The first CIPPS workshop took place on the 18th and 19th of February 2020 in Brisbane. The workshop was attended by nearly all the lab heads of CIPPS, which is not a small feat considering that the research groups came from five Australian states and territories (ACT, NSW, QLD, VIC, WA). In an atmosphere of excitement, the attendees decided on the governance of the centre as well as the broad scientific directions. The cumulative skills, knowledge and facilities in the centre will enable the centre to tackle the most pressing challenges in protein and peptide science. The attendees on the picture are, from left to right, (bottom row) Kate Jolliffe (USyd), Liz New (USyd), David Craik (UQ), Max Cryle (Monash), Richard Payne (USyd), Gottfried Oting (ANU), Colin Jackson (Monash), (front row) Michelle Colgrave (CSIRO/ECU), Glenn King (UQ), Lara Malins (ANU), Greg Challis (Monash) and Kathy Belov (USys). David Fairlie (UQ) also attended the meeting. Sonia Henriques (QUT) was excused.
On Friday 25th of October, the Australian Research Council has announced that our centre will be funded for seven year as the ARC Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science (CIPPS). See more details on the ARC website. On that day, the director of the centre, David Craik, has received official congratulations from the ARC and the Australian government. This award will foster collaborations between 14 laboratories from six universities, acknowledging their outstanding research and leadership in Australia. We expect the fund to boost discoveries in many aspects of STEM, especially in Molecular and Structural Biology, Plant and Animal Biology, Protein and Peptide Engineering, Physical Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry. CIPPS will be officially be launched in the first quarter of 2020.