Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology AIBN

Last week, AIBN was proud to welcome MND Queensland to our institute. This visit marks an exciting step forward in strengthening ties between our researchers and the organisations that work directly with people living with Motor Neurone Disease (MND).   As part of the day, several attendees joined Associate Professor Shyuan Ngo (Shu) in the lab to donate muscle biopsy samples, demonstrating their deep commitment to supporting people with MND and advancing research into the disease. These generous contributions will help improve understanding of how MND affects muscle at a cellular level.   The biopsy samples will provide Shu and her team an essential baseline for studying how muscle cells change in MND and may help track how muscles respond to emerging therapies, including a therapy which is being tested in a world-first clinical trial Shu will lead next year. This trial will investigate whether the heart medication Trimetazidine can improve metabolism, function, quality of life and overall outcomes for people living with ALS, the most common form of MND.   At AIBN, there is a strong commitment to partnering closely with industry, clinicians and advocacy organisations to ensure that scientific discoveries are rigorous, relevant and firmly connected to the needs of the MND community.   Thank-you to the participants from MND Queensland for donating your samples.

At AIBN, translational research is at the heart of what we do. We bring together researchers, industry partners, and cutting-edge infrastructure to move discoveries beyond the lab – where they can make a real difference to human health and society. 🌏 The acquisition of the UQ Molecular Clamp Technology highlights the strength of this intersection - bringing together leading research, long-term investment, and purposeful commercialisation. The UQ Molecular Clamp technology was developed by Professor Keith Chappell from UQ's AIBN and School of Chemistry & Molecular Biosciences, alongside UQ's Emeritus Professor Paul Young and Professor Daniel Watterson. Want to know more about the team behind Vicebio and how AIBN’s entrepreneurial spirit helped drive this success? Check out our interview with Vicebio’s CEO Emmanuel Hanon (link in the comments).

At AIBN we understand that cutting-edge research requires a mix of world-class facilities and leading expertise - which is why we are so excited about UQ's new academic subcategory: the Research Focused (Platform) Academic.   This new career pathway recognises the high level of expertise and leadership required of those operating our facilities and research platforms, giving the people who enable research a clear career pathway within the academic framework. This recognises the critical contribution from these researchers and allows industry to tap into the skills that drive innovation.   Home to the highest concentration of different NCRIS facilities in Australia, AIBN recognises the competitive edge that world-class infrastructure provides - but also that its impact depends on the researchers who optimise equipment, develop new methods, and guide users as the domain experts of their field. This new academic subcategory formally acknowledges their expertise, ensuring it is valued, visible, and supported within the university’s academic framework.   And our industry partners should be excited too: because researchers are the backbone of translation, turning ideas into solutions that power sectors.   Congratulations to the AIBN research staff who achieved promotion as Research Focused (Platform) Academics this year: Dr Aswin Narayanan, Dr Axayacatl (Axa) Gonzalez, Dr Martina Jones, Dr Brett Hamilton, Dr Andrew Prowse, Associate Professor Gary Cowin, and Associate Professor Karine Mardon   And some of the facilities they enable: National Biologics Facility, Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis, National Imaging Facility, IDEA Bio - Integrated Design Environment for Advanced biomanufacturing #ResearchPlatformAcademics The University of Queensland #ResearchFacilities

🧠 UQ researchers have developed a promising new anti-inflammatory drug and, for the first time, used advanced imaging to watch its effects unfold inside the living brain, in a breakthrough that could accelerate treatments for Parkinson’s disease. Lead author Dr Eduardo Albornoz Balmaceda from the UQ School of Biomedical Sciences said the study showed the drug reduced brain inflammation and prevented the disease from killing more neurons, therefore stopping its progression. But one of the most exciting parts of this research is the researcher's ability to see these changes happening in the living brain using advanced simultaneous positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) - and this was done using AIBN's advanced imaging facilities. The ability to combine the drugs with cutting-edge PET/MRI biomarkers, enabled researchers to measure whether it’s truly protecting the brain. This imaging strategy opens the door to potentially accelerating drug discovery for other inflammatory brain diseases – and we’re proud to host the infrastructure and expertise to make discoveries like this happen. Well done to all the researchers involved in this work: Eduardo Albornoz Balmaceda, Karine Mardon, Rajiv Bhalla, Vinod Kumar, Damion Stimson, Gary Cowin, Cedric Cui, Mark Butler, Ruby Pelingon, Richard Gordon, Rebecca Coll, Kate Schroder, Reena Halai, Angus MacLeod, Kim Matthews, Avril Robertson, Matt Cooper and Trent Woodruff. We are excited to have contributed to this ground-breaking research with our world-class facilities 🌟. The research was supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), INFLAZOME LTD., The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research and Shake It Up Australia Foundation for Parkinson's Research.

  Exciting news! Dr Richard Lobb has secured a Dementia Research Community grant to pioneer a simple blood test that could detect dementia linked to repetitive head injuries early.   The new blood test will detect chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) related dementia – CTE is progressive brain disease caused by repeated head impacts, often seen in contact sports, military service, and accidents.   “There is currently no way of diagnosing this type of neurodegeneration linked to repetitive head trauma, except post mortem,” Richard said. “An accurate and affordable blood test would provide doctors with a window into the brain to identify who is at risk of dementia, track the disease and intervene before irreversible damage occurs.”   The test analyses tiny particles in the blood called extracellular vesicles (EVs), which are released by brain cells and travel into the bloodstream. These EVs carry signals about brain health, including markers of neuroinflammation and neuronal damage, that drive dementia in CTE. This research could also lay the foundation for blood tests to detect dementia in other neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, where similar processes of neuroinflammation and cell damage are at play. Congratulations to Richard and all his team Trung Le, Youran Hu, Xinzhe Miao and Xueming Niu #DementiaResearch #ResearchFunding

