The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre has signed a strategic Access Agreement with the Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre, granting researchers dedicated access to Setonix – Australia’s sovereign, and one of the world’s most energy-efficient, research supercomputers.
The partnership introduces a dedicated allocation scheme for the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, accelerating time-to-science for projects surrounding world-leading cancer research.
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre will receive 1 million service units (1 MSU) per year, providing access to Setonix’s hybrid architecture, optimised for both traditional workloads and emerging ML/AI applications. Its advanced GPU nodes are designed to accelerate the data-intensive research driving modern scientific discovery.
With this scale of access to CPUs and GPUs, researchers will be able to simulate complex biological systems, model cancer progression and treatment response, analyse massive genomic datasets, and develop advanced artificial intelligence tools for cancer research. These capabilities will enable computational studies and analyses at a scale and speed that would be impossible without access to supercomputing.
Mark Stickells AM, CEO of Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre, said, “This partnership demonstrates the real-world impact of sovereign, publicly owned supercomputing infrastructure. By providing Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre with dedicated access to Setonix, we’re removing computational barriers to breakthrough cancer research, providing access to computational power to ask bigger questions about cancer imaging, treatment response, and drug discovery. This is exactly what Australia’s HPC capability is enabling in Australia.”
Professor Ben Hogan, Associate Director, Laboratory Research at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, said, “This strategic partnership enables our researchers to access supercomputing resources that are essential to drive innovative cancer research projects, allowing us to accelerate cancer research discoveries and their translation.”
About the Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre
The Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre accelerates scientific discoveries, fostering innovation in Australia’s research landscape. Named after Australian scientist Dr Joseph Pawsey, a pioneering figure in radio astronomy, the Centre embodies his legacy by propelling over 4,000 researchers towards unparalleled achievements. Spanning domains like radio astronomy, energy, resources, engineering, bioinformatics, and health sciences, we’re a catalyst for innovation. Operating as an unincorporated joint venture between CSIRO – Australia’s national science agency, Curtin University, Murdoch University, and The University of Western Australia, collaboration is our driving force. Pawsey is an NCRIS facility funded by the Department of Education. The Australian Government also provided a $70 million grant for the Pawsey Capital Refresh project. Additionally, support for the Centre comes through the Western Australian Government and our partner organisations.
About the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre is a world leading cancer research, education and treatment centre and Australia’s only public health service dedicated to caring for people affected by cancer. We have 4,200 employees, including more than 700 laboratory and clinical researchers, all focused on providing better treatments, better care and potential cures for cancer.
Professor Ben Hogan, Associate Director, Laboratory Research at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.
Mark Stickells AM, CEO of Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre.
Setonix supercomputer.
