Gene Patent Bill

A private members bill seeking to restrict the patenting of genes and related biological material was introduced into parliament last year by Senators Coonan (Lib), Heffernan (Lib), Siewert (Gr) and Xenophon (Ind). The bill is entitled "Patent Amendment (Human Genes and Biological Materials) Bill 2010".

Currently, the Patents Act 1990 explicitly states that “human beings, and the biological processes for their generation, are not patentable”.

The proposed bill seeks to expressly exclude a second category of subject matter from patentability, namely “biological materials” (including DNA, RNA, proteins, cells and fluids) whether isolated or purified or not and however made, which are identical or substantially identical to such materials as they exist in nature.

UWS Innovation & Consulting is preparing a submission to the Senate Inquiry on behalf of the University arguing against the proposed bill. We believe that if the legislative amendment is progressed in its current form, it would have far-reaching and unintended consequences across the biotechnology industry, impacting on those developing novel therapies, tests, vaccines and drug delivery platforms.

Indeed, research at UWS would likely suffer. Researcher Dr. Anya Salih has attracted worldwide attention for her research into novel fluorescent proteins from Australian coral. The genes responsible for fluorescence in the coral have potential for use in wider gene expression research. A ban on gene patenting would likely affect levels of external funding for this and other important gene-related research work.

Submissions to the Senate Inquiry must be lodged by 25 February 2011.

Neuroprotective Compound Research

Professor Nikolaus Sucher of the Centre for Complementary Medicine (Complemed) is investigating the ability of hormones such as oestrogen and other similar natural compounds to protect the brain from degenerative disease by looking at their effects on a molecular level. This research is supported by a grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council. Read the full story here.

Complemed's research into the efficacy, safety and use of complimentary medicine will hopefully present opportunities for commercial success in the complementary medicines industry in Australia. For more information on the important research being conducted at the centre, please visit their website.

CompleMED scientists use functional genomics and proteomics as well as biophysical and phytochemical methods to elucidate the molecular basis of action of Chinese herbal medicines. The Herbal Analysis Laboratory features a range of chromatographic and spectroscopic equipment for the isolation, extraction and identification of herbal constituents, and is an accredited Good Laboratory Practice laboratory through the TGA (Therapeutic Goods Administration). The Herbal Pharmacology Laboratory is PC2 accredited and designed for biomolecular studies including high throughput bioassays and quantitative real time polymerase chain reactions. The tissue culture facility allows a variety of human and animal cell lines to be cultured, to enable research into biochemical, molecular biological or biophysical experiments under controlled conditions. The facility is notable for being able to undertake patch clamp electrophysiology and digital fluorescence imaging at the same time.

If you have any additional inquiries, please do not hesitate to contact the UWS Innovation team.

Filipino Australian Engineers visit UWS

Dr Mithra Fernando of UWS Engineering shows the visitors a concrete testing project.


Key officers and members of the Filipino Australian Engineers Association Inc (FAEA) were jointly hosted by UWS Innovation & Consulting and the UWS School of Engineering/Civionics Centre on their visit to UWS. Engineers there on the day represented Kneebone, Beretta and Hall Consulting Engineers, NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water, Rail Corp, J Wyndham Prince Pty Ltd, and a variety of small private contracting and engineering practices based in Greater Western Sydney. Professor Brian Uy welcomed the guests to the UWS Civionics Centre at the Kingswood Campus. The delegates enjoyed a tour of the state-of-the-art engineering laboratory which is reputed to have one of Australia’s best equipment for testing and monitoring for the construction and manufacturing industries, working with steel, plastics and their composites, polystyrene, alloys and timber. The UWS capabilities for mechatronics, industrial design and small-scale production were also showcased in the tour of the facilities.

One of the topics discussed during the open forum was finding pathways to enable recognition of foreign trained migrant engineers from Asia by the Institution of Engineers, Australia. The UWS Master of Engineering course may already be used as one of the pathways for migrant engineers.

UWS Engineering capability statement can be found at http://www.uws.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/142249/CS_Engineering.pdf.

Companies wanting to find out more about working with UWS engineering should contact UWS Innovation &Consulting at ip@uws.edu.au .

