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National Research Centres |
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APAF is an Australian Major National Research Facility based at Macquarie University and established with Commonwealth Government support of $A7 million as the first integrated proteome facility in the world, providing national access to state-of-the-art proteome technology.
Proteomics is a new field of molecular biology pioneered at Macquarie that is based on the high sensitivity, high throughput mass screening of proteins and their post-translational modifications. This technology enables the comparison of cells or tissues from normal and diseased states, the identification of targets for immunological or chemical attack, an understanding of the biology of antibiotic resistance, or why some plants are resistant to salt, and a host of other biological investigations. The technology enables the direct readout of the functional expression of genes (that is, the expressed proteins), and this in turn provides a powerful new approach to achieve major research advances.
The potential of proteomics to open up major new biotechnology growth opportunities has been clearly demonstrated by the initial results flowing from a series of projects completed at APAF. The key current and future priority for the facility is to expand collaborative contacts with a range of research and commercial organisations throughout the world, to participate in major collaborative projects and achieve fundamental advances across a range of fields, including clinical/diagnostic applications, drug discovery, and agriculture.
Director: Professor Gary Cobon, PhD Monash.
GEMOC was one of seven new Key Centres funded by DEET for six years commencing in July 1995. It is based in the Division of Environmental and Life Sciences at Macquarie University, networking with the Geology Department at the Australian National University. It has close collaborative links with CSIRO Exploration and Mining, North Ryde, and the Australian Geological Survey Organisation (AGSO). GEMOC incorporates the former Centre for Petrology and Lithospheric Studies in the School of Earth Sciences.
GEMOC's distinctiveness lies in its interdisciplinary and integrated approach to interpreting Earth's lithosphere as a 4-dimensional dynamic system. This approach links petrology and geochemistry, geophysics, petrophysics, and tectonics, within the important contexts of time (fourth dimension) and thermal state, to reveal the significance of large-scale mantle and crustal domains and the processes that have formed and modified them.
GEMOC's activities involve four major interlinked programs: research, teaching and training; industry interaction; technology transfer and commercialisation; and technology development.
GEMOC has ongoing collaborative links with the national and international industry partners and strong international research links with funded projects in China, Siberia, Japan, USA, Europe, South America and Canada.
Director: Professor Suzanne Y O'Reilly, BSc PhD Syd., FMSA
Research Team Leaders: Professor Richard J Arculus, Professor William L Griffin, MSc Stan., PhD Minn.
The CIC was established in 1990 under the Commonwealth National Greenhouse Advisory Committee Dedicated Grants Scheme. The centre provides research, training and consultancies on issues of climatic impacts on the natural environment and human society. Its goals are to identify, understand and anticipate the impacts of climatic variability and climatic change on Australia, the Asia-Pacific region and globally; to reduce vulnerability to, and increase the advantages of, such climatic impacts; and to foster research into climatic impacts by viewing the interactions between people and the physical environment as transcending conventional natural science and socio-economic boundaries. Within the University, CIC is attached to the Departments of Human and Physical Geography.
The CIC has active research links with the Bureau of Meteorology Research Centre and CSIRO's Division of Atmospheric Research, and a number of universities, research institutions and companies both within Australia and overseas.
The CIC is the point of contact for Macquarie University's International Affiliate status with the USA's University Corporation for Atmospheric Research.
Co-directors: Professor Peter H. Curson, BA MA Auck. PhD Tas.; Professor Robert H. Fagan, BA PhD ANU.
Deputy Directors: Dr Richard J de Dear, BA PhD Qld.; Associate Professor Andrew Pitman, BSc PhD Liv.
The Commonwealth Special Research Centre for Lasers and Applications was established in 1988 under the Commonwealth Special Research Centres scheme. The Centre functions within the Department of Physics and the Department of Chemistry.
The purpose of the Centre for Lasers and Applications is, primarily, to develop laser devices and systems and to investigate and implement their applications, particularly in medical and industrial technology. Initial emphasis is upon the use of lasers as therapeutic, diagnostic and surgical tools, especially in the treatment of cancers.
The Centre focuses on developments most appropriate to Australia's potential role in the international high-tech market, and technology developed by the Centre will be transferred to Australian industry for commercialisation and export. Special emphasis is on the facilitating of postgraduate training in laser physics. The Centre operates in several research laboratories located within the two Departments, and over 30 staff and postgraduate students are engaged in its work.
Director: Professor James Piper, BSc PhD Otago.
Deputy Director: Professor Brian Orr, MSc Syd., PhD Brist., FRACI, FAIP.
Established in 1992, the CRCAMET is an unincorporated joint venture among several institutions: Macquarie University, Curtin University of Technology, CSIRO, the Geological Survey of WA, the Australian Geological Survey Organisation, World Geoscience Corporation Ltd and Australian Mineral Industries Research Association Ltd. Over seven years the Centre has been granted $10 million of Commonwealth government funding to be matched by $24 million from the joint venture participants.
