QIMR Berghofer

Since 1945, the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, now QIMR Berghofer, has worked to improve the lives of people locally, and across the globe – driving better health outcomes through impactful medical research.

Today, QIMR Berghofer is a prominent feature in the Brisbane skyline, with the Institute’s state-of-the-art facilities being housed across three buildings – The Bancroft Centre, The Clive Berghofer Cancer Research Centre and the Central Building – on Herston Road. However, the Institute had far more humble beginnings, originally operating from a decommissioned WWII US Army hut situated at Victoria Park / Barrambin.

Even in those early years, QIMR Berghofer built an international reputation for making ground-breaking and transformative discoveries. The Institute’s initial research focused heavily on the infectious diseases affecting Northern Australia at the time, including Q Fever, Scrub Typhus and Malaria. Today, QIMR Berghofer houses four vibrant research programs– Cancer, Infection & Inflammation, Brain & Mental Health, and Population Health – focusing on the health challenges.

Visitors will have a chance to:

View a special display of the Institute’s Brain Research in the main foyer and explore the Institute’s history on Level 3.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

• All visitors must wear enclosed, comfortable shoes.
• All visitors to the lab must be registered and aged 16 or over.
• Due to limited capacity for the lab tour, each individual may book ONE lab tour only with a maximum of TWO tickets.
• If you would like to register for more than one lab tour, please ensure to complete a separate booking.
• If you would like to register for more than one guest or accompanying person, please ensure they complete a separate booking.
• QIMR Berghofer buildings are fully wheelchair accessible; however, due to safety compliance requirements, wheelchairs and wheelie walkers are not suitable for the lab tours.
• No booking is required for the Education Lab.

Education Lab

Our purpose-built Education Lab will showcase scientific equipment in action and is where attendees can get their gloves on for some hands-on experiments. No bookings are required for general access to the Education Lab. Enclosed shows must be worn, and persons under the age of 15 must be accompanied by an adult guardian.

The Conjoint Gastroenterology Laboratory

Bowel cancer is a very common disease, caused by a complex array of gene changes that impact cancer progression and treatment response.

The Conjoint Gastroenterology Laboratory is developing ‘Personalised Medicine’ strategies to allow tailoring of therapy to each patient’s unique cancer. Researchers conduct genomic studies to identify drivers of disease biology, response to therapy, and to discover new drug targets and drugs that will improve immunotherapy response. The lab grows patient cancer cells as miniature tumour models called organoids. These are used for predicting drug response for existing and new therapies.

The Conjoint Gastroenterology Laboratory has recently implemented high throughput robotics for highly accurate prediction of drug response in the rapid timeframe required to inform patient management.

Please see here for more information. 

Q-Gen Cell Therapeutics – A Cell Therapy Manufacturing Facility

As one of the largest and longest running cell therapy manufacturing facilities in the country, Q-Gen Cell Therapeutics leverages extensive expertise and state-of-the-art technologies to deliver meaningful clinical impact.

The team of highly skilled professionals work tirelessly to deliver Innovative solutions to enable translational research.

As a TGA licensed facility, the facility provides the highest quality cell therapies to patients in need, boasting over 26 years of experience in cell therapy manufacture.

Please see here for more information.

Scientific Services

Scientific Services at QIMR Berghofer provides core technical capabilities that require highly skilled scientific and technical staff, and specialised equipment that is generally needed by various research laboratories. These core facilities include areas to perform scientific studies like the Insectary and biocontainment laboratories; facilities to process biomedical samples such as blood or tissue samples like Sample Processing and Histology, and facilities for complex analysis like Flow Cytometry, Genetic Sequencing, Microscopy, Metabolomics, and Proteomics.

The tour of Scientific Services will focus on three key disciplines on level 8 of our Central Building, where you will see where tissue samples are processed (Histology), blood samples are analysed for immune cells (Flow Cytometry), and cutting edge high dimensional analysis of cell phenotypes in tissues (Spatial Cell Biology).

Please see here for more information. 

Statistical Genetics Laboratory

The Statistical Genetics Laboratory studies the role that genetic variation plays in determining risk of disease and its risk factors. The laboratory develops and applies statistical genetic methods to gene mapping studies across a wide range of traits and diseases.

One major focus is understanding genetic variation in various cancers, including melanoma, ovarian cancer and oesophageal cancer. This work will lead to a better understanding of why particular individuals are affected by cancer or why they respond poorly to cancer treatment.

Another major interest is ophthalmological genetics, with ongoing work to identify the specific genes involved in both eye disease and their underlying quantitative risk factors.

Please see here for more information.

Barrier Immunity Laboratory

The Barrier Immunity Laboratory studies how the body’s protective linings, particularly in the lungs and gut, help keep us healthy. These linings are made up of specialised cells called epithelial cells, which form a barrier between the body and the outside world. They prevent harmful germs and substances from entering the body and play an important role in communicating with the immune system.

When this communication works well, the body can maintain a healthy balance between protecting against infection and avoiding reactions to harmless things we breathe in or eat. In many chronic inflammatory diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), coeliac disease, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), this balance breaks down.

Barrier Immunity Laboratory researchers aim to understand how epithelial cells and immune cells work together to maintain health, and how these interactions are disrupted in disease. To investigate these questions, scientists use advanced laboratory models grown from human tissues, known as organoids, together with new technologies that allow highly detailed snapshots of individual cells and their interactions directly within patient tissues.

By understanding what goes wrong in the communication between epithelial cells and the immune system, the hope is to identify new ways to prevent and treat chronic inflammatory diseases, restore healthy barrier function and immune balance, and improve outcomes for people living with these conditions.

Please see here for more information.