Siemens and QLD Government partner with TRI to establish Innovation and Translation Centre

The benefits of a collaboration between global technology giant Siemens and Australia‘s Translational Research Institute (TRI) has been recognised in the Queensland Government’s newly announced $180 million Advance Queensland policy.

At the launch of the new policy, the Premier of Queensland, Annastacia Palaszczuk said, “Advance Queensland is about bridging the gap between great ideas and the jobs they can lead to.“

A key element of the policy is the $46 million Advance Queensland Future Jobs Strategy. As part of this strategy, the Queensland Government will invest in a new partnership between TRI and Siemens to establish an Innovation and Translation Centre to advance the field of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and spectroscopy in medicine.

The Centre at TRI will use as a template the Harvard Medical School’s Athinoula A Martinos Centre for Biomedical Imaging at Massachusetts Hospital in Boston, which operates as an interface with Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Siemens Healthcare USA and Germany. The Premier witnessed first-hand the benefits of this partnership when she visited the Martinos Centre as a guest of TRI CEO Professor Carolyn Mountford who holds an appointment there. 

The Innovation and Translation Centre would also involve the University of Queensland, Metro Health South and the Mater Medical Research Institute as well as the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) who aim to support this collaboration by introducing a PhD scholarship program in Medical Radiography.  

Professor Mountford explained, “As part of this, QUT and TRI are currently looking for three radiographers to join multi-disciplinary teams who will then have the opportunity to interface with TRI’s commercials partners, such as Siemens Healthcare.“

David Brown, Siemens Vice President – Imaging supported Prof Mountford’s views, saying that, “TRI has a sophisticated track record in translating research outcomes into clinical use, Siemens Healthcare has a track record in integrating the latest research methods into products that can be used and accessed by clinicians to improve human health“.

“With the combined expertise of TRI and Siemens, Siemens sees this collaborative endeavour as a starting point for a successful relationship at the cutting edge of MR research. With the anticipated synergistic effects that lie within this relationship and a potentially growing expertise in MR imaging research and method development at TRI, Siemens Healthcare will look forward to further strengthening the collaborative relationship in the following years.

Siemens has been operating in Australia for over 140 years and has substantial interests providing technology and engineering to help advance Queensland in healthcare as well as across other areas: energy, rail, cities and infrastructure, mining, oil and gas and manufacturing.

The Translational Research Institute (TRI) is a unique, Australian-first initiative of ‘bench to bedside’ medical research and translation in Brisbane, housing up to 780 researchers in state-of-the-art facilities. TRI ensures that the innovation in Queensland is translated effectively for worldwide application via a commercial partner, thus improving healthcare in the community and globally. The process involves a multidisciplinary approach, early involvement with a commercial partner and a focus on positive outcomes for patients, the community and world health.

Media: Louise Morland  | [email protected]