The University of Queensland opened the $70-million Australian Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) in Brisbane on Oct. 23, 2006. Located on the school's St. Lucia campus, the six-level facility will accommodate research combining the biological, physical, and chemical sciences. Housing over 250 staff and students with a maximum capacity of 350, the center houses state-of-the-art microfabrication facilities, a GMP-ready bioprocessing facility, world-class microscopy facilities, and advanced data storage and visualization capabilities.
The project, which received $20 million in funding from the Queensland Government, is the first from the Smart State Research Facility Fund to be completed. UniQuest, a leader in technology commercialization, is one of AIBN's industry partners, and will work with the University to produce commercially-viable outcomes of the center's research. The University of Queensland is also planning to construct a $60-million Centre for Clinical Research and a $300-million translational medical research facility by 2010.