Hunter researchers will be teaming up with Australia’s first Single-Cell Genomics Centre of Excellence, which was officially opened today in a joint venture co-funded by the University of Newcastle.

Hunter researchers will be teaming up with Australia’s first Single-Cell Genomics Centre of Excellence, which was officially opened today in a joint venture co-funded by the University of Newcastle.

Monash University, the University of Melbourne, Hudson Institute of Medical Research and Fluidigm Corporation are the other partners in the Melbourne-based centre, which aims to directly translate biological discoveries into improved healthcare.

Single-cell research is one of the fastest growing areas of life sciences discovery, with recent data suggesting that individual cells that appear the same may differ significantly in their genetic makeup. These differences can drive the health and function of the entire cell population.

Fluidigm provides the technology platform to isolate and analyse single cells across various disease states, revolutionising genomics medicine and enabling scientists to discover new principles of how organs function.

Respiratory researcher Professor Phil Hansbro, from the University of Newcastle and HMRI’s VIVA research program, will be advancing his infection and immunity studies at the centre, using the exclusive technology to explore biomarkers and potentially develop new drugs.

The Centre features the Fluidigm C1 system that enables researchers to rapidly and reliably isolate, process and profile individual cells for genomic analysis. It also hosts a Fluidigm Biomark HD system for mRNA and DNA sequencing and targeted gene expression.

“Today’s announcement of the first single-cell centre of excellence in the southern hemisphere is a wonderful example of how like-minded parties, working collaboratively, can create something special and transformative,” Fluidigm Corporation spokesperson Hana Gage said.