Queensland Brain Institute
Queensland Brain Institute is a University of Queensland research institute in Brisbane that conducts neuroscience research across 29 groups and 200+ researchers, trains HDR students, and targets Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, schizophrenia, motor neuron disease, and dementia, funded by government grants and philanthropy.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2003
- HeadquartersBrisbane, Australia
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Queensland Brain Institute does
Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) is a neuroscience research institute within The University of Queensland, headquartered in Brisbane, Australia. Founded in 2003, QBI organizes its work into 29 specialized research groups staffed by more than 200 researchers and supports 95 Higher Degree by Research students pursuing PhD and master's degrees in neuroscience. The institute conducts discovery science and translational research targeting brain function and neurological and psychiatric disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, motor neuron disease, autism, stroke, and dementia. It also hosts dedicated centers such as the Clem Jones Centre for Ageing Dementia Research and the philanthropically-funded Peter Goodenough and Wantoks Research Laboratory for motor neuron disease.
QBI does not sell commercial products or software. Its "offerings" are research output, higher-degree education programs, and public engagement assets including The BRAIN magazine, a podcast series, public lectures, fundraising events, and a multi-platform social media presence. The institute's business model is non-commercial: revenue is sourced from Australian federal and state government research grants, philanthropic donations and named endowments (e.g., Brain Research Endowment Fund, Clem Jones Foundation), corporate partnerships, and student tuition flowing through UQ. Its go-to-market is community-led, building awareness and donor support through educational outreach, research participation opportunities, and accessible science communication rather than commercial distribution.
Governance and funding flows are administered through University of Queensland structures, with no independent ownership, venture capital, or external investors. Pankaj Sah serves as Director. The operating scope is domestic Australia with regional Asia-Pacific research visibility through seminar and conference programs, and there are no recorded mergers, acquisitions, funding rounds, or commercial product launches in the input data.
Queensland Brain Institute firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Queensland Brain Institute
- Legal name
- Queensland Brain Institute - University of Queensland
- Website
- https://qbi.uq.edu.au
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2003
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Queensland Brain Institute is a University of Queensland research institute in Brisbane that conducts neuroscience research across 29 groups and 200+ researchers, trains HDR students, and targets Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, schizophrenia, motor neuron disease, and dementia, funded by government grants and philanthropy.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Queensland Brain Institute industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Academic Neuroscience Research
- NAICS
- Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)
- SIC
- Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Public Research Universities with Academic Medical Centers (AMCs) (EDAHAAAC)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Research Administration & Compliance (Sponsored Programs, IRB/REB) (EDADAKAH)
Keywords
Where Queensland Brain Institute is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Brisbane
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices1 record
Markets served
Queensland Brain Institute business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
Revenue model
- Research Funding: Government research grants from Australian federal and state funding bodies
- Philanthropic Donations: Donations from individuals, charitable foundations, and corporate partners supporting specific research areas and endowment funds
- Student Tuition: Fees from higher degree by research and honours students
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Queensland Brain Institute product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) is a neuroscience research institute within The University of Queensland that conducts fundamental and translational brain research across 29 specialized research groups. It offers higher degree by research (PhD, MPhil) and honours programs, and engages the public through seminars, the BRAIN magazine, podcasts, and community fundraising events. QBI does not sell commercial products; its core activities are discovery science, research training, and clinical translation targeting neurological and psychiatric disorders.
Product overview
Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) is a neuroscience research institute at the University of Queensland, Australia. QBI offers research programs, higher degree by research education, and public engagement activities including publications (The BRAIN magazine), podcasts, seminars, and community events. QBI does not offer commercial products or software services.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- The BRAIN Magazine: Magazine publication covering brain research topics for public engagement
- QBI Podcasts
Products and services
- Higher Degree by Research Programs Postgraduate research training programs (PhD and Master of Philosophy) in neuroscience, for domestic and international students pursuing advanced research degrees at QBI.
- Honours Program Undergraduate honours research training in neuroscience for students at the University of Queensland.
- Neuroscience Research Seminars Weekly research seminars featuring international and domestic neuroscience researchers, attracting attendees from across the Asia-Pacific region.
- Public Engagement and Fundraising Events Community-facing events such as Brain Awareness Week, charity walks, high teas, and gala dinners, designed to raise funds and public awareness for brain research.
- The BRAIN Magazine Magazine publication featuring research highlights and discoveries from QBI, distributed for public engagement.
- QBI Podcasts Podcast series featuring conversations with QBI researchers on various brain-related topics for public outreach.
- Research Study Participation Programs allowing community members to volunteer as participants in clinical and basic neuroscience research studies conducted by QBI researchers.
Companies that use Queensland Brain Institute
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments3 records
Queensland Brain Institute technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Queensland Brain Institute partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- University of QueenslandcoreQBI is an institute within The University of Queensland, operating as its dedicated brain research institute with access to university infrastructure, students, and funding opportunities.
