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Announcing UQ’s Dutton Park Campus

Speech delivered by Professor Deborah Terry announcing UQ's Dutton Park Campus, Life Sciences Queensland Networking Breakfast, AusBiotech 2023

Date: 1 November 2023


Thank you, Erin.

Can I begin by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we are meeting and by paying my respects to Elders past, present & emerging.

It’s wonderful to be here today to welcome so many visitors to Queensland, ahead of the opening of the AusBiotech 2023 conference today.

I’d like to acknowledge each of the partners in the Biomanufacturing Alliance that has been announced here this morning.

And, on behalf of our team at The University of Queensland, I want to reaffirm our commitment to the Alliance’s shared vision of establishing an integrated ecosystem – here, in Queensland – that delivers locally-made, life-saving therapies.

Without doubt, we’re hosting this AusBiotech conference at an important and opportune time for the development of the life sciences sector globally and, especially, here in Queensland.

Over the past two years, a number of critical investments have been made in the capacity of our local ecosystem to translate biomedical research into new therapeutics and vaccines.

In June last year, for instance, the Queensland Government and the Translational Research Institute announced an $80 million investment to build the Translational Manufacturing or TM @ TRI facility. When complete in 2025, this facility will be a major scale-up biomedical manufacturing facility that’s dedicated to incubating and growing high-potential biotech start-ups.

Then, late last year, UQ signed an agreement with the State Government, Griffith University and the global pharmaceutical company, Sanofi, to establish a $280 million Translational Science Hub. This new Hub will be the anchor tenant at the new TM@TRI facility. When it’s fully established, it will be a world-leading facility for the development of mRNA technology, vaccines, and therapeutics.

Importantly, all of these recent developments in the biomedical ecosystem, here in Brisbane, are based around opportunities for collaboration in the Boggo Road Innovation Precinct.

For those among you who aren’t from Brisbane, that precinct is very close to where we are here this morning, perfectly placed to take advantage of relevant research capabilities, healthcare facilities and industry partners.

The continued emergence of this precinct really is a credit to the shared commitment of all three partners – government, industry and academia – to creating a more effective, joined-up biomedical ecosystem here in Queensland.

Today, I’m delighted to announce that we’ve decided to further our commitment to this vision by designating our presence in the precinct as UQ’s fourth campus, UQ Dutton Park, alongside our main campus at St Lucia, our hospital-based campus at Herston, and our agricultural and vet science campus at Gatton.

UQ Dutton Park has been an important site for the university since 2009, with the opening of the facility that currently houses our School of Pharmacy, the Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences, and UQ Health Care.

Of course, this new campus is strategically positioned next to the Princess Alexandra Hospital and in close proximity to TRI, which is home to UQ’s Frazer Institute and the Mater Research Institute-UQ, and the new TM@TRI.

It’s a site where we intend to focus for the long-term, as we seek to reinforce our role as a core partner in Queensland’s growing position as a global leader in biomedical research, translation, and innovation.

As I mentioned at the outset, it is a very exciting time for the life sciences sector globally.  I’m so pleased to be here today and I hope you have an enjoyable and very productive time over the next few days here at AusBiotech.  Thank you.