Molecular Horizons Seminar - Distinguished Professor Gordon Wallace

The drive to engage end users and to deploy the findings of our research to create impact appears to have become mainstream thinking. We no longer have the divide between fundamental and applied research. We now have the seamless pipeline from fundamental research – translation – to deployment. But has anything really changed in the last ten years?

Here I would like to start a conversation about what translation means and how we all might effectively engage in this journey to deployment. Drawing on selected examples wherein fundamental advances have been used to have impact on challenges encountered in energy and health we can reflect on what worked well and what we could have done better. We can draw on experiences to date including:
• Development of Edge Functionalised Graphene – a wonder material currently being developed in partnership with Sicona.
• New Electrolyser technology for H2 generation – being developed by Hysata.
• The Axcelda biopen system for cartilage regeneration in the knee – in partnership with St Vincent’s Hospital, UOM, RMIT and Swinburne.
• The Bioengineered Cornea – being developed as a collaborative effort involving USyd, OTDS, UOM, QUT.
• Skin Regeneration – a project involving Inventia and Prof. Fiona Wood’s team from Western Australia.

Delivering impact is extremely rewarding. It can also be a complex and frustrating journey. There is a need for assembly of highly skilled teams with all the right credentials early in the project. Planning needs to involve all the aspects critical to translation from commencement. More effective delivery of translation requires a change in culture, organisation and funding mechanics.

Let’s start the conversation, shall we?