New building brings research closer to the bedside
Perth's The Kids for Child Health Research will be located in an integrated building with the state's new children's hospital, thanks to funding support announced today by the Government of Western Australia.
Institute Chairman Mr John Langoulant said the State Government's support was crucial to enabling the move with the hospital to the QE II site.
"The best facilities around the world have research capacity located with a hospital to ensure a positive and collaborative relationship between research and clinical treatments," Mr Langoulant said.
"Thanks to the generous support of the State and Commonwealth Governments, our limited funding reserves can be used for our research rather than contributing to building costs.
"Under the arrangement, the Institute will retain its independence and strong branding as one of the nation's leading research facilities."
Institute Director Professor Fiona Stanley said the Institute facility within the new building would be a state of the art design that caters for more than 500 researchers, staff and students.
"I hope that families who visit the children's hospital will be instantly reassured with a research organisation like us on site, dedicated to finding better treatments and how to prevent the most common and devastating childhood diseases and disabilities," Professor Stanley said.
"This is a wonderful opportunity for us to build even stronger ties with the doctors and other health professionals at the hospital who both contribute to and implement the results of medical research, as well as our university colleagues and students."
The Government of Western Australia is contributing $65 million to the project with an additional $40 million being provided by the Australian Government.
The Institute will retain its current building in Subiaco. It's expected the new facility will be completed towards the end of 2015.