Adelaide’s Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) will get an $11m boost in infrastructure funding from both state and federal government sources.
The AWRI, along with the South Australian Government and Bioplatforms Australia, which manages investment funding via the federal government’s National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS), will together invest $11.1m for metabolomics and associated activities at AWRI over the next four years.
Metabolomics, described by the AWRI as the comprehensive analysis of all low molecular weight metabolites (the metabolome) in a biological system such as grape juice, yeast, or wine, allows scientists to see the bigger picture of what happens in biological processes such as fermentation.
Dr Dan Johnson, managing director of the AWRI, said the new funding will allow the institute’s metabolomics facility to expand with new equipment, skilled staff, and extra project capacity.
“The outcome reflects very positively on the efforts of the metabolomics team to deliver high quality services and infrastructure to agricultural industries and researchers. The AWRI is grateful to Bioplatforms Australia and the South Australian Government for their continued support.
“The investment will allow all major capital equipment in the metabolomics facility to be renewed and, excitingly, will add new capacity in the form of a NMR instrument for analysis of liquid samples. This will be the first such instrument on the Waite Campus, providing benefit to a range of co-located research organisations. The investment will also facilitate new research projects with industry and academic partners,” he said.
David Pisoni, SA minister for innovation and skills, said the funding will attract strong, long-term partnerships, both nationally and internationally, in industry and research, which will boost health, agriculture, and wine industry outcomes.
“This will significantly build our state’s cutting-edge science and research infrastructure that is essential for many of our important industry sectors. It will help us to continue to attract, develop, grow and export a highly skilled workforce, including the next generation of researchers,” said Pisoni.
