UniSA’s own new facility in the precinct, the Health Innovation Building, is set to provide a space for researchers, students and the wider community to tackle some of society’s big issues.
Chances are you’ve heard these statistics before. South Australia currently has the highest unemployment rate in the country. The number of students choosing to study the critical fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics is on the decline globally. One in two men and one in three women in Australia are at risk of developing cancer before the age of 85.
These statistics represent the challenges we face as a society but they also present new opportunities. And in the heart of Adelaide’s growing Health and Biomedical Precinct, UniSA is building a unique hub equipped to address the challenges of our time through a number of collaborative centres housed in one key building. Upon completion in 2018, the $230 million Health Innovation Building (HIB) will become home to the Centre for Cancer Biology (CCB), the Science l Creativity l Education Studio (SciCEd) and the Innovation and Collaboration Centre (ICC).
The CCB carries out a world-class program of research, making breakthrough discoveries in the fundamental causes of cancer, and translating these discoveries into new ways to prevent and treat the disease. An alliance between UniSA and SA Pathology, the CCB has already made a number of significant discoveries, including a recent finding that could open the door to new ways to stop the spread of cancer. Head of the Centre’s Gene Regulation Laboratory, Professor Greg Goodall, says the team has uncovered how circular RNAs (ribonucleic acids) are made and how their production is controlled, which could lead to new avenues for blocking cancer metastasis, the name given to the spread of cancer through formation of secondary tumours.
A partnership between UniSA, the Government of South Australia and anchor industry partner Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), the ICC helps business and industry turn their ideas into market success. The Centre provides a multidisciplinary environment where small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurs can access a range of services and expertise to help them develop their products and grow their business. Services include business management, strategy and marketing, business growth, commercialisation, digital video marketing, design and technology.
The purpose-built SciCEd will transform public perception of and participation in science, technology and innovation. Working with partners including CSIRO, RiAus, Questacon and Science Gallery International, the studio will showcase research and innovation activities designed to open minds, inform debate, challenge convention and inspire ideas. The studio’s rolling public exhibition program is set to inspire the next generation of scientists and design professionals. SciCEd will be Australia’s newest and South Australia’s only interactive public science and creativity space.
Find out more at the Health Innovation Building website.