Leading the way with Industry partners! Two AIBN Early Career Researchers have secured awards from the 2025 UQ Early Career Researcher Development: Knowledge Exchange & Translation Fund (UQ Kx&T) building relationships with industry partners HA Tech and Graphinex to solve health and sustainability problems – tackling a public health crisis and processing Australian graphite enabling its use in lithium batteries. The fund supports ECRs to develop and build relationships with end-users, based on sharing and translation of knowledge and developing mutually rewarding partnerships that improve the impact of research. Dr Theo Crawford is developing a diagnostic test for kidney and heart failure in collaboration with academic and clinical researchers at UQ and industry partner HA TECH, Australia’s largest antigen test kit manufacturer. Partnering with HA Tech enables technical de-risking, rapid prototyping and access to manufacturing expertise. Dr Tongen Lin (林同恩) and his team have secured funding with their industry partner Graphinex International Pty Ltd. to develop fast-chargeable and long-endurance graphite anodes for lithium-ion batteries. The research will be critical for Graphinex to develop its anode material manufacturing technologies, filling a critical gap in Australia’s domestic supply chain for battery materials and strengthen Australia’s position in the global battery market. Dr Lin has a joint appointment with School of Chemical Engineering UQ.🤝 #Funding #UQ The University of Queensland

This year, a group of our AIBNers have put their upper-lip dedication on full display for Movember. Movember is an annual movement that encourages participants to grow moustaches throughout November to raise awareness and funds for men's health issues including prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and men's mental health. AIBN researchers undertake a number of research projects that encompass a range of cancers including prostate cancer, so we love to see our researchers raising money and awareness for such a great cause. Alongside growing their mos for the month, the group fundraised and held a special Movember Morning Tea and Bake-Off, complete with a seminar from Beau Brammall from Below Parallel Barbell Club and Michael Bates from Be You Coaching on boosting mental wellbeing through strength training. Thank you to everyone who baked, donated, learned, supported or simply showed up. 🥇And kudos to Hwee Ing Ng for winning the AIBN Movember bake-off with her delicious frittata! A huge shout-out to our Mo-growers: Nicholas Fletcher, James Wood, Pie Huda, Hwee Ing Ng, Aleksandr Kakinen, Dr Nicholas Westra van Holthe , and Gary Carloss for championing men’s health and sparking important conversations. (Check out their before and after mo grows in the photos!) There's still time to donate and help make a difference - check the comments for the link 👇👇

Turning waste into wealth at AIBN!   Nature recently profiled the research led by Associate Professor Cheng Zhang and his team who have developed advanced polymer filters that selectively capture PFAS, even ultra-short-chain PFAS that conventional technologies struggle to remove.   Also known as 'forever chemicals' PFAS are commonly used in clothing and kitchen cookware, but due to the stability of their chemical bonds they take a long time to break down. This means the chemicals accumulate in soil, water, and living organisms, resisting conventional clean up efforts.   Cheng and his team develop unique polymer filters that can remove ‘forever chemicals’ from contaminated water, including utilising a new process which exploits a magnetic resin, which has been shown in lab conditions to clear 95 per cent of PFAS from contaminated water in under a minute.   But then the question becomes, what do we do with these chemicals once we have them? Cheng and his team have a solution: recovered PFAS can be repurposed in zinc-ion rechargeable batteries. These batteries not only have a longer lifespan, but the process in the battery breaks down PFAS into harmless fluoride by the end of the battery's life.   The magnetic resin will be pilot-scale tested across three sites marking a critical step toward scalable, affordable PFAS remediation. Nature Portfolio #PFAS #CircularEconomy #Energy

Recently held in Brazil, COP30, the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference, represented a step forward in global climate governance. AIBN's Professor Esteban Marcellin, Director of the UQ Biosustainability Hub shared this thoughts on what this conference means for Australia: One of the most positive outcomes of COP30 was a stronger commitment to reduce global reliance on fossil fuels. Delegates agreed to expand renewable and low carbon energy systems supported by improved reporting frameworks, clearer timelines and more robust transparency. This means greater predictability for governments, investors, industry and the research sector. The UQ Biosustainability Hub contributes to many of the technologies mentioned at COP30. The Hub's work in protein engineering, synthetic biology and bioprocess design supports the development of biological tools for rare earth binding, metal recovery and eco-responsible mineral processing. By combining microbial and molecular engineering with Australia’s mineral resources, we can help establish new sectors in sustainable biomanufacturing that reduce environmental impact and improve national resilience. This represents both a sustainability opportunity and a competitive advantage for Australia, aligning mineral wealth with national strengths in biotechnology. #COP30 #ClimateAction #Sustainability #Biotechnology #Biosustainability

Congratulations to Geoffrey Otim on being named in the 2025 Vox Future Perfect 25 list!   The Future Perfect 25 recognises 25 global changemakers whose work is driving meaningful progress in health, development, and the future of innovation.   Geoffrey is a PhD student at AIBN in the labs of Professor Esteban Marcellin working on using systems and synthetic biology to convert waste gases into sustainable aviation fuels.   But Geoffrey’s impact extends beyond the lab: in 2018, before joining AIBN, he established SynBio Africa, a forum for advancing synthetic biology on the African continent. From establishing East Africa’s first International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) team, to consulting for the United Nations and advancing biosecurity, health, and biotech education initiatives, Geoffrey has been a strong advocate for using synthetic biology to potentially revolutionize the African economy, generate clean energy, and improve health outcomes for communities around the world.   Please join us in congratulating Geoffrey, AIBN is proud to support your journey and excited to see the impact your work will continue to make.