Fellowship supports research into special bandages that prevent scarring
Published Tuesday, 10 July, 2007 at 02:08 PM
Minister for State Development, Employment and Industrial Relations
The Honourable John Mickel
Critical research into a special bandage that can prevent disfiguring scarring has received a major boost today from the Queensland Government.
Queensland Minister for State Development John Mickel said Dr