First for Australia at Westmead

The specially-equipped, custom-designed laboratories of CellBank Australia, based at The Children's Medical Research Institute, at Westmead, have been completed and the facility is now open for services and cell line deposits.

The new facility will be the first national repository for certified cell lines for researchers in Australia.

CellBank, with state-of-the-art facilities comprising two clean rooms, a combined quality control room and office, and a freezer room, will be stocked with all of the necessary cell culture equipment, which includes 16 incubators and three liquid nitrogen containers with the capacity of the hold 20,000 samples each.

CellBank Australia, an initiative of CMRI's Cancer Research Unit head, Professor Roger Reddel, and Cure Cancer Australia Foundation, was established as a joint venture of the CMRI, Cure Cancer Australia Foundation and National Breast Cancer Foundation, and by an enabling grant of the National Health and Medical Research Council.