UWS part of the green biotech revolution

A UWS developed biotechnology has been recognised in an article published in the May/June edition of Life Scientist. Titled “Biotech spotlight: big deals”, the article highlights a select group of biotechnology companies to watch in the year ahead. In the article, Western Australian company Bio-Gene Technology Ltd is mentioned for its development of Qcide, a revolutionary natural insecticide. Developed as part of a research collaboration between UWS, Southern Cross University (SCU) and Bioprospect Ltd, the intellectual property has been assigned exclusively to Bio-Gene Technology, which has worldwide rights to the technology.

Qcide is being developed as a new, environmentally friendly treatment for household and agricultural pests. The technology is based on Tasmanone, a natural insecticide derived from the leaves of Eucalyptus cloeziana, a forest tree species found in areas of Queensland. The active molecule exhibits a unique mode of action thought to be targeting the octopermine receptor in insects. This has been identified as the basis for a patenting and for commercialisation of the compound as an insecticide with applications in urban pest control, crop protection and animal health.

Bio-Gene believes that Qcide has the potential to make significant inroads into the global marketplace, where it will offer a greener alternative to established products such as additives required now to combat pyrethrum resistance. Pyrethrum which has a global market currently valued at US$500 million a year.

We encourage you to watch this space for future developments of this exciting technology.If you have any inquiries about harnessing UWS research for your business, please contact UWS Innovation & Consulting on (02) 9685 9742 or by email at ip@uws.edu.au

Researchers in Business (RiB) program holds great potential

UWS recognises that successful partnerships with industry are essential for university research to reach the market and ultimately benefit the public. In keeping with this maxim, we see the Reseachers in Business (RiB) program as a great initiative that will play an important role in enhancing the transfer of university intellectual capital into practical business applications.
The Australian Government has committed $10 million within Enterprise Connect to support the placement of researchers from universities or public research agencies, into businesses that wish to develop a new idea with commercial potential. Funding for up to 50 per cent of salary costs, to a maximum of $50,000 will be provided for placements spanning from 2 to 12 months.

Examples of eligible research projects include:

· Product innovation – developing and testing new, or improved products or services
· Process innovation – addressing production/process issues
· Marketing innovation – analysing brand, product or service consumer perceptions and impact in the market
· Environmental sustainability – identifying, measuring pollution/waste reduction opportunities
· Mathematical science – quantitative analysis/modelling of data to improve product, process or marketing innovation.

The RiB program may be of particular use to researchers and businesses that have applied for an ARC linkage grant and narrowly missed out on selection. UWS I&C welcome interested parties to contact us to explore opportunities on how our researchers may be able to collaborate with you. Please contact us on 9685 9742 or at ip@uws.edu.au

UWS Intellectual Property (IP) Evaluation Panel

Image: (left to right) Dr Fiona Cameron, Mitchell Low and Dr Peter Brown

UWS’s innovation capability was showcased at this year’s second IP Evaluation Panel, which took place on July 5th at the historic Female Orphan School, Parramatta South Campus.

The panel comprised a number of prominent people from within the life science and innovation industries, and academics representing each of UWS’s Colleges, Health Science, Arts and Business and Law. Dr Phil Kearney (Director - External Licensing at Merck Sharpe and Dohme), Hamish Hawthorn (CEO, ATP-Innovations), Dr John Arkwright (CSIRO), and Dr Peter Brown (Senior Associate, Griffith Hack) provided valuable external views to the discussion. With combined expertise in technology transfer and pharmaceuticals, they were able to provide valuable insight into the commercialisation potential of a new invention from Dr Anya Salih that could excite interest in the market for fluorescent tags used in research. Other inventions from the School of Natural Sciences and the Medical School provided stimulating discussions amongst the panel.

Jean Bunton, a UWS PhD student presented an entrepreneurial business pitch called “Sing the Sounds of English”. Being her first time pitching her business idea to a panel, Jean thought it was a great experience. “Presenting the work developed from my Honours project, which was to write songs and music for young children with the aim of teaching English, was a chance to get feedback from experts outside my area of study. Preparing the presentation itself helped me clarify exactly what I was looking for in terms of finding an industry partner. The questions I was asked by the Panel were quite surprising as they came from different angles, but they helped me see which direction I should concentrate my ideas. There were many suggestions of ways I could extend the scope of my project. I now have some potential links with industry which I couldn’t have found in any other way.”

This latest panel stimulated very robust discussion of the exciting technologies and ideas. Our thanks to the dynamic panel members of the day; Dr Peter Brown (Patent Attorney, Griffith Hack), Dr Hugh Pattinson (College of Business and Law), Mitchell Low (PhD student - Centre for Complementary Medicine), Dr Michael O’Connor (College of Health and Science), Debbie Bailey (Office of Research Services ), Dr Phil Kearney (Merck Sharp & Dohme), Dr John Arkwright (CSIRO), Dr Christian Kroos (College of Arts-MARCS), Hamish Hawthorn (ATP-Innovation), and Dr Fiona Cameron (UWS I&C, Chair).Other IP Evaluation Panel dates for 2011 are:

»» Friday, 9 September 2011

»»Friday, 11 November 2011

Please contact us on ip@uws.edu.au if you have an interest in research or commercialisation of university IP.

UWS and Sydney Community Television

Did you know that the University of Western Sydney (UWS) established a free-to-air community television station, Television Sydney (TVS) in 2005 with a group of educational and community providers? It can be found on digital channel 44 and analogue channel 31 throughout Sydney and broadcasts twenty-four hours a day seven days a week.

Our television Broadcast Operations Centre is located on the University’s Werrington South campus within the School of Communication Arts, which is closely integrated with postgraduate programs in media and television. The facilities are state-of-the–art; including a television studio, streaming server, live outside broadcast remote facility and post production editing and sound studios.