University of Western Sydney 2010 Partnership Awards

Mr Russel Rankin- Food Innovation Partners (Left), Dr Gavin Recchia and Mr William Hird-Davies Collison Cave (Centre); Mr Paul Brennan-Penrith Business Alliance (Right)

The University’s annual Partnership Awards were held on its Parramatta Campus on the 10^th December last year. These awards support the University’s commitment to community engagement and recognise outstanding partnerships developed between the University, external organisations and individuals, particularly in Greater Western Sydney.

The Innovation & Consulting team nominated three of its partners who were acknowledged with a partnership award at the ceremony.

Food Innovation Partners Pty Ltd- Award accepted by Mr Russel Rankin

The collaborative relationship between UWS Innovation & Consulting and Food Innovation Partners has increased the University’s direct exposure to the food industry in Australia and improved its capability and expertise in agriculture and food. As a result of this strong partnership, the University has been able to respond to the food industry’s need for training and technology by holding an industry workshop to facilitate future partnerships and directions.

Davies Collison Cave- Award accepted by Dr Gavin Recchia and Mr William Hird

UWS Innovation & Consulting has partnered with Davies Collison Cave since 2008 who have been providing engaged research, learning and teaching opportunities in relation to the identification and protection of intellectual property rights. In addition, this partnership has enabled UWS to protect identified intellectual property with a commercial interest to the University.

Recipients of the award, Dr Recchia and Mr Hird, are both partners at the Sydney office of the patent attorney firm Davies Collison Cave specialising in the areas of biotechnology and in the clean technology sector respectively.

Penrith Business Alliance – Award accepted by Mr Paul Brennan (Chairman)

The Penrith Business Alliance (PBA) is an independent organisation that is funded by Penrith City Council to achieve economic growth and development objectives through to 2031. Its major goal is to create an additional 40,000 jobs in the local economy for Penrith city. UWS Innovation & Consulting has been partnering with PBA on a number of projects designed to achieve this goal, including the master plan for the “Penrith Health and Education Precinct”, which includes preliminary concept plans for a range of innovative and commercial based projects in the area. For further details on these projects please refer to the following link to PBA’s website http://penrithbusinessalliance.com.au/

Wind-excited tall buildings

Professor Kenny Kwok from the School of Engineering will lead a team of researchers to investigate the effects of wind-induced vibration on occupants of tall buildings. This project is supported by an Australian Research Council Discovery grant. The multi-disciplinary team includes Professor Vaughan Macefield, School of Medicine, UWS, Dr Peter Hitchcock from the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, and Dr Darren Walton of Opus International Consultants, Wellington N.Z. The project will also include the research training of a postgraduate student.

For the full story on UWS research visit the UWS research success page http://www.uws.edu.au/research/success or download the pdf onthis story:

http://www.uws.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/150327/060910_Wind-excitedTallBuildings_Kwok.pdf

Food Forum Outcomes

Image: Russell Rankin (left), Michael Eyles (middle) and Robert Burnside (right)

The UWS Future of Food Forum has garnered significant attention from the food processing industry since it was held on the 30th of November 2010. Read all about the event and its outcomes in the recent UWS news release. UWS hopes to build upon the success of the forum in 2011 and we look forward to collaborating with our industry partners to deliver upon the needs of both the University and industry.

Please contact us for more information on the outcomes of the event.

VC Award for the Innovation Team at UWS

Image: The UWS Innovation Team: (left to right) Robert Burnside, Fiona Cameron, Stephan Golla, Kathryn Sunn (Absent)

The contributions of the UWS Innovation team was recognised last Friday at the UWS Vice-Chancellor’s Excellence Awards. The team won its nomination in the “Excellence in Entrepreneurship and Innovation” category for the development and implementation of the Equipment Utilisation Program.

The team recently pursued an entrepreneurial initiative that led to the development of an integrated and novel solution for the provision of scientific equipment access to external researchers and industry. Benefits include increased internal usage, market visibility and accessibility, increased scientific collaboration at all levels and the development of important links between UWS and industry.

We encourage you to check out our webpage for more information on the equipment available for use. Please make sure you visit the site regularly for updates on the range of equipment available and information on subsidies and government programs that may assist SMEs with funds to access equipment.