CENTENARY INSTITUTE OF CANCER MEDICINE AND CELL BIOLOGY

Director: Professor Mathew Vadas

The Centenary Institute was conceived in 1982 to commemorate the Centenaries of the University of Sydney Medical School and Australia's foremost teaching hospital, the Royal Prince Alfred. It occupies a six storey state of the art building in the hospital grounds adjacent to the new clinical wing and has attracted over $70 million in Research and Development funding during the past nine years. Among the grants awarded are one of the new NHMRC Program Grants in immune regulation and a NHMRC Clinical Research Centre of Excellence grant for chronic liver disease.

The Institute's research program is focused on immunology and molecular medicine and their applications to diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases of importance in both developed and developing countries. The immunology portfolio encompasses conditions ranging from cancer, infections, and autoimmune disorders to allergies and organ transplantation. In the case of the molecular medicine portfolio, projects include gene therapy for genetic and haematological disorders, the genetic basis of heart disease and sudden death, chronic liver disease and multidrug resistance in cancer.

With a strong commitment to translational as well as basic research, the Institute has set up its own commercial arm, CenTec Pty Ltd with a portfolio of platform technologies and projects aimed at biodrug/vaccine development and gene therapy.