On the morning of Aug. 4th, the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research of Australia (DIISR), Ms Patricia Kelly, and the general manger Ms. Mary Finlay, accompanied with senior research and program officers from the Australian Embassy, made a visit to the Institute of Biophysics (IBP).

This year marks the 30th anniversary of China-Australia science and technology cooperation. During the past 30 years, this cooperation has driven the development of both science and the economy in both countries. With the support of the China-Australia special fund, more than 130 cooperative projects have been carried out and five joint research centers, including the China-Australia Joint Center for Phenomic Research at IBP, have been established. Ms Kelly visited IBP to follow the latest progress of this joint center.　 

IBP’s Division of International Affairs arranged for Vice Director Prof. HE Rongqiao and other scientists involved in China-Australia cooperative projects to meet these visitors. Prof. TANG Hong provided an update on the fruitful progress of the Joint Centre for Phenomic Research. Prof. LIU Li introduced a cooperative project begun this year with the Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) on memory and attention mechanisms in Drosophila. Prof. HE Rongqiao provided an informative summary of the cooperation between IBP and Australian institutions and universities. He expressed a desire to strengthen cooperation and to get more support from both the Chinese and Australian governments.