News

The University of Queensland and CSIRO are building a new world-class $4.5 million initiative to boost Australia’s synthetic biology capabilities. The promising new venture was officially announced today at Customs House in Brisbane by UQ Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Høj and CSIRO Executive Director for Environment, Energy and Resources Dr Peter Mayfield.

University of Queensland (UQ) PhD researcher Kevin Koo has won the inaugural Metrohm Australia-New Zealand Young Chemist of the Year award in recognition of his work in developing nanotechnology-based cancer diagnostics.

Research led by Professor Gordon Xu of the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) has shown that clay nanoparticles can significantly boost immune responses as vaccine adjuvants.

New research from the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology at the University of Queensland has brought us a step closer to understanding how protein clumps called amyloid plaques contribute to the death of brain cells in Alzheimer’s disease.

AIBN is delighted to welcome Professor Joe Shapter, a world renowned leader in surface science and scanning probe microscopy.

Increased energy – or metabolic use – in patients with motor neurone disease (MND) has been linked to faster disease progression and reduced lifespan, according to University of Queensland researchers.

AIBN researchers have topped the nation in the 2018 round of Human Frontier Science Program research funding awards.

UQ Researchers have developed a new nanotechnology to monitor drug resistance and diversity of individual cancer cells circulating in the body.

Researchers have developed a new approach to delivering DNA into cells using spikey silica nanoparticles. These nanoparticles transport the genetic cargo across the cell wall while protecting it from degradation.

Professor Linda Lua, Director of the Protein Expression Facility housed at AIBN, is developing a new vaccine candidate for avian influenza.

Researchers have developed a cost-effective method of converting agricultural waste biomass into commercially valuable chemicals for food production, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and other industries.

Trau group researchers are using nanotechnology for fabrication-free disease biomarker detection within a fluidic droplet. The “lab-in-a-drop” system can be extremely useful for the detection of disease nucleic acid biomarkers.

Associate Professor Claudia Vickers is a group leader working in the area of Industrial Biotechnology at AIBN. She uses synthetic biology approaches to answer key fundamental biological questions, and to develop and improve industrial bio-processes.

Associate Professor Jessica Mar is a group leader working in Stem Cell Ageing and Regenerative Engineering at AIBN. She and her team are developing new bioinformatics methods to understand how regulatory processes go awry in human diseases.

AIBN group leader Dr Chunxia Zhao is developing novel bio-inspired functional materials for applications in controlled release and drug delivery. 

Katarzyna Kȩpa is an AIBN PhD student in the laboratory of Professor Darren Martin. Her research focuses on understanding the structure-property relationships of Spinifex-derived nanofiber materials, developing ways to incorporate these nanofibers into cardboard and paper.

Dr Shyuan Ngo is a group leader working in the UQ Centre for Stem Cell Ageing and Regenerative Engineering (UQ-StemCARE) at AIBN. She and her team are trying to determine what causes the development and progression of Motor Neurone Disease (MND).

AIBN is pleased to announce that Professor Debra Bernhardt has been awarded the 2017 Association of Molecular Modellers of Australasia (AMMA) Medal.

AIBN intends to be part of the global concerted effort to achieve gender equality. To this end, we have established a number of initiatives that align with national and international recommendations to achieve parity as soon as possible.

The Wolvetang laboratory at AIBN recently found that key areas of the brain affected in this disease can be recreated in the lab using patient-derived stem cells, and this has now been published in the journal Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience.