Original Garvan Institute building, opened in 1963.
Funds for its establishment were provided by a centenary hospital appeal by the Sisters of Charity for St Vincent's Hospital. Helen Mills, the largest donor, asked for the centre to be named after her father James Patrick Garvan, a distinguished New South Wales parliamentarian and business leader.[2]
The current Garvan Institute building, completed in 1997, with the Kinghorn Cancer Centre to the left
The Kinghorn Cancer Centre, a A$100million joint venture between Garvan and St Vincent's Hospital, was opened on 28 August 2012 by Prime Minister Julia Gillard.[3] The centre is named after the Kinghorn Foundation, one of the centre's main benefactors.[4]
In 2014, the institute became one of only three organisations in the world able to sequence the human genome at a base cost below US$1,000 each (the $1,000 genome) when it purchased the next generation of genome-sequencing equipment, which is capable of sequencing 350 genomes a week (18,000 a year).[5]
Professor Chris Goodnow, internationally renowned immunologist, became Executive Director in 2018. He oversaw the development of rapid and affordable genome sequencing and the growing application of personalised medicine.[6]
In 2023, Prof Benjamin Kile, an internationally recognised and highly regarded blood cell molecular biologist, was appointed Executive Director.[7] Kile has refined the Institute’s strategic focus to genomics, immunology and cancer.[8]
Research
Garvan's medical research is focused on genomics, cancer and immunology
Researchers works across the three above themes, with teams divided into eight divisionsresearch programs.
Genomics and Inherited Disease: Harnessing genomics to accelerate the diagnosis and treatment of inherited disease.
Translational Genomics: Unpacking disease through the cell and the genome.
Centre for Population Genomics: Building the largest and most inclusive genomic databases to ensure all Australian communities benefit from genomic health advances. The Centre is a collaboration with the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute.
Cancer Ecosystems: Using the latest molecular techniques to understand the biological systems driving cancer growth.
Cancer Plasticity and Dormancy: Developing new treatment paradigms to overcome treatment resistance in cancer.
Translational Oncology: Transforming cancer therapy and improving patient outcomes.
Precision Immunology: Transform the diagnosis and treatment of diseases affecting the immune system.
Immune Biotherapies: Using mammalian and bacterial immune targeting systems to develop new therapies and better understand the immune system. [9]
Directors
Garvan is affiliated with UNSW Sydney. PhD and Masters by Research candidates are enrolled through UNSW Sydney and conduct their research at the Institute under the supervision of a panel approved by both UNSW and Garvan.[10]
The Institute hosts a series of free public seminars and tours every year to share its research findings and behind the scenes access to the Institute with the public.[11]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
