News
Effort to cure corneal blindness globally welcomes $35 million support
6 February 2024
University of Melbourne researchers addressing the global challenge of corneal blindness – caused by disorders that damage and scar the transparent layer of our eyes – have welcomed a $35 million grant from the Australian Government Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) to support the development of a world-first tissue engineered cornea.
The funding has been awarded to BIENCO, which is working to cure one of the most common causes of blindness in the world by developing cost effective, individually tailored, superior corneas. Currently, donor corneas are available for only 1 in 70 patients globally, with 53 per cent of the world’s population unable to access this tissue.
Dr Paul Gurr was live on 3RRR discussing the Hygelix™ solution to corneal blindness.
February 2024
As a guest on Triple R’s Dr Shane’s Einstein a-go-go, Polymer Science Group’s Dr Paul Gurr discussed the collaborative efforts between the Polymer Science Group, The Centre for Eye Research and Eversight (USA based Eyebank).
The product referred to as Hygelix ™ aims to support the delicate Descemet’s Membrane tissue during surgical replacement of a patient’s damaged cornea. This work originally funded by the Victorian Medical Research Acceleration Fund (VMRAF), has been awarded further funding within the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), a $35 million project, led by the University of Sydney with The University of Melbourne, The Centre for Eye Research Australia, The University of Wollongong, Queensland University of Technology, and the NSW Organ and Tissue Donor Service.
The consortium known as BIENCO aims to deliver a fully synthetic cornea aimed at alleviating the world shortage in donor corneal tissue.
Vianna Jafari Awarded Best Poster Presentation at the Inaugural FEIT GR Showcase 2023
November 2023
Vianna has received the Inaugural FEIT Graduate Research Showcase award for Best Poster by the academic and industry judges. This interactive event, showcasing the work of top graduate researchers, provided an opportunity for an industry and academic audience to explore the breadth of engineering and IT innovation at the University of Melbourne.
Vianna’s research presentation entitled “The Power of Automation in Polymer Chemistry: Automated Synthesis of Complex Polymeric Materials with High Precision” highlighted the importance of automation and machine learning for scientific discoveries, with a focus of her PhD project on automated synthesis of highly complex polymeric materials to produce reliable databases with an outlook for the incorporation of these databases into AI-driven material discovery platforms.
Shirin Nour Awarded the Eugen Singer Award 2023
October 2023
Congratulations to Miss Shirin Nour, who has received the prestigious Eugen Singer Award 2023 from the faculty of Engineering and IT of the University of Melbourne.
Shirin’s PhD project focuses on developing peptide-functionalized low-fouling and amphiphilic polymeric biomaterials to be used as a molecularly engineered bio interface. The aim of her work is to reveal the complex interplay between the physicochemical properties of the polymer and cellular behaviour as well as providing a useful platform for growing muscle-like tissues to help better treatment of muscular diseases.
The award was established by Mrs Josephine Singer in commemoration of her late husband, Eugen Singer, who distinguished himself as a chemical engineer working in the field of precision engineering associated with the production and processing of polymers. The award thus recognises the academic excellence of research higher degree students engaged in the study of polymers, including their production and processing.
In more recent news, Shirin has won the best poster award entitled “Developing peptide-functionalized low-fouling and amphiphilic polymeric biomaterials as an engineered biointerface for improving muscle cell response” at the 2023 Meeting of the Australian Society for Mechanobiology, which was held at Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute.
Zahra Mossayebi Awarded Best Oral Presentation Award at Materials Oceania Conference 2023
September 2023
Zahra has received the Materials Futures Oral Presentation Award at the Fourth International Conference on Materials Science and Engineering (Materials Oceania 2023), which was held at Nagoya University in Japan from September 26 to 29, 2023. This conference was organized by the Australia-Japan Foundation (AJF) and gathered a diverse group of scientists and engineers from around the world. The conference was highlighted by vibrant discussions, insightful presentations, and the exchange of valuable knowledge, making it a truly enriching experience to witness the wide range of perspectives and expertise that each participant brought to the table. Zahra's presentation, titled "Reduced Ice Adhesion Using Amphiphilic Poly (Ionic Liquid)-Based Surfaces," introduced an innovative polymeric stimuli-responsive coating designed to mitigate ice build-up on various solid surfaces, particularly in the aviation industry. This work was a part of her Ph.D. project focused on developing amphiphilic/ambiguous surfaces via controlled and surface-initiated polymerizations. Her presentation left a profound impression on industry representatives throughout the conference.
