Australian Stem Cell Centre (ASCC) Fact Sheet 

Key Points

• The Australian Stem Cell Centre (ASCC) is Australia’s Biotechnology Centre of Excellence (BCE) jointly funded by the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (Innovation) and Australian Research Council (ARC).
• Under the BCE Program, the Commonwealth has committed a total of $98.55 million to fund the Australian Stem Cell Centre (ASCC) from 2002 until June 2011.
• The mission of the ASCC is to sustain and enhance Australia’s excellence and capabilities in stem cell research and to generate innovative solutions for meeting human health challenges. Its objectives are to:
• Position Australian stem cell research for long term sustainability and international competitiveness
• Facilitate and participate in the translation and commercialisation of stem cell research outcomes for Australian economic benefit and public good
• Disseminate technical expertise and resources to realise the value of stem cells to the broader research and biotechnology sectors
• Enhance public understanding of stem cells and their potential.
• The ASCC is a not-for-profit company, limited by guarantee of its stakeholders. The voting, Member Stakeholders, are Monash University, University of Queensland, Howard Florey Institute and The University of Adelaide. Non-voting Stakeholders are the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, Mater Medical Research Institute, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and the Baker Heart Research Institute.
• The Centre is focused on funding cutting-edge collaborative research and assisting researchers and their institutes to capitalise on translational and commercial opportunities. The ASCC's research portfolio includes work on both human adult and embryonic stem cell research, as well as research on animal models.
• The Centre has recently restructured its research strategy, and is now funding 31 projects within four Collaborative Streams, focusing on key areas of stem cell research:
• Bioreactors and smart surfaces for stem cell propagation
• Reprogramming and induction of pluripotency
• Pluripotent stem cell differentiation
• An adult stem cell program
• The ASCC also funds six additional projects, under the Strategic Development Fund (SDF). The SDF has a total budget of $1 million, and aims to support and accelerate projects in stem cell research towards a discrete well-defined, commercial, medical or academic objective.
• In addition to its collaborative research focus, the ASCC also contributes to communicating stem cell research to the public and those in policy sectors. The Centre fields a large number of calls from the media and the public in relation to stem cell research and clinical issues, and aims to provide educational, accurate and up to date information to keep the various audiences informed.
• The ASCC is headquartered in Melbourne with two nodes based at Monash University and the University of Queensland.

Facts and Figures

• The ASCC provides funding to approximately 80% of Australia’s stem cell research groups.
• The ASCC has supported in excess of 200 researchers and more than 70 students in over 30 research projects across Australia since 2002. This focused approach to fostering an emerging scientific field has ensured that Australia has retained a significant intellectual mass and international presence in the stem cell arena.
• The ASCC Board is comprised Professor Graham Macdonald (Chair), Dr Graeme Blackman, Dr Chris Juttner, Dr Peter Riddles, Professor Richard Smallwood, Professor Brandon Wainwright and Professor Steve Wesselingh.
• In May 2009, four ASCC funded research groups were the first recipients of collaborative research grants under the Victoria-California Stem Cell Alliance. The international alliance between the State Government of Victoria and the Californian Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) enable Australian researchers to collaborate with Californian stem cell scientists.