A self-made millionaire Peter Goodenough who died from motor neuron disease (MND) left more than $6 million to the University's Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) to help find a cure for MND.
MND is a group of disorders which causes progressive muscle wasting and the loss of nerve cells that control speech, swallowing and respiration.
Symptoms usually appear between the ages of 50-70, and include progressive weakness and muscle wasting and most cases progress quite quickly over the course of months.
MND is usually fatal within 2-5 years and around 50% of victims die within 14 months of diagnosis.
One in 10 patients will survive for 10 years and Professor Stephen Hawking is a well-known example of a person with MND, and has lived for more than 40 years with the disease.
While there is currently no cure for MND the drug riluzole affects the course of the disease by blocking the effects of the neurotransmitter glutamate, and is thought to extend the lifespan of a patient by a few months but there is a lack of effective medications which slow the progression of the disease.
Treatment therefore focuses on the relief of symptoms associated with the disease involving neurologists, speech pathologists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, dieticians, respiratory therapists, social workers, palliative care specialists, specialist nurses and psychologists.
Desley Boyle the Minister for Tourism, Regional Development and Industry officially opened the Peter Goodenough and Wantoks Research Laboratory at QBI.
'Wantoks' which means close friends or relatives in pidgin English is a reference to Mr Goodenough's three pet dogs and ‘best mates' whom he wanted acknowledged.
The lab was completed in November 2007 and is now home to the Molecular Genetics of Human Disease team led by QBI's Dr. Robyn Wallace.