- Clem Jones Centre for Ageing Dementia ResearchcoreSpecialized research center within QBI focused on understanding and treating ageing dementia, supported by the Clem Jones Foundation.
- Peter Goodenough and Wantoks Research LaboratoryminorResearch laboratory established through philanthropy to support motor neuron disease research, honoring the late Peter Goodenough.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Queensland Brain Institute competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research: MIT's interdisciplinary neuroscience institute operating multiple research groups with a focus on brain disorders, cognition, and neurotechnology. Directly comparable in its university-embedded structure, group-leader model, mix of grants and philanthropy, and emphasis on disorders of the nervous system at the same translational-discovery interface as QBI.
- Monash University - Neuroscience Research: Monash University's group-structured neuroscience programs targeting brain injury, neurodegeneration, and mental health. Directly comparable as an Australian university-hosted neuroscience research operation competing for overlapping NHMRC grants, HDR students, and philanthropic support within the same domestic market as QBI.
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health: The largest Australian brain research institute, based at the University of Melbourne. Directly comparable as a university-affiliated neuroscience research institute covering similar disease areas (Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, motor neuron disease), funded by a similar mix of grants, philanthropy, and university support, and competing for the same cohort of HDR students and Australian research funding.
- Allen Institute for Brain Science: US-based non-profit brain research organization running large-scale, group-structured programs on brain cell types, circuits, and disease. Comparable to QBI in operating multiple research divisions focused on brain function and neurological disease, with a donor- and grant-funded model and emphasis on data-generating research outputs.
- Janelia Research Campus (HHMI): Howard Hughes Medical Institute's dedicated brain research campus running team-based research groups on neural circuits and imaging. Comparable to QBI in group-led neuroscience research structure, philanthropy-backed mission, and emphasis on fundamental discovery science, though with a larger endowment and broader tooling capability.
- Kavli Institute for Brain Science: Columbia University's neuroscience research institute, funded through the Kavli Foundation plus university and grant support. Closely comparable as a university-hosted brain research institute operating multiple investigator-led groups targeting brain function and disease, with similar philanthropy-plus-grant funding mechanics to QBI.
Broad incumbents
- Salk Institute for Biological Studies: Larger US non-profit biological research institute running many research groups across neuroscience, plant biology, cancer, and immunology with substantial endowment, NIH grant funding, and foundation philanthropy. Comparable at the research-group-and-donor-revenue layer but operates at a materially larger scale and broader biological scope than QBI.
Regional players
- RIKEN Center for Brain Science: Japanese national research center running multi-team neuroscience programs on circuits, computation, and disease. Comparable in scale and research-group structure to QBI, though funded through Japan's government research system rather than mix of Australian grants and philanthropy.
- Max Planck Institute for Brain Research: Frankfurt-based Max Planck institute running multi-group neuroscience research on circuits, development, and disease. Comparable in multi-group research structure and disease-relevant neuroscience focus, but operating in Europe with public funding rather than the mixed Australian grant-plus-philanthropy model QBI relies on.
- Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit: UCL-based computational neuroscience research unit founded on a philanthropic endowment, running multiple research groups on learning, perception, and neural computation. Comparable in being a philanthropy-funded, multi-group neuroscience research unit embedded within a university, with a similar talent-pipeline orientation.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Queensland Brain Institute social profiles
Digital presenceQueensland Brain Institute financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Queensland Brain Institute leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Queensland Brain Institute funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
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Queensland Brain Institute M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
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Frequently asked questions about Queensland Brain Institute
What does Queensland Brain Institute do?
Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) is a neuroscience research institute within The University of Queensland that conducts fundamental and translational brain research across 29 specialized research groups. It offers higher degree by research (PhD, MPhil) and honours programs, and engages the public through seminars, the BRAIN magazine, podcasts, and community fundraising events. QBI does not sell commercial products; its core activities are discovery science, research training, and clinical translation targeting neurological and psychiatric disorders.
Is Queensland Brain Institute a public or private company?
Queensland Brain Institute is a private company. It is currently operating.
When was Queensland Brain Institute founded?
Queensland Brain Institute was founded in 2003. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Queensland Brain Institute based?
Queensland Brain Institute is headquartered in Brisbane, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does Queensland Brain Institute make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Research Funding is the primary driver. The others are philanthropic Donations and student Tuition.
Who are Queensland Brain Institute's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Monash University - Neuroscience Research, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Allen Institute for Brain Science, Janelia Research Campus (HHMI) and Kavli Institute for Brain Science. Salk Institute for Biological Studies is listed as a broad incumbent. Regional players are RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Max Planck Institute for Brain Research and Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit.
Does Queensland Brain Institute have an API?
No public API is recorded for Queensland Brain Institute.
What industry is Queensland Brain Institute in?
Queensland Brain Institute's product category is Academic Neuroscience Research. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAHAAAC, Public Research Universities with Academic Medical Centers (AMCs), with a secondary code of EDADAKAH, Research Administration & Compliance (Sponsored Programs, IRB/REB). Its NAICS code is 5417 and its SIC code is 8731.