Node Directors
University of Queensland:
Node Director
Prof Ian Brereton
Professor Ian Brereton has over 20 years experience in the application of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance to the chemical and biomedical sciences. His current research interests are in structural biology, magnetic resonance engineering, hyperpolarised noble gas imaging and molecular imaging. Prof Brereton is the inaugural Director of the Queensland NMR Network established to provide state-of-the-art, high field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) facilities, including a 900 MHz high-resolution spectrometer and a 700 MHz microimaging facility. Prof Brereton has interest and experience in commercialisation of research and was a co-founding Director of a spin off company Spin Systems (QLD) that develops and manufactures MR imaging hardware. In 2006, this company was acquired by US-based m2m Imaging Corporation and he remains a director of the Brisbane subsidiary.
Postal Address:
Centre for Advanced Imaging
Level 2 Gehrmann Laboratories (60)
University of Queensland
St Lucia, Qld 4072
Australia
P: +61 7 3365 4100 | E: ian.brereton@cai.uq.edu.au
University of Sydney:
Node Director
Prof Richard Banati
Professor Richard Banati is an internationally recognized scientist with interdisciplinary research interests in the brain's innate immune system and the development of advanced medical imaging for the non-invasive study of brain function. Professor Banati currently holds an ANSTO Distinguished Researcher Fellowship in a cross-institutional life sciences team that has unique access to a range of methodologies, including microPET/CT, microSPECT, life cell imaging, impedance spectrometry, quartz crystal microbalance measures, and protein structure analysis by x-ray and neutron-based techniques.
Postal Address:
Faculty of Health Sciences
University of Sydney
Sydney, NSW 2006
Australia
P: +61 2 9351 0848 | E: r.banati@usyd.edu.au
University of New South Wales:
Node Director
Prof Caroline (Lindy) Rae
Caroline Rae is Professor of Brain Sciences at UNSW and has a background in biochemistry, magnetic resonance technologies and interdisciplinary brain research. Her research spans basic and clinical brain research with the overall aim of discovering how brain biochemistry underlies brain function. She has 20 years experience in NMR and 15 years experience in MR applications in vivo.
Postal Address:
Neuroscience Research Australia
Barker Street
Randwick, NSW 2031
Australia
P: +61 2 9399 1211 | E: c.rae@neura.edu.au
University of New South Wales:
Deputy Node Director
Prof. Gary Housley
Director, Translational Neuroscience Facility & Chair of Physiology, School of Medical Sciences, Chair of the Biomedical Research Advisory Group, Faculty of Medicine. The Translational Neuroscience Facility (TNF) was established in the School of Medical Sciences as a research core with advanced electrophysiology, biophotonics and gene delivery platforms to support research and graduate training in brain sciences addressing neurological disorders. The TNF supports intravital multi-photon physiological imaging and integrates with complementary animal imaging modalities of the UNSW Animal Imaging Facility (part of the UNSW NIF node).
Postal Address:
Translational Neuroscience Facility
School of Medical Sciences
The University of New South Wales
UNSW Sydney, NSW 2052
Australia
P: +61 2 9385 1057 | E: g.housley@unsw.edu.au
The Florey Neuroscience Institutes:
Node Director
Prof Gary Egan
Gary Egan is a Principal Research Fellow at the Howard Florey Institute, University of Melbourne and Associate Director and Professor in the Centre for Neuroscience, University of Melbourne. He has published over 120 papers and over 200 abstracts in peer reviewed journals. He leads the Neuroimaging and Neuroinformatics laboratory undertaking neuroscience imaging research in humans and small animal disease models, including studies of high resolution functional and structural brain mapping. Gary also leads the small animal Magnetic Resonance (aMR) imaging and spectroscopy facility located at the Howard Florey Institute, and Deputy Director of the Australian National Imaging Facility.
Postal Address:
c/ University of Melbourne
Parkville, Victoria 3010
Australia
P: +61 3 8344 1938 | E: gary.egan@florey.edu.au
Monash University:
Node Director
Dr Dwayne Kirk
Dr 
Dwayne Kirk is Project Director within the Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research & Research Infrastructure at Monash University. The Office of the PVC (R&RI) has strategic oversight for operation of core technology platforms, comprising cutting-edge capabilities with supporting expertise, which support research and cross organisational collaboration in areas of strength for Monash. Dwayne has more than fifteen years experience in strategic planning and business management in Australia and overseas, was involved in management of industry-sponsored research in academia for more than ten years, and has postgraduate education in biology, law and business. Dwayne is coordinating the development of the Clayton Biomedical Imaging Laboratories as a new core technology platform in the Clayton Innovation Precinct.
Postal Address:
Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research & Research Infrastructure)
Level 2, Building 75
Monash University
Wellington Rd
Clayton, Victoria 3800
Australia
P: +61 3 9902 4049 | E: dwayne.kirk@monash.edu
Large Animal Research & Imaging Facility:
Node Director
Dr Tim Kuchel
LARIF is the large animal models of human disease development facility located in Adelaide. A fully serviced operating theatre complex complete with a 1.5T Siemens Sonata MRI is available exclusively for researchers using large animals (sheep and pigs). The surgical suites and supporting services is linked to a large animal holding facility. This facility will have provision for experimental rooms, tissue collection facility plus a cold room, deep litter sheep pens, pig pens to hold 20-30 pigs individually, and rooms to hold sheep in expandable metabolism crates. The facility will also have a workshop for physicists to design and create new RF coils to optimise MR images for example. The facility is planned to be operational by September 2008, and it will initially house the 1.5T MRI as well as a DEXA scanner, Image Intensifier equipment, and telemetric physiological monitoring equipment for large and small animals.
Postal Address:
Veterinary Services Division
Institute of Medical & Veterinary Science
Box 14 Rundle Mall PO
Adelaide, South Australia 5000
Australia
P: +61 8 8261 1033 | E: tim.kuchel@imvs.sa.gov.au
University of Western Sydney:
Node Director
Prof William S. Price
Prof Price is Professor of Nanotechnology and directs the Biomedical Magnetic Resonance Facility at UWS. He has more than 20 years experience in NMR. His research interests focus on the theoretical and practical development of NMR diffusion measurements and magnetic resonance imaging techniques for studying molecular association (e.g., drug binding and protein self-association) and molecular dynamics (including restricted diffusion in porous systems). He also has interests in the development and applications of MRI technology into areas such as studying freezing injury in plants.
Postal Address:
Locked Bag 1797
Penrith South DC
New South Wales 1797
Australia
P: +61 2 4620 3336 | E: w.price@uws.edu.au
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NIF Founding Nodes
Large Animal Research
& Imaging Facility
