La Trobe University is now officially running a supercomputer which will supercharge Australia’s medical innovation. The new hardware is Australia’s first university deployment NVIDIA DGX systems, giving researchers a massive boost to AI-driven research.
Three NVIDIA DGX-H200 systems will be installed. Each DGX H200 is equipped with eight NVIDIA Hopper architecture GPUs and a total of 1.128 TB HBM3e Memory at 4.8 TB/s. The La Trobe AI Platform is located at NEXTDC M2 Melbourne.
NEXTDC’s M2 data center offers high levels reliability, security, connectivity, and connectivity to corporate and government clients in Tullamarine. This suburb of Melbourne is strategically located near the airport and important telecommunications infrastructure. The facility boasts a high level of fault tolerance, a large power capacity, and advanced cooling solutions that are suitable for high-density computer systems like AI. It also has direct, low-latency connectivity to a vast ecosystem cloud providers and carrier network. This AI-powered computer is also important geographically as it is one of only a few in the Southern Hemisphere.
The move is part La Trobe’s broader ‘AI-first strategy’, which aims at transforming its research, education and business operations through artificial intelligence. The project is supported by a $10 million investment from the Victorian Government via mRNA Victoria.
La Trobe vice-chancellor Professor Theo Farrell stated that the university is committed in being at the forefront of AI.
AI is revolutionising society with great speed. La Trobe is committed in ensuring our students and communities we serve have the tools to adapt and succeed within this rapidly changing environment. The potential of AI for medical and biotechnological research is enormous. NVIDIA DGX systems allow faster translation of research to clinical trials and personalised treatments.
La Trobe’s Australian Centre for AI in Medical Innovation provides a hands on training ground for Australian researchers, clinicians, and data scientists. This is vital for rural and Indigenous Health initiatives, biotech competition, and the nation’s long-term resilience in digital health.
The DGX H200 is one of the fastest supercomputers for AI infrastructure. We can improve treatment with AI.
Fuelling medical research
La Trobe is partnering with multiple organisations via ACAMI in order to collaborate on drug development and medical innovation.
One of ACAMI’s first projects that will benefit from the AI processing performance of the DGX systems is a collaborative project between ACAMI and the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health. This collaboration is researching Niemann Pick disease type C in children, a progressive neurodegenerative condition. Childhood dementias such as Niemann Pick and Menkes Disease occur when babies are conceived with errors in the genetic instructions for proteins essential for the brain’s normal function. Dr Ya Hui Hung is the project leader at The Florey. She said that her team will use these new systems to develop a gene therapy for this disorder.
The super processing performance of NVIDIA DGX systems will allow us to explore new options and achieve results faster. This will drastically reduce the time required to develop life-changing treatments for 700,000 children worldwide who suffer from childhood dementia. It could also provide insight into other forms dementia, which affects over 400,000 Australians, and is projected double by 2058.
AI-powered infrastructure is unlocking new discoveries, giving researchers the tools they need to advance healthcare and medical science. The NVIDIA DGX h200 at La Trobe will allow Australian researchers to accelerate breakthroughs, and set new standards in innovation and patient care.
Sudarshan RAMACHANDRAN, country manager ANZ, NVIDIA.
ACAMI, located in La Trobe’s Research and Innovation Precinct is a key part of the university plan to create a University City of the Future. This initiative is a major step forward for local innovations, as the AI industry is expected to create 200,000 new jobs in Australia by 2030.
