Australia’s  first National Centre of Research Excellence in Nursing has been launched at Griffith University's South Bank campus.

Griffith University Vice Chancellor, Professor Ian O'Connor, described nursing at Griffith University as a major teaching and research strength and said NCREN was a platform for the further development of clinical nursing research expertise in Australia.

More than 10,000 nurses have graduated from Griffith University.

NCREN has received $2.5 million funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council for an initial five-year program of research focused on skin integrity and symptom management.

Ten chief investigators, among them eight nurses, are leading the research which is building an unprecedented body of evidence to inform nursing practices into the future.

The centre is partnered with the Gold Coast, Princess Alexandra and Royal Brisbane and Women’s hospitals in southeast Queensland, and the partnerships have already also extended to the Prince Charles and Royal Children's hospitals in Brisbane.