Hoseong Han Awarded Best Oral Presentation Award at ICOM2023
July 2023
Hoseong has been awarded the World Association of Membrane Societies (WA-MS) Oral Presentation Award at the 13th International Congress on Membranes and Membrane Processes (ICOM2023) in Chiba, Japan. The award is supported by Aseanian Membrane Society (AMS), European Membrane Society (EMS), and North American Membrane Society (NAMS). ICOM is one of the largest and most prestigious international membrane conferences held every three years. Her presentation entitled “Importance of comprehending the chemistry of pre-crosslinking, in designing multilayered structures and its superior CO2 gas permeance”, highlighted a significant advance in gas separation membrane fabrication and may lead to reducing CO2 emissions from the atmosphere.
Second Place at 2023 Emory Global Health Case Competition (EGHCC)
Yurong Zhang, along with five teammates, proudly represented The University of Melbourne at the prestigious 2023 Emory Global Health Case Competition (EGHCC) held in Atlanta, GA, United States. In a fiercely competitive environment featuring 30 teams from renowned universities around the globe, the team distinguished themselves by achieving an impressive 2nd place. Furthermore, they were honoured with the prestigious Participants' Choice award, recognizing them as the best team as voted by the audience and their peers.
New Materials for Windows of the Future - Phase 2
February 2023
Professor Greg Qiao and Dr Joel Scofield from the Polymer Science Group, in collaboration with Ultimate Windows, have started a new research project to develop a novel hard coat for plastic double-glazed windows. New Materials for Windows of the Future – Phase 2 is part of the Building 4.0 CRC and will run for two years.
The project is focused on providing a critical assessment of the opportunities to apply new materials and coatings to reduce the cost, and improve the performance and ease of installation of double-glazed windows.
Zahra Mossayebi awarded the 2023 Stawell Scholarship
Zahra has been awarded the 2023 Stawell Scholarship from the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology of the University of Melbourne. The scholarship has been made possible by Sir William Foster Stawell in 1873, for the encouragement of the school of engineering by supporting graduate researchers in the field of Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology.
In 2023, only up to two awards have been offered so Zahra is incredibly honoured to be a recipient of this award, and she will use this opportunity to make a positive impact in her field.
Shirin Nour awarded Conference Attendance & Conference Travel Award
Shirin has received the Graduate Research Conference Attendance Award from the Dept of Biomedical Engineering as well as a Conference Travel Award from the Australian Society for Biomaterials & Tissue Engineering (ASBTE), which she used to present a part of her PhD research at the Annual ASBTE Conference, 12-14 April 2023 in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Evaporation reduction technology at the Irrigation Australia Conference
October 2022
Professor Greg Qiao of the Polymer Science Group presented the latest findings from field trials of the evaporation barrier technology at the Irrigation Australia Conference hosted in Adelaide. This technology was developed by the Polymer Science Group in collaboration with the Fluid Mechanics Group in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at The University of Melbourne as part of the Smarter Irrigation for Profit – Phase 2 program. Through this program the Project, lead by Professor Qiao, developed the technology from concept to a prototype on a farm dam with good evaporation savings. This technology has also ben granted a provisional patent. The conference was also attended by Dr Joel Scofield and Dr Will Lee who were researchers helping to developing the technology.
A new technology to improve outcomes for corneal transplant patients
July 2022
A new patented technology with potential to improve outcomes for people undergoing corneal transplant surgery has been developed by polymer researchers at the University of Melbourne, in collaboration with medical specialists.
3D Nanoprinting via spatially controlled assembly and polymerization
April 2022
Collaboration between the Polymer Science Group and the University of California Davis has resulted in a new development of a 3D nanoprinting technology that allows polymer materials to be printed with nanoscale spatial accuracy. This paper is published by Nature Communication and highlighted in the following media:
Nature Review Materials on 27 April 2022: Pinpoint 3D Printing (Nature Reviews Materials volume 7, page336 (2022)
Azo Nano: Step Forward for 3D Printing at the Nanoscale
Material People Network in Weixin of a Chinese Media