Since February 2009 TVS has provided live streaming for all its shows and the (TVS) iPhone app now allows viewers to watch their favourite TVS shows wherever they are. This application also has an integrated program guide allowing users to browse through the television schedule and program information.

The focus is on Sydney-specific programming with some programs sourced from interstate community channels and from professional program makers. A number of programs are also produced and supplied by UWS and genuine not-for-profit community based program makers receive free program airtime.

An interesting range of programs are screened to appeal to a wide audience with just a small selection highlighted below:

· Science Spectrum- new series that takes viewers to the cutting edge of scientific research at UWS.
· Small Biz Central- Q & A forum for small business owners with UWS academics, industry experts and government advisors.
· Shelf Life- hosted by Dr Milissa Deitz and Dr Rachel Morley from the UWS School of Communication Arts, who interview local and international writers and discover the books that everyday readers are passionate about.
· Vasili's Garden- host Vasili tours Australian backyards in this Greek/English gardening show.
· Classic Restos- join host Fletch as he travels throughout Australia hunting down Australia's best classic car restorations.
· In Good Shape-the weekly health show that covers all aspects of health care.
· Foody and the Winemaker- bringing food and wine together in a series set around some of Australia's most famous wine growing regions

To view the complete range of programs on offer please click on the following link http://www.tvs.org.au/programs

UWS Futures Forum showcases our young researchers' potential

The University of Western Sydney recently showcased the achievements of its future scientific minds at the annual College of Health & Science, Research Futures Postgraduate Forum.

A diverse range of research within the College was presented from over 250 candidates and 120 honours students in the form of either a seminar or poster presentation, providing an excellent opportunity for learning and collaboration with other scientists from across the College in the fields of natural sciences, medical science, health education, nursing and midwifery, civionics, engineering, mathematics and computing to name a few.

Dr Julia Bowman (School of Biomedical and Health Sciences) and Dr Kathryn Sunn (Innovation & Consulting) had the arduous task of judging each of the 140 posters against set criteria related to technical, communication, organisational and conceptual thinking skills. The judges unanimously awarded, Engineering (construction) honours student, Zhenya Kremyshev’s poster on “Analysis of Sustainable Housing” as the overall winner. Second place also went to an honours student from the School of Engineering. Mitchell Dumesny’s poster on the ”Analysis and design of Electromagnetic Shock-Absorbers” was a very close second.

Again this year, UWS will be competing in the Australia wide 3 Minute Thesis Competition. The College of Health and Science will be sending 3 finalists to compete at the university level Competition. The 3 Minute Thesis Competition, requires graduate researchers to explain their research topic in accessible terms to a lay audience. It is based on the premise that the capacity to present a clear, concise, yet engaging description of the research project in 3 minutes is an essential skill that all graduate researchers should develop.

Whilst the competition was fierce, the ultimate finalists were PhD students Cherylea Browne for her presentation on “Investigating the mechanisms of tinnitus”, Aimee Bourne for her presentation on “Species diversity effects on forest ecosystem water-use” and Greg Whitely for his presentation on “Validation of Cleaning Surveillance Methods in the Control of Healthcare Associated Infection”. The 3 College finalists each received a cash prize of $500, to be used to enhance the research outcomes of their candidature.

If you have any inquiries about UWS research, please contact Professor Deborah Sweeney, College of Health & Science Director of Research on (02) 4736 0995.

UWS open to creating stronger links with industry

Image: Dr Rowan Gilmore FTSE, CEO Australian Institute for Commercialisation

The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE http://www.atse.org.au/) workshop held in May at the NSW Trade and Investment Centre in Sydney was entitled “Strengthening Links Between Industry and Public Sector Research Organisations”. Within a room packed with the Who’s Who of Science and Technology in Australia, it was concerning to hear industry’s consistent concerns about working with universities. There appeared to be a consensus view that universities will always claim the intellectual property for any project undertaken with an industry partner and drag out contract negotiations.

At UWS, we have been aware that such concerns may “frighten off” potential industry partners and have made a concentrated effort to consider all IP ownership scenarios based on input, background and commonsense.

It’s clear that from within the university environment that we need to make a better effort to communicate the coming of age of “tech transfer offices” and our open views to IP ownership, partnerships and contract negotiation.

If you are interested in exploring the opportunities at UWS for research, business or consulting purposes, please contact UWS I&C on ip@uws.edu.au

Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment (HIE) pushing the frontiers of environmental research

This multimillion dollar research institute dedicated to understanding how terrestrial ecosystems adapt to environmental change will be launched by UWS in 2011. The substantial body of researchers and technical experts in the HIE will undertake high level environmental research and provide scientific expertise through their applied research and land management programs to government and industry.

The establishment of the of the institute comes at a critical time as there is an ever increasing need to better understand how environmental changes impact upon ecosystems. A groundbreaking report by the UK National Ecosystem Assessment (UK NEA) is being used by policy makers in the UK to strengthen the argument for protecting the environment. The report puts a price on “nature” by determining the monetary value of UK natural environments. Examples include valuing the benefits that wetlands provide to water quality at £1.5 Billion, while pollinators are estimated to be worth £430 Million per year to British agriculture.

Aimed at solving critical environmental problems, the key issues being investigated by the HIE are those related to climate change, landscape revegetation and reforestation, bio-fuel production, and soil remediation.

Innovation & Consulting looks forward to being a part of the important industry collaborations that will emerge from the institute’s research outcomes. If you have any inquiries about harnessing UWS research for your business, please contact UWS Innovation & Consulting on (02) 9685 9742 or by email at ip@uws.edu.au