UWA funds from Morgan

WESTERN Australian philanthropist and businessman Charles Morgan has donated $130,000 of equipment to The University of Western Australia.

The $100,000 ion torrent and $30,000 in sequencing material equipment is at the cutting-edge of DNA sequencing and will be housed at the Lotterywest State Biomedical Facility: Genomics at Royal Perth Hospital.

The recent donation follows Mr Morgan’s $1 million donation in December that aided in purchasing two new SOLiD next generation sequencing devices, and he is funding a $20,000 incentive program for researchers to come up with world breakthroughs.

“I am a firm believer that this technology will change the way we manage medicine and provide answers to a variety of health questions that have been asked for decades,” Mr Morgan said.

UWA vice-chancellor Alan Robson said Mr Morgan’s continuing generosity would help researchers throughout Australia and in WA to use world-standard equipment in pursuit of new discoveries.

Mr Morgan resigned earlier this month as chairman of the state government’s Technology & Industry Advisory Council because of frustration over the government’s lack of commitment to science and innovation.