The Hall Institute has entered an era of 'big science', where progress depends on dedicated interdisciplinary teams of scientists and expensive advanced platform technologies. Bio21 will facilitate access to such technologies. The Bio 21precinct already hosts the Melbourne branch of the Australian Genome Research Facility established in 1996 by the Hall Institute to provide high throughput genetic typing and mutation detection to academic and commercial scientists in Victoria and elsewhere. The Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and the Hall Institute now plan to create a comparable Proteomics Facility for advanced protein research. Proteins are the products of our genes and they act in series to convey chemical messages, rather like the components in an electronic circuit.
Proteomics is even more difficult than genomics, because the chemistry of proteins is so complex.
Proteomics demands sophisticated automation, and very sensitive analytical tools, supported by advanced bioinformatics. These genomic and proteomics facilities, side by side, will provide Victoria and Australia with great new opportunities in medical research and biotechnology.