Molecular Engineering Research Laboratory

Excited to have recieved funding from the AEA Ignite Program. This will enable us to accelerate our work towards enhancing pig farm productivity - by integrating real-time, on-site disease detection. Looking forward to progressing this in collaboration with University of the Sunshine Coast and BioCifer.

Twenty-eight universities have been awarded 155 research grants under the first round of AEA Ignite.

These grants will help researchers translate world-class research into new industries, services and jobs.

Projects include the development of a sensor for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease, development of an implantable device for pancreatic cancer treatment, and zero-emission safer roads for rural and regional road systems.

Read the full list of successful projects at http://srkr.io/6186ZIY

This week in our journal club we read the fascinating paper by Bracha et al., where they engineered Toxoplasma gondii to deliver therapeutic proteins to the brain. Joanne Macdonald even got to chat about it with science reporter Jacinta Bowler, who published a really clear and fascinating explanation of the article here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2024-08-21/pathogens-toxoplasma-gondi-medicine/104166564

Original article here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-024-01750-6

This dangerous parasite can cross into the brain. Now scientists are trying to use it for good While humans and pathogens have waged war for millennia, researchers suggest even dangerous parasites like Toxoplasma gondii could be engineered for use in medicines.

We're excited to share that our rapid test for virus has been published. We're making it safe to do field testing because the virus is inactivated in the first step of the procedure. Developed in collaboration with CSIRO, BioCifer & University of the Sunshine Coast.

Test developed for bat-borne virus in Asia University of the Sunshine Coast-led research has developed a simple dipstick test to screen for a highly infectious, potentially deadly virus transmitted by bats to humans and pigs in Asia.