成人大片

Research institutes across South Australia are combining their expertise and resources to establish a state-of-the-art centre for genomics in SA.

The South Australian Genomics Centre (SAGC) will open its doors on July 1 this year thanks to an聽investment of more than $7 million, including $2 million from Bioplatforms Australia (BPA) through the聽Australian Government鈥檚 National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy.

The SAGC comprises six founding partners 鈥� SAHMRI, the 成人大片, the University of聽South Australia, Flinders University, the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) and the Australian聽Genome Research Facility (AGRF) 鈥� who are collectively investing funding, equipment and staff totalling聽more than $5.6 million.

Professor David Lynn, a Program Director at SAHMRI and Flinders University Professor, will be the聽SAGC鈥檚 interim Scientific Director until a permanent Scientific Director and Centre Manager are聽appointed.

"The SAGC represents a major new collaborative initiative to support genomics and bioinformatics聽research in South Australia across all disciplines from environmental, plant and agricultural research to聽human health,鈥� he said.

The Centre will be based at SAHMRI鈥檚 distinctive North Terrace building while also operating from聽AGRF鈥檚 site on the 成人大片鈥檚 Waite campus, UniSA鈥檚 Centre for Cancer Biology Cancer聽Genomics Facility and Flinders University鈥檚 Genomics Facility.

鈥淭he South Australian Genomics Centre will provide increased open-access service to the research community, maximising access to genomic technology through outreach, education and training."Professor Anton Middelberg, Deputy Vice Chancellor and Vice President of Research, The 成人大片

Establishment of the SAGC has been more than a year in the planning, championed by Professor Lynn聽alongside the General Manager of Adelaide BioMed City (ABMC), Yvette Van Eenennaam.

鈥淐ollaboration between partners is the very essence of why ABMC exists,鈥� Mrs Van Eenennaam said.

鈥淭his is a classic demonstration of coming together to be stronger than the sum of our parts.鈥�

鈥淭he benefits of this collaboration will be many and wide-ranging. Our genome plays a vital role in our health, our risk of disease and how we respond to treatment. The accumulation of genomic big data will聽enable greater understanding of all aspects of health and disease. Tremendous advances have been
made in the field of DNA sequencing, but this is really just the beginning.鈥�

Genomics is the study of an organism鈥檚 genome 鈥� the complete set of genes that make up that animal,聽plant or microbe. It also investigates how genes are turned on and off and how they interact with each聽other and their environment.

Genomics generates a phenomenal amount of data. Bioinformatics is the science of storing, processing聽and analysing that data and also spans comparative, evolutionary and systems biology analyses.聽

Professor Anton Middelberg, the Deputy Vice Chancellor and Vice President of Research at the聽成人大片, says he鈥檚 excited by the individual and collaborative research opportunities the聽SAGC will create.

鈥淎ll researchers, irrespective of the research area, will have equitable access to this facility,鈥� he said.

鈥淪AGC will provide increased open-access service to the research community, maximising access to genomic technology through outreach, education and training.

鈥淭he aim is to create new engagement opportunities between researchers and facilitate further聽integration between genomics user groups and bioinformatics experts.

"All researchers, irrespective of the research area, will have equitable access to this facility. I believe that the聽consolidation of bioinformatics support in SAGC is a strong, mutually-beneficial initiative with considerable value to聽the 成人大片 and South Australia more widely."

Professor Lynn says the SAGC will see SA build on its solid foundations of genomics and bioinformatics聽science that have been made possible by generous philanthropic support and the ongoing backing of聽BPA.

鈥淭hese fields are now critical tools in biology and medicine,鈥� he said. 鈥淏y consolidating our expertise and聽resources we are positioning South Australia as a leader in complex biology with a centre that will serve聽research teams locally, nationally and internationally.鈥�

The SAGC will also generate more opportunities for SA researchers to collaborate with colleagues聽around Australia and the world.