Perth
Prime Minister Julia Gillard and the Minister for Tertiary Education, Science and Research, Senator Chris Evans today opened the $35 million multi-disciplinary health research and teaching hub at Curtin University.
The Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute (CHIRI) is a multi-disciplinary hub for research and teaching in biomedical sciences, pharmacy and public health that brings leading researchers and educators together in a single location.
CHIRI will carry out high-end research in key national priority areas like mental health, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, ageing and dementia, population and biomedical and clinical sciences.
The research hub will also drive the search for improved diagnosis and treatment of chronic diseases and conditions like diabetes, dementia, obesity, cancer and malaria that affect people around the world.
CHIRI has purchased more than $2 million worth of advanced instruments, many unique to WA, including a state-of-the-art microscope for the high-resolution imaging of cells responsible for chronic disease.
The precinct has 24 specialist suites and includes space for 100 researchers and postgraduate research students, providing an environment that encourages inter-professional practice and its incorporation into student learning.
A pharmacy practice teaching space will provide students with experience in a simulated consulting environment.
The Gillard Government contributed $13.7 million towards the CHIRI project as part of its landmark $5 billion investment in state-of-the-art infrastructure that is transforming the nation's higher education, research and vocational education landscape.