REDI Supports New Bridge and BridgeTech Industry Fellowships
14 June 2023
Twenty leading pharmaceutical and medtech researchers from around Australia have been awarded short-term industry placements to further their commercialisation skills via the fourth round of the Bridge and BridgeTech Industry Fellowships Program.
The industry-based fellowships aim to provide real-world industry experience to boost skills and advance the collaborations and networks needed to push research and technology towards commercialisation.
The Bridge and BridgeTech Industry Fellowships, facilitated by QUT and funded by MTPConnect’s Researcher Exchange and Development within Industry (REDI) initiative for the Australian Government’s Medical Research Future Fund, provide up to $10,000 to support the placement of participants and alumni of the Bridge Program and BridgeTech Program within industry.
Successful applicants were assessed by members of the Bridge and BridgeTech Program industry consortia and selected based on their research outcomes; commercial acumen; industry engagement including the proposed host partner and the commercial potential of their research or technology. The industry placements are mutually beneficial, providing the host partner with exceptionally skilled and industry-chosen researchers, and providing the researchers with invaluable hands-on experience.
The fellowship recipients from the Bridge Program this year are:
- Adrian Wiegmans, QUT (Queensland), Industry Partner – CARPE Vitae Pharmaceuticals
- Arisbel Batista Gondin, Monash University (Victoria), Industry Partner – CSL
- Helene Lebhar, UNSW (New South Wales), Industry Partner – CSL
- Melanie Hutton, Monash University (Victoria), Industry Partner – Immuron
- Lorraine Mackenzie, UniSA (South Australia) Industry Partner – Dermal Technology Laboratory
- Jake Russell, UQ (Queensland), Industry Partner – Patheon Biologics by Thermo Fisher
- Pradeep Sadasivan Pillai, UniSA (South Australia), Industry Partner – Main Sequence Ventures
- Sheng Yu Ang, Monash University (Victoria), Industry Partner – IP Group
- Nikolay Shirokikh, ANU (Australian Capital Territory), Industry Partner – Myeloid Therapeutics
- Simona Carbone, Monash University (Victoria), Industry Partner – Alimetry
The fellowship recipients from the BridgeTech Program this year are:
- Larisa Haupt, QUT (Queensland), Industry Partner – Tissue Gnostics Global
- Shaeez Usman Abdulla, Queensland Government (Queensland), Industry Partner – Siemens Healthineers
- Riccardo Natoli, ANU (Australian Capital Territory), Industry Partner – VivaZome Therapeutics
- Eleonore Bolle, UQ (Queensland), Industry Partner – BiVACOR
- Michelle Low, Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery (Victoria), Industry Partner – Lincoln Consulting Group
- Kevin Koo, UQCCR – UQ (Queensland), Industry Partner – AdvanCell
- Damien Gulliver, InvertiGro (New South Wales), Industry Partner – Cicada Innovations
- Thomas Meikle, Baker Institute (Victoria), Industry Partner – Trajan Scientific and Medical
- Ganesh Naik, Flinders University (South Australia), Industry Partner – Spark
- Clarissa Yates, AIBN – UQ (Queensland), Industry Partner – Southern RNA
QUT’s Distinguished Professor Lyn Griffiths AM, Director of the Bridge and BridgeTech Programs, indicated that these short-term placements have been rewarding and enlightening for the previous three rounds of the program.
“These fellowships allow our participants to implement the commercialisation training they’ve undertaken in our programs and translate these skills into tangible outcomes. In the previous Fellowship rounds we have seen numerous industry connections made and relationships solidified into ongoing collaborations and leveraged funding.
"For the current cohort, they’ll be able to work directly with industry and bring those enhanced skills and relationships back to their university or organisation, with a perspective of what industry is looking for in research commercialisation.
“We look forward to the seeing the outcomes of each of these placements, the collaborations that transpire and what impact the projects have on patients and the health sector,” said Distinguished Professor Lyn Griffiths AM.
These fellowship placements will be completed before the end of this year and will support a range of activities agreed on between fellows and partners. Activities and projects proposed cover training and mentorship, scientific project work, regulatory projects, IP protection strategies, prototyping and market research.
To find out more about the program, explore the QUT website or contact the Bridge and BridgeTech Industry Fellowships Program team.