The Centre has developed airborne mineral exploration technologies using electromagnetic (EM) techniques which are optimised for Australian conditions, and computer programs for the rapid processing and interpretation of airborne EM data.
The Centre meets needs identified by the exploration and research communities, to provide new non-invasive tools to search for mineral deposits in the large areas of Australia that have not been effectively explored because the prospective rocks are obscured by a wide variety of transported and residual materials (known as the regolith).
The selection of exploration technologies being developed by the Centre has been influenced by the stress on cost-efficient and non-invasive exploration which has led to the identification of geophysical methods and especially electromagnetic methods as the key technologies for further development.
Director: Brian R. Spies, BSc PhD Macq.
The Marsupial CRC established in July 1995 was awarded funding of $11.8 million over seven years in Round 4 of the CRC Program. The partners in the joint venture are Macquarie University, the University of Newcastle, Landcare Research International Limited (NZ), the Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Perth Zoo.
The Centre has established a research program which integrates fundamental and applied research vital to the development of appropriate techniques for the management of captive and wild populations of marsupials. There are three strongly linked research sub-programs and an education and training program.
Reproduction and Genetics: strategic fundamental studies in key areas of reproduction and genetics as a basis for the development of practical strategies for the conservation and management of marsupial populations.
Conservation of Endangered Species: to develop an understanding of how genetics, reproduction and disease interact in natural habitats and captive environments, to provide the basis for predictive frameworks capable of solving problems of lowered reproduction and decreased genetic diversity in threatened or endangered species.
Management of Problem Populations: to develop effective and efficient, humane, and also socially and politically acceptable population control methods for problem populations of marsupials (based on fertility regulation).
The Education and Training Program targets all levels of education to produce an informed society, trained practitioners, innovative researchers and equipped policy makers able to apply their skills and knowledge to issues in wildlife management.
Areas of research expertise include marsupial reproduction and fertility manipulation, molecular genetics, conservation genetics, immunology, virology, vaccine development, biotechnology, control of large populations of problem marsupials, husbandry and the breeding of small populations of endangered species.
Director: Professor John Rodger, BSc, MSc UNSW, PhD Syd.
Director of Education and Research Development: Professor Desmond Cooper, BSc PhD Adel.
The Commonwealth Key Centre for Biodiversity and Bioresources, within the Department of Biological Sciences, was funded by the Commonwealth Government in 1995.
The mission of the Key Centre is to accelerate understanding of the unique biological diversity of Australia, to develop innovative technologies for biodiversity assessment and monitoring, and to disseminate this knowledge to undergraduates, postgraduates and the private and public sectors, especially at the professional and managerial levels.
Research focuses on innovative, rapid, automated technologies and advanced sampling and statistical design and analysis for the assessment of biodiversity, especially invertebrates and micro-organisms. Applications of these technologies include environmental monitoring and impact assessment, natural resource management and conservation evaluation. The Key Centre consults with State and Commonwealth agencies, local governments and a variety of environmentally orientated industries. Evolutionary Trend Analysis, developed by the Key Centre, is applied to the exploration of biodiversity for novel biological resources targeted to a variety of medical, agricultural and industrial applications.
Education programs of the Centre focus on units in Biodiversity, Conservation Biology, Ecology, Genetics, Microbiology and Microbial Biodiversity. Students receive training at undergraduate, MSc and PhD levels. Advanced training workshops and professional development programs are offered for managers, professionals and students who need to understand biodiversity and interpret or apply biodiversity information.
Director: Professor Andrew J. Beattie, BSc PhD Liv., FAIBiol.
Associate Director: Associate Professor David A. Briscoe, BSc PhD Edin.
NCELTR was established in 1988 with the help of Key Teaching and Research Centre funds from the Commonwealth Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. It has its own purpose-built accommodation and a number of work locations on the campus including a Resource Centre, an Independent Learning Centre and a Materials Development and Design Centre, to house its main areas of activity.
NCELTR's main functions are as follows:
NCELTR offers qualificatory programs at undergraduate, postgraduate and research levels; and non-qualificatory professional development courses for experienced language teachers, trainers and administrators in the fields of applied linguistics, the teaching of English as a second language, literacy, language in education and other related areas;
NCELTR delivers English language courses for overseas students and for non-English speaking professionals needing language skills for their work or study;
NCELTR designs and produces a wide range of English language teaching and learning materials for publication and dissemination by the Centre;
NCELTR conducts theoretical and applied research into issues concerned with language education;
NCELTR provides a resource and information centre to support research and development in all aspects of English language education and applied linguistics.
Associate Director: Anne Burns, BA Wales, GradDipTESOL Sydney CAE., MA PhD Macq.