QBI is part of UQ’s ambitious Not If, When – the Campaign to Create Change, which aims to change lives within the community and globally by encouraging support for world-class research.
UQ researcher and cervical cancer vaccine co-inventor Professor Ian Frazer, campaign co-Chair, said it comes at a time when UQ researchers were close to solving some of society’s most pressing issues.
“Donations, no matter how large or small, can accelerate important research with local and global impact,” he said.
Philanthropy helped to set up QBI’s Clem Jones Centre for Ageing Dementia Research (CJCADR) in 2013 and in just a few years it has become a global leader in dementia research, with 10 research groups and more than 90 scientists working to understand what causes dementia and how it can be treated. One promising project is the development of a non-invasive ultrasound device to treat dementia. Studies in mice have shown a reversal of Alzheimer’s symptoms. The next step is to advance the work to human clinical trials.
Other key research areas of QBI include a clinical trial looking at the amount and type of exercise that could improve cognition, research into developing predictors of schizophrenia, and a project to develop more effective drugs to treat depression.
Research that helps future generations
UQ Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Peter Høj said donor contributions would deliver benefits for generations to come.
“Philanthropy allows individuals, families and organisations who share our vision for a better world to partner with UQ people, secure in the knowledge that their funds will go to the cause of their choice,” Professor Høj said.
The campaign target is to raise $500 million by the end of 2020. More than half has already been raised since its internal launch in 2013.
“Donors, including UQ alumni and members of the broader community, can make a genuine difference by helping solve local, national and global problems,” Professor Høj said.
To learn more about the campaign and how you can make a genuine difference, visit www.uq.edu.au/giving/organisations/queensland-brain-institute-qbi
