Queensland Institute of Medical Research
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| Motto | Better health through medical research |
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| Established | 1 November 1945 |
| Mission | Medical research |
| Focus | Cancer; infectious diseases; mental health disorders |
| Chairman | Dr Doug McTaggart |
| Director and CEO | Professor Frank Gannon |
| Faculty | University of Queensland |
| Adjunct faculty | Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital |
| Staff | 600 (2015) |
| Budget | A$98 million (2015) |
| Formerly called | Queensland Institute of Medical Research |
| Location | 300 Herston Road, Herston, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Website | www |
The QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute (QIMR Berghofer) is an Australian medical research institute located in Herston, Brisbane, in the state of Queensland. QIMR was established in 1945 by the Government of Queensland through the enactment of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research Act 1945 (Qld). Previously known as the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR), the original purpose of the Institute was to further the study of tropical diseases in North Queensland. The current Director is Professor Frank Gannon.
QIMR Berghofer aims to improve the health and well-being of all people by developing new methods of detection, better treatments and prevention strategies. This is achieved through fundamental research, drug development and clinical trials.
QIMR Berghofer has over 600 scientists and staff and more than 150 research students across four research programs, four departments and a support division.
QIMR Berghofer was created by an Act of Queensland State Parliament in 1945 from a report by Edward Derrick that recommended a permanent research facility to be set up to investigate diseases unique to the climate of Queensland. QIMR Berghofer began operations in 1947 with a staff of seven in a disused World War II US Army hut in Victoria Park, Brisbane. This temporary accommodation housed the Institute for the next 30 years.
From 1951 to 1965, at a field station in North Queensland, QIMR Berghofer researchers investigated outbreaks of leptospirosis, scrub typhus, dengue and other tropical fevers. Researchers also studied viruses in Queensland’s animals.
In 1960, QIMR Berghofer scientists isolated Murray Valley encephalitis virus from mosquitoes, which paved the way for discovery of other arboviruses like Ross River virus in 1963. During the 1960s, QIMR Berghofer established an oncology section to investigate cancer-causing viruses. One project researched cancer cells taken from Burkitt's lymphoma patients in Papua New Guinea, and found they were infected with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). EBV is now known to cause many types of leukaemias and lymphomas. Eight years later, this same virus was found to immortalise white blood cells; a discovery that revolutionised research of these immune cells and their DNA.
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