REDI Fellowship Networking Events Celebrate Program’s Success for Research and Industry

30 November 2023

Pictured: The REDI Fellowship Networking Series event in Perth celebrated REDI Fellowships in Western Australia and provided a good opportunity for Fellows, sponsors and employers to network and connect as part of this very successful industry-research program.

Throughout 2023, MTPConnect’s Researcher Exchange and Development within Industry (REDI) initiative has been celebrating the extraordinary success of the REDI Fellowship program through a series of REDI Fellowship Networking events held around Australia.

The REDI Fellowship Networking Series kicked off in Adelaide in May this year with a celebration of its South Australia cohort of Fellows, sponsors and employers. Since then, the REDI program team has travelled around Australia to host networking events for its cohorts in Melbourne in August, Brisbane in October, and Sydney and Perth in November.

Launched in December 2020, the REDI Fellowship program is an Australian first, providing grants of up to $250,000 per fellow, per annum to Australian, international and/or multinational companies to select a researcher, academic, clinician or technology transfer professional to collaborate on priority medical research projects involving discovery, translation and commercialisation.

Pictured: Valuable networking and making connections at the REDI Fellowships Networking Series event in Sydney in November 2023.

Sought-after Fellowships creating meaningful links between industry and research

MTPConnect’s CEO Stuart Dignam said the sought-after REDI Fellowships have created meaningful links allowing researchers to move seamlessly between research and industry in Australia and internationally.

“The REDI Fellowships are improving engagement between researchers and industry, driving commercial project development and providing fellows with real-world innovation experiences within research-intensive industry settings.

“We’ve been delighted that so many companies here and internationally, from CSL, Paige and AstraZeneca to Leica Biosystems, 4DMedical and Pharmaxis are tapping into Australia’s talent base to develop new medical product.

“Not only have fellows benefited from working within industry settings, but the program has ensured they return to their home institution – so they have been able to share their industry experiences and learnings within the research sector and help drive commercialisation-focused culture change. Just one of the many positive and valuable outcomes of the REDI Fellowships program,” Mr Dignam said.

Pictured: The REDI Fellowship Networking Series event in Adelaide, South Australia in May 2023 - a great opportunity for REDI Fellows based in SA to catch-up and connect.

In total, 51 REDI Fellowships have been awarded since the program began – with three Fellowships awarded in 2023. In May, it was announced that Dr Alex Smith from the University of Queensland will work with Cytiva – a global leader in life sciences based in Seoul, South Korea. In August, two Fellowships were announced with the WEHI’s Dr Destiny Dalseno taking a placement with Yuhan – a leading pharmaceutical company in South Korea and The Hudson Institute of Medical Research’s Dr Shayanti Mukerjee to work on a project with Moderna’s Regional Research Centre for Respiratory Medicines and Tropical Diseases in Melbourne.

Collaborating with renowned institutions and companies nationally and internationally

The REDI Fellowships have involved renowned institutions, organisations and companies in Australia and internationally including US-based companies Paige, Penumbra, Qpex Biopharma Inc, AstraZeneca in the UK, TissueGnostics in Austria, Cochlear Ltd, CSL, NSW Health Pathology, WEHI, University of Sydney, Pharmaxis Ltd, University of Melbourne, Stryker, QUT, Deakin University, 4DMedical, La Trobe University, QIMR Berghofer, CSIRO, University of South Australia, IP Group Australia, IDE Group, Leica Biosystems, Microba Life Sciences Limited, Perx Health, Monash Health, SpeedX Pty Ltd, Vaxxas, Griffith University … and the list goes on.

Pictured: Celebrating and connecting with our REDI Fellows in Brisbane in October. From left, MTPConnect COO Ms Lisa Dubé; REDI Fellows - Dr Alex Smith, Fellowship with Cytiva, Employer University of Queensland; Dr Elke Hacker, Fellowship with Vaxxas, Employer University of Queensland; Associate Professor Michelle Hill, Fellowship with Microba, Employer University of Queensland; Professor Jyotsna Batra, Fellowship with TissueGnostics, Employer QUT; Associate Professor Jason Lee, Fellowship with IP Group, Employer QMIR Berghofer; Professor Sudha Rao, Fellowship with Nano String, Employer QMIR Berghofer; Dr Edmund Pickering, Fellowship with Stryker Australia Pty Ltd, Employer QUT; Dr Ali Dehghan-Manshadi, Fellowship with Stryker Australia Pty Ltd, Employer University of Queensland; and Director, REDI program Mr Jarrod Belcher.

REDI program Director, Jarrod Belcher said he is constantly amazed at the impact the REDI Fellowships have had since the program began.

“The REDI Fellowships show over and over the value of true industry-academia partnerships. The Fellows continually tell me about how life-changing a REDI Fellowship is, and how it transforms their career.

“REDI Fellowship sponsors wax lyrical over the quality of talent they have access to through our program, and the employers value the new skills and connections most Fellows develop and progress through agreements with the Sponsor.

One of the most impactful programs in the ecosystem in Australia

“The 360-degree feedback received is that the REDI Fellowships are one of the most impactful programs in the ecosystem here in Australia, and I am delighted to be part of this game changing initiative under the leadership of the REDI Steering Committee and Fellowships Advisory Committee.

“I know the relationships forged and projects delivered over the duration of the Fellowships program will stand the test of time and many connections will continue, as we are already seeing evidence of new collaborations beginning," Mr Belcher said.

The Australia-wide REDI Fellowship Networking Series events celebrated and further connected the REDI Fellows based in each respective state and those integral to the success of the REDI Fellowship program, as well as providing an opportunity to thank everyone involved.

MTPConnect’s CEO Stuart Dignam said: “The connections between the REDI Fellowships participants will have a ripple effect and further build industry and research connections in Australia and around the world, which is an excellent outcome for our extraordinarily successful, extremely popular and sought-after REDI Fellowship Program.”

Pictured: The Melbourne REDI Fellowships Networking event was held at CSL Global Headquarters.

A few comments posted on LinkedIn from REDI Fellows, sponsors and employers who attended the Networking events around Australia are shared here:

Perth Networking event:

“The REDI Fellowship program is such a great program, which makes a really significant impact on all the partners – the fellow, the industry partner, the research partner AND the sector. The benefits aren’t just short term either – driving commercialisation skills for everyone and growing a wider entrepreneurship and innovation culture.”

Mr Simon Graindorge, COO, OncoRes Medical  (REDI Fellow, Dr Aroosha Safari, South Metropolitan Health Service)

Sydney Networking event:

“A great evening networking with such an interesting and inspiring group. Proud to have been a part of the program and I really value the connections it has let me make.”

Dr Hilary Byrne, REDI Fellow with 4DMedical, and Program Manager and Research Fellow, University of Sydney

“Hilary Byrne your contribution at 4DMedical validates the value of REDI Fellows.”

Mr Clint Rodgers, Vice-President Strategic Communications and Corporate Affairs (Global), 4DMedical

Pictured: At the Brisbane REDI Fellowships Networking event, from left, MTPConnect's COO Ms Lisa Dubé, CEO TissueGnostics Dr Rupert Ecker, and REDI program Director Mr Jarrod Belcher.

Brisbane Networking event:

“It was indeed a great pleasure to host Professor Jyotsna Batra in our corporate headquarters in Vienna, Austria, and we are pleased to start our new subsidiary – after the US and China – here in Australia with an excellent partner network, to which Jyotsna's REDI Fellowship contributed substantially!”

Dr Rupert Ecker, CEO, TissueGnostics

“The MTPConnect REDI Fellowships continue to amaze me. New connections between industry and academia are very powerful. I expected ongoing collaborations, but I never expected a world leading company such as TissueGnostics (who have been featured on Bloomberg to over 300M people worldwide) would set up TissueGnostics Australia largely based on the quality of research in Australia showcased through its REDI Fellow Jyotsna Batra. Wow. Thanks, Rupert Ecker for the vote of confidence in Australia and the REDI Fellowship program.”

Mr Jarrod Belcher, Director REDI Program, MTPConnect