Chinese stem cell venture for Monash

Monash University's Immunology and Stem Cell Laboratories (MISCL) has been awarded a federal government grant to establish a joint Australia-China Centre for Excellence in Stem Cell Sciences with Peking University.

More than $1 million will be invested in a joint three-year funding arrangement, matched by the Chinese Government, which funds the Peking node.

Project manager from Monash University, Professor Richard Boyd, said MISCL and the Stem Cell Research Centre at Peking University were leaders in the rapidly-expanding area of stem cell research.

"The new centre will have a major impact on fostering the education of medical research students and postdoctoral fellows and creating greater opportunities for their career development nationally and internationally," Boyd said.

"It again re-enforces Monash's international leadership position in stem cells and provides us with a unique opportunity to integrate at the scientific, clinical and commercial levels with one of the most exciting regions globally for medical research and development."

The centre study ways in which stem cell biology can be applied to the improvement of immune defence mechanisms, the treatment of autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and diabetes, the recovery of cancer patients, particularly following chemotherapy, and the study of chronic liver disease including cirrhosis.