UQ’s Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) will host the “BASE” facility, via a $2.2 million investment of matched funds from the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) through Therapeutic Innovation Australia (TIA), and the University.
TIA CEO Dr Stuart Newman said that this support would enable the facility to produce high-quality, high-purity nucleic acid
s – RNA and DNA – to support the work of nucleic acid researchers across the country.
“This investment complements recent investments in later-stage, large-scale mRNA manufacturing, as well as TIA’s own ongoing investment in biologics production to support R&D,” Dr Newman said.
BASE harnesses the collective UQ expertise of the leading RNA research by Associate Professor Timothy Mercer, the biomanufacturing powerhouse National Biologics Facility led by Professor Trent Munro, and the RNA and DNA production expertise of the Protein Expression Facility, led by Professor Linda Lua.