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- Category:
- News
- Author:
- Ani Lamont
- Posted:
- Friday, 4 July 2008
The NSW Government will provide $20 million towards the establishment of a new $120 million dollar HIV research centre.
The development of a National Institute for Virology would enable 300 of the country’s leading scientists to come together under one roof — at St Vincent’s Hospital in Darlinghurst — in the name of finding new cures and preventative measures for a range of sexually transmitted diseases.
“This investment will expand the international role of our state’s researchers in both the prevention of HIV and their role in emerging public health issues such as the prevention of hepatitis C,” NSW Premier Morris Iemma said.
“Currently 150 researchers are working around the state as part of the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research under the leadership of Professor David Cooper. This new purpose-built facility will allow the expansion of the number of researchers and will consolidate the world class research capacity of the NCHECR in HIV research and medicine.”
Professor David Cooper welcomed the possibilities that such a grant allowed for.
“It really is exciting. The National Centre has been going for 21 years now and with the support of the community, we have built up a very strong research base in epidemiology, prevention, clinical research and clinical trials,” he said.
“That has now been recognised by the university [of NSW], who went into bat for us to get this money for a new institute at St Vincent’s.
“We’re in pretty awful conditions right now. We’re in sort of office spaces with labs all over the St Vincent’s campus — so just having everyone everywhere is not the best situation for a well-oiled organisation.
“The other thing is that there are space constraints on the campus. We have a lot of projects planned and already funded and in order to carry out that work we’ve got to have places for people to work.”
The NCHECR is still in need of another $100 million to complete the project, which is expected to come through a combination of Commonwealth grants and donations and investments from philanthropic groups.
UNSW’s Vice Chancellor Professor Fred Hilmer said the funding commitment would pave the way for finding better treatments for sexually transmitted diseases.
“The NSW government should be commended on its farsightedness in making this significant investment in such a crucial area,” he said.
“This is a far-reaching initiative which will have immediate benefits to NSW both in terms of quality of care and the expansion of a world class research base.
“In addition, the initiative is also important nationally and internationally in finding more effective ways to combat HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.
“This project is a wonderful example of what can be achieved with the support of governments, foundations, the university and the hospital.”
Tags: HIV research, HIV/AIDS, NCHECR, St Vincent's Hospital, UNSW
July 4th, 2008 @ 1:29 pm
I can’t believe it has taken more than 20 years to get this far … surely a single, concentrated effort will lead to a better and faster result? A single place where ideas can be freely thrown around, discussed, pursued and investigated ….
Good news … but should have been done sooner
July 4th, 2008 @ 8:06 pm
Wonderful … after insufficent action for too long. What about some funds to assist the impoverished living conditions of so many hiv-infected patients that too few people care about?