes which affect the risk of developing type 1 diabetes.

The Centre's work has resulted in the identification of genes affecting each form of diabetes in both humans and mice. They are now investigating ways to restore the ability to produce insulin by developing stem cell treatments.

They are also establishing state-of-the-art "systems genetics" technologies, which will integrate multiple levels of data with underlying genetic information, allowing the definition of networks of interacting genes.

For more information visit www.cdr.org.au.

Centre for Food and Genomic Medicine

The Centre for Food and Genomic Medicine is a new world-class research facility aimed at harnessing the power of plants and genetics in a bid to beat the twin epidemics of diabetes and obesity, known as "diabesity".

In February 2006, the State Government announced $4.5 million in seed funding for the Centre for Food and Genomic Medicine, to be based at the WAIMR campus in Nedlands.

The Centre will see scientists from the biotechnology, agriculture and food technology sectors come together to tackle diabesity from a number of avenues, including the role of food in Type diabetes as well as new diagnostic tests.

The Centre's approaches to improve health will focus on two main areas:

1. preventative measures by developing better food using genomic technology; and
2. developing better treatments based on understanding the genetic causes of disease, also utilizing genomic technology.

As well as WAIMR, other partners in the centre are the CSIRO Plant Industry, the WA Department of Agriculture, UWA, Curtin and Murdoch universities, the WA Department of Health, the Telethon Institute for Child Health, the Lions Eye Institute and WA's five major teaching hospitals.

For more information visit www.cfgm.org.au.

National Centre for Asbestos-Related Diseases

The National Centre for Asbestos-Related Diseases (NCARD) is a consortium of 11 researchers investigating causes and cures for asbestos-related diseases, such as mesothelioma.

The establishment of NCARD aims to:

• provide a platform to build on Australia's existing research expertise;
• provide a focus for collaboration amongst Australia's leading researchers in the asbestos-related diseases area; and
• encourage strong organisational and research linkages with various research institutions to ensure that research is systematic and complements existing research efforts.

With mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases on the rise worldwide, this Centre provides new hope of fast-tracking much-needed medical breakthroughs through undertaking world-class research into the genetic and environmental causes of these devastating conditions.

For more information about NCARD visit www.ncard.org.au.

Neurotrauma Research Program

The Neurotrauma Research Program is WAIMR's longest standing Centre. The NRP's aim is to prevent and reduce nerve damage through the discovery of therapies to maintain, repair and functionally regenerate damaged human central nervous system tissue and thereby improve the personal freedom and quality of life of victims of neurotrauma.

The NRP supports cutting-edge scientific and clinical research aimed at improving long-term functional recovery from injury to the central nervous system. Improved therapeutic interventions will optimise patient recovery, leading to improved independence and quality of life for patients and their families.

In 2006 the WA Premier announced funding of $8million over 5 years for the Program. The funds in the program are administered by an Executive Committee and used to support research activities exploring issues relating to neurotrauma.

In Western Australia alone, more than 6,000 people are living with the terrible consequences of neurotrauma. This number includes 363 mainly young people who sustained traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries in road crashes during 2004 alone. The enormous human and economic impact of these injuries underscores the vital importance of the NRP to the Western Australian community.

For more information about the NRP visit www.waimr.uwa.edu.au/nrp.html.

Scott Kirkbride Melanoma Research Centre

The Scott Kirkbride Melanoma Research Centre (SKMRC) is dedicated to investigating the causes of melanoma.

Known as the SKMRC, the Centre was established in memory of young Perth golfer, Scott Kirkbride, who lost his battle with melanoma in 2004 at the age of 27. The SKMRC has been made possible through ongoing fundraising efforts by Scott's family and friends, as well as a generous commitment by UWA to match the funding dollar-for-dollar over five years.

The SKMRC aims to establish Western Australia as a world leader in melanoma research by providing crucial breakthroughs for improved diagnosis and treatment of the deadly skin cancer.

To help raise funds for this important research, the SKMRC continues to hold a number of very successful events, including sportsman lunches, fashion parades, race days and golf days. Funds raised to date have gone into establishing a melanoma repository, a DNA Bank, serum collection, and the purchase of a genetic analyser (with the support of the Cancer Council).

For more information visit www.skmrc.org.au.

WA Centre for Health and Ageing

The WA Centre for Health and Ageing (WACHA) is a new centre dedicated to issues associated with ageing and is made up of scientists investigating common conditions including dementia, falls, depression and immobility.

The Centre, led by Professor Leon Flicker, will focus on building on the collaboration between UWA's Schools of Medicine & Pharmacology and Psychiatry & Clinical Neurosciences to foster relationships with scientists of diverse disciplines.

The focus will be on cutting edge translational research into the common health problems of older people. As the Australian population ages, this area of research will become increasingly vital.

For more information about WACHA visit www.wacha.org.au.