The Diamantina Institute, based at the Research Wing of the Princess Alexandra (PA) Hospital, has access to both the multi-disciplinary expertise and high-tech equipment at The University of Queensland; and the large patient cohorts in cancer, autoimmune disease and obesity-related diseases at the PA Hospital, Brisbane’s largest teaching hospital.

Technology enables medical research to progress at an increasingly rapid rate. The Diamantina Institute has a number of cutting-edge technologies that are enabling researchers to get results faster, allowing them to compete at a world-class level and ultimately turning new discoveries into better treatments for patients.

Biological Research Facility

The Biological Research Facility (BRF) is part of The University of Queensland Biological Resources Division. Based on the PA Hospital campus, the BRF is a breeding and experimental facility supporting high quality research for research staff and students at the Diamantina Institute, UQ School of Medicine and the PAH Centre for Health Research.

The extensive transgenic and knock-out mouse models are maintained in state-of-the-art individually ventilated cages in a barrier-maintained facility that surpass high ethical standards. The BRF houses a number of specialist pieces of imaging equipment to support various research groups. There are dedicated procedure areas and a semi-mechanised cage-cleaning area to maintain our pathogen-free status. The BRF also has quarantine facilities along with a dedicated Importation Officer able to assist with national and international imports.

The BRF staff are qualified professional animal carers with a wide range of experience and abilities. We employ dedicated Animal Research Technicians to assist research staff and students in achieving the best research outcomes, whilst maintaining ideal conditions for the animals. Staff are always available to assist or teach the latest techniques and are available to discuss and implement the latest innovations in animal welfare practices.

Microscopy and Imaging Facilities

Our microscopy and imaging facilities include state-of-the-art confocal and multiphoton microscopes, as well as a range of widefield epifluorescent and widefield microscopes, including optical sectioning using Apotome. We also have live cell time lapse facilities for both rapid acquisition and long-term time lapse imaging. This range of microscopy provides powerful research tools to capture high-resolution images, perform optical sectioning and three-dimensional image reconstructions. The live cell time lapse and multiphoton microscopes allow researchers to examine and analyse the dynamics of fluorescently-tagged proteins and structures within cells, and fluorescently-tagged cells in animals as they change with time. We also have facilities for whole animal imaging to follow tagged cell movement and proliferation.

Functional Genomics Facility

With the sequencing of the human genome, we now have the identity of every gene that makes us up. However, we have only an idea of what less than half of these genes actually do, and only have a strong experimentally-based understanding for an even smaller number of genes.

In an effort to reduce this knowledge gap, we have developed robotics-assisted gene discovery platforms to examine the function of each gene in the genome. By either increasing or decreasing the dose of each gene, one gene at a time, we will identify all of the genes involved in a range of biological processes such as cell growth, differentiation, axon growth in neural cells, indeed any biological function of interest. The robotics is essential to this research to deal with the very large number of genes (25,000-30,000) that must be examined in each experiment. This type of experimental approach is also being used to identify new drug targets that allow the specific destruction of cancer cells, while leaving the normal cells unaffected, thereby reducing the debilitating side effects commonly associated with chemotherapy.

Specialty Laboratories

GLP – This is a purpose-built restricted laboratory operating within the Therapeutic Goods Association (TGA) guidelines.
Virus Room – This purpose built facility has restricted laboratory access for higher level activities requiring specific standard operating procedures different than general PC-2 activities.
Radiation Facilities – We have two purpose-built restricted laboratories for low and medium level radiation applications.
Tissue Culture Facilities – The Institute has multiple Primary, Intermediate and Myco-free suites fully equipped for general or specialised tissue culture applications.

Cell Separation and Sorting Facilities

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FACs Caliba
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Future Developments

Translational Research Institute (TRI)

The Diamantina Institute, together with The University of Queensland, Mater Medical Research Institute, Queensland University of Technology and the Princess Alexandra Hospital, is embarking on a unique initiative: a new facility for the development, production and clinical testing of biopharmaceuticals.

Known as the Translational Research Institute (TRI), this flagship facility will be built on the Princess Alexandra Hospital campus and is due for completion in late 2011. It is expected to house about 650 scientists who will work on translating science into better patient outcomes for those with cancer, infectious diseases, diabetes and inflammatory disease.

The biopharmaceuticals facility will allow us to scale up discoveries made in the laboratory to stage 2 clinical trials, speeding commercialisation and ensuring that scientific developments reach the community faster. Building is expected to commence mid-2009 with the TRI taking shape on the existing Princess Alexandra Hospital helipad.

View channel 10s newstory about the TRI.