The Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) was established in 2003 as part of an initiative to develop a bioscience precinct at the University of Queensland (UQ), and was achieved with significant support from UQ, the Queensland State Government, and The Atlantic Philanthropies.
Planning for the Institute effectively began in 2002 with the recruitment of Professor Perry Bartlett as the Foundation Chair in Molecular Neuroscience, and the Senate of the University granted official approval for the formation of QBI on 9 October 2003.
The Senate resolved that the Institute would investigate the biological bases of higher brain function and its application to enhance the community’s neurological and mental health. The establishment of QBI brought significant neuroscience expertise to UQ, and has been the major driver of the University being ranked ‘well above world class’ for Neuroscience in all of the Australian Research Council’s Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) assessments (2010, 2012, 2015 and 2018).
Since its inception QBI has grown from an initial five founding groups to a flourishing cohort of 44 scientific groups and close to 450 personnel. In that time our primary focus on basic research has expanded to include more translational programs.
We have extremely high quality and impact of publications, which in turn underpins our stellar funding success, but also a commitment to excellence in supervision and early career researcher mentorship. This sucess is testament to the initial vision of the founding Director, Emeritus Professor Perry Bartlett FAA and the senior management of the University of Queensland (UQ), as well as the ongoing support and efforts of our students, early career researchers, faculty (group leaders) and support staff.
Although most of QBI’s activity is basic science based on model systems (rodent, zebrafish, Drosophila and C. elegans) the Institute is also involved in significant research involving humans. This not only relates to clinical studies, but also to the use of humans as experimental subjects.
Based on our history of achievement and current initiatives, and with strong ongoing support from UQ and our external partners and donors, we will capitalise on our many successes and confront these challenges together.
