Commentary: towards a national research infrastructure strategy for preclinical biological models in Australia

Research infrastructure is critical for advancing knowledge of health and disease, fostering innovation through world-class, cutting-edge facilities and technical expertise. Phenomics Australia is Australia's national research infrastructure provider responsible for accelerating advances in mammalian functional genomics and precision medicine through the development and delivery of services and expertise in engineered disease model production, phenotyping, and biobanking. These capabilities and resources are enabled by Australia's National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy and primarily support health and medical research for significant healthcare and economic benefits. Priorities identified in the Australian Government's 2021 National Research Infrastructure Roadmap include the development and expansion of capabilities in digital research infrastructure, improved research translation, and enhanced management of biological collections, which are strongly aligned with Phenomics Australia's strategy to develop and enable access to high-quality national genetics resources at scale. Here, we comment on Phenomics Australia's response to these national strategy imperatives and the critical role of preclinical biological models research infrastructure in Australia.