University of Queensland to add fourth campus in 2024, with Dutton Park site to be formalised

The soon-to-be campus in Brisbane’s south will also be home to a new $80 million manufacturing facility – a major development in its field in Queensland.

An aerial view of the soon-to-be UQ Dutton Park campus featuring the School of Pharmacy (grey building) and Translational Research Institute (orange building). Photo: University of Queensland

The River City will have a new campus for the start of next year’s tertiary calendar, with the University of Queensland announcing they are adding a fourth campus to their portfolio.

The collection of existing buildings on the corner of Cornwall and Kent streets in Dutton Park in Brisbane’s inner south will be formalised as an official campus from January 1.

The site is next to the Princess Alexandra Hospital and the separate Translational Research Institute (TRI), with the new $80 million TRI manufacturing facility – a major development in biomedical research and local vaccine development – to be built on part of the new campus.

The designated campus is also close to the Boggo Road Cross River Rail development, and just down the road from the Mater Research Institute, which collaborates with UQ.

UQ’s Dutton Park presence is the primary teaching and research location for the School of Pharmacy, with almost 300 staff and around 700 students at the precinct already.

UQ Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Terry. Photo: Supplied.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Terry made the announcement on Wednesday – the first day of the country’s largest life sciences conference, Ausbiotech, held in Brisbane this week.

“The announcement of our UQ Dutton Park campus underscores our commitment to working in partnership to maximise opportunities for Queensland to secure its position as a global research and innovation hub,” she said.

TRI chief executive Professor Scott Bell said the new formal campus would unify the other existing biomedical institutes.

Translational Research Institute (TRI) chief executive officer Professor Scott Bell is a leading Cystic Fibrosis researcher. Photo: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled.

“It’s really important for UQ to have a strong presence with a campus because there are a lot of undergraduate medical, nursing and allied health students at the PA Hospital,” he said.

“But this new campus, along with the TRI manufacturing facility and hub, are really important in growing that pipeline of Queensland health and medical research.

“Some of the discoveries made here will result in spin-out companies, which can be housed here in TRI, and as those companies get closer to clinical trials, the TRI manufacturing facility will support the further development and manufacturing of those discoveries.”

Deputy Premier Steven Miles said the partnerships between industry, researchers, and government makes Queensland a world-class research and innovation centre.

“The government has invested $60 million in (the new TRI manufacturing facility) TM@TRI which will enable companies and university spin-outs to scale up production of their products for clinical studies here in Brisbane,” he said.

“There is also a world-first mRNA research centre called the Translational Science Hub involving global healthcare company Sanofi, the Palaszczuk Government, UQ and Griffith University.”

UQ has existing campuses at St Lucia, Herston and Gatton.