MRFF-funded ‘OMIX3’ project brings together multidisciplinary research teams to drive impact for clinical research

The Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences’ Professor Olivia Carter and Dr Julian Simmons, working in close collaboration with Professor Malcolm McConville and other researchers from the School of Biomedical Sciences, Melbourne Dental School, Faculty of Science and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, have been awarded $15.83 million to establish a new high-capacity multi-omics platform to accelerate AI-driven discovery for improved health outcomes.  

The total funding awarded includes a $7 million grant from Australian Medical Research Future Fund together with $8.83 million co-investment from partners including Thermo Fisher Scientific, Bioplatforms Australia, Australian BioCommons and the University of Melbourne.

The funding will support the development of a world-leading multi-omics platform for integrated proteomics, lipidomics and metabolomics analysis of biological samples within a NATA accredited environment. The platform, termed 'OMIX3', will build critical national capability at the University, expanding existing NCRIS-funded infrastructure and leverage outstanding collaborative networks of researchers, clinicians and commercial partners from around Melbourne’s biomedical precinct and beyond.

The team, including Olivia Carter, Bernard Pope, Julian Simmons, Malcolm McConville, Sammy Bedoui, Mihiri Silva, Michael Menden, Kaylene Simpson, Stuart Dashper, Ben Parker, Kim-Anh Le Cao and John Christodoulou gathered for the first time to celebrate the funding outcome; to come together as a team and to tour the platform technology facilities that are housed at the Bio21 Institute.