The commercial potential of University of Queensland research has been recognised by the Federal Government’s Australian Economic Accelerator (AEA) scheme.
Technology-ready grants have been awarded to four UQ projects aligned with the Australian Government’s National Reconstruction Fund priorities, in renewables and low emissions technology and medical science.
These four awards epitomise the systematic approach undertaken by UQ to ensure that the highest quality research generates new knowledge and can be translated, in partnership with industry, for new sources of growth and opportunity.
CEO of UQ’s commercialisation company UniQuest, Dr Dean Moss, said the seed funding would help bridge the gap between early-stage research and commercialisation, progressing them beyond the ‘valley of death’ where prospects traditionally fail.
“All four projects have strong industry engagement coupled with investment, highlighting the benefits of partnering with a university commercialisation entity such as UniQuest,” Dr Moss said.
“We have provided support through expertise in IP management, commercialisation and technology transfer to these projects, all of which are in the early stages of establishing proof-of-concept.”
Alongside UniQuest, UQ researchers have been able to commercialise their research to meet the challenges of the future, meet industry needs and deliver tangible solutions to problems with more than 100 startups formed.
Dr Jody Hobson-Peters
A rapid test for a deadly mosquito-borne virus is being developed by a UQ research team in partnership with diagnostic/pharmaceutical company HA Tech.
The Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) point-of-care human diagnostics test would be the first of its kind, addressing an urgent health need.
“As a result of Australia’s worst JEV outbreak in 2022, several people were hospitalised with serious neurological disease, and sadly there were a number of deaths from the infection,” project lead Dr Jody Hobson-Peters said.
“This unprecedented outbreak infected more than 80 piggeries across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.”
Dr Hobson-Peters and her team have developed technology called ChimerDx that enables them to engineer the benign Binjari virus to appear identical to pathogenic viruses, such as JEV.
The chimeric virus is specific to insects and cannot grow in humans or animals, meaning new diagnostic blood tests for mosquito-borne viruses can be safely developed and manufactured.
The UQ team is also using ChimerDx to develop a more sensitive and sophisticated diagnostic test for the debilitating dengue virus.
“While dengue is problematic in northern parts of Australia, the proposed diagnostic would also help endemic countries manage its spread, particularly where there is a lack of access to effective treatment,” Dr Hobson-Peters said.
HA Tech is an Australian-based company with a focus on developing innovative diagnostics for serious infectious diseases.
Dr Hobson-Peters is an Advance Queensland Senior Research Fellow in UQ’s School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences.
Associate Professor Andrew Brooks
A new approach to fighting hard-to-treat cancers using cellular immunotherapy will progress with a project underway at UQ.
Associate Professor Andrew Brooks is piloting the use of a novel technology to improve the survival, growth and function of the ‘fighter’ cells.
“These particular cells have shown great promise for use in cancer patients but to realise this potential we need a overcome a major technical obstacle,” Dr Brooks said.
“When introduced in patients, previous trials have shown the cells don’t survive long enough to fully eradicate cancer cells, meaning cancer growth can continue.
“The cells require ‘protein’ signals to promote their survival, growth and function in killing cancer cells, and the levels of these ‘messages’ in patients are normally insufficient.”
Dr Brooks said by altering the signalling from messenger proteins, the team hoped the project would enable them to be successful against many cancer types.
“These include very difficult-to-treat solid tumours such as some types of breast and lung cancers which have low survival rates.”
The only approved cell-based cancer therapies currently are engineered T-cells, referred to as CAR-T, that have proven successful in some blood cancers.
An AEA Seed Grant will allow Dr Brooks and his team to bring the technology a step closer to commercialisation.
It is hoped the project will give the immune cells the necessary characteristics to effectively eradicate hard-to-treat cancers, opening up new frontiers for cellular immunotherapy worldwide.
Associate Professor Andrew Brooks is a Principal Research Fellow at UQ’s Frazer Institute.
Dr Hanno Nel
An innovative treatment to sustain remission in rheumatoid arthritis patients developed by UQ researchers is a step closer towards clinical trials.
A team led by Dr Hanno Nel from UQ’s Frazer Institute has been awarded an Economic Accelerator Seed Grant to expand its research, in partnership with Arthritis Queensland.
The project will develop the treatment through the rigorous steps needed before a candidate product is ready for clinical trials.
“The immunotherapy addresses the root cause of rheumatoid arthritis to restore the immune system’s tolerance towards joints without impairing normal immunity against infection,” Dr Nel said.
“We will be testing its performance extensively in preclinical models, with the ultimate goal to demonstrate in clinical trials that our product extends clinical remission, reducing reliance on long-term drug treatment in rheumatoid arthritis.”
Dr Nel said UQ’s 29-year association with Arthritis Queensland was critical to the team’s success.
“The partnership is invaluable as Arthritis Queensland provides support for Queenslanders living with arthritis,” he said.
“Engaging with people living with rheumatoid arthritis will help us understand the limitations of current treatments and implications of this type of therapeutic approach.
“This is absolutely translational research – we are working toward a product on the market for patients.”
The technology is being commercialised by UniQuest, through UQ start-up company Liperate Therapeutics.
Dr Xiaodan Huang
New battery technology to help meet the global electrification demand will take another step towards commercialisation under the partnership between UQ material chemist Dr Xiaodan Huang and Graphene Manufacturing Group Ltd.
The support of the Australian Federal Government Economic Accelerator Seed Grant and GMG’s supporting in kind donation will help both parties to collaborate to further develop Graphene Aluminium-Ion Battery Technology.
“UQ will supply the material engineering technology and GMG has the battery fabrication facility so together we can further develop the Graphene Aluminium-Ion Battery Technology,” Dr Huang said.
“A key feature of this battery technology is the faster recharging rate and longer life.
“GMG Graphene Aluminium-Ion battery technology could be scaled for use in mining equipment or grid storage. The increase in collaboration follows UQ patented processing technique for creating holes in graphene allowing improved ion storage capacity.”
With the global battery market expected to be worth more than $450 million by 2030, the partnership aims to enable the technology to be brought to the market faster.
“With the demand for batteries increasing this locally developed technology has the potential to make a positive global impact,” Dr Huang said.
UQ is a trusted and agile partner widely regarded as a leader in entrepreneurship, knowledge exchange and commercialisation. UniQuest will continue to work closely with the successful UQ researchers to support the progression of their technology onto the next stage of maturity, as well as to meet key commercial milestones in the scheme.
