Premier's Research and Industry Fund

The Hon. T.T. NGO (14:39): My question is for the Minister for Science and Information Economy. Can he tell the house about how the government is supporting the university sector's research initiatives in South Australia?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Employment, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Minister for Automotive Transformation, Minister for Science and Information Economy) (14:39): I thank the honourable member for his excellent question and his ongoing interest in government policies and initiatives supporting our tertiary and research sectors and areas. The government understands that attracting world-leading researchers not only builds the state's research capabilities and knowledge base but also leads to the growth of new research centres and provides significant economic benefits to the state.

Through the Premier's Research and Industry Fund (PRIF), we are expanding the state's research capability and targeting research activities that are of direct economic benefit to industry by attracting world-leading researchers to South Australia. Last week, I had the opportunity to launch a partnership between the University of South Australia's Centre for Cancer Biology and Singapore's Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology at an event at UniSA's City West campus.

In a significant coup for South Australia, a global expert in cell biology, Professor Vinay Tergaonkar, has been appointed as part of this partnership. Professor Tergaonkar obtained his PhD in 2001 from the National Centre for Biological Sciences in Bangalore. During his graduate studies, he was awarded an International Cancer Society fellowship for collaborative research at Tufts University, Boston. He has been a fellow and special fellow of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of America, and conducted his postdoctoral studies at an institute in California. He joined the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in late 2015 as principal investigator and became senior principal investigator in 2010 and a professor with the institute in 2015.

The University of South Australia was directly assisted in the development of the partnership and the appointment of Professor Tergaonkar through their successful round 3 grant application as part of the Premier's Research and Industry Fund, being awarded $1 million over four years. This new partnership will investigate what activates and sustains inflammation in a variety of cancers, which could lead to the development of drugs to block inflammation selectively rather than generically, as well as overcoming the side effects caused by certain drug treatments.

I understand that Professor Tergaonkar will be sharing his tenure between the Centre for Cancer Biology here in Australia and the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Singapore, which is one of the leading institutes in the Asia-Pacific region in molecular and cell biology. This new partnership has the potential to position the University of South Australia and South Australia as national and international leaders in the field of cancer research. In addition to the appointment of Professor Tergaonkar, the University of South Australia will employ a further three postdoctoral scientists to work to ensure the benefits of the professor's appointment have a lasting impact in our state.

More generally, since PRIF's establishment in 2005, the South Australian government has granted more than $50 million to researchers, leveraging more than $100 million in further contributions from industry and research organisations. The work being undertaken at the Centre for Cancer Biology will support the research that's being done in the growing biomed precinct on North Terrace where the South Australian government, along with our partners in academia and research, are investing more than $3.6 billion in cutting-edge medical and research facilities.

Our state's research capacity plays a vital role in the ongoing transformation of our economy. Our research institutions like the Centre for Cancer Biology support our best and brightest minds as they look beyond current capabilities to the development of products, technologies and services of the future. The establishment of this joint initiative and the appointment of Professor Tergaonkar offer a link to a world-class global research network and an enhanced relationship with Singapore—a valued partner for our state in many areas of business, research and culture. I congratulate the university on the announcement of this new program, and I look forward to the results of this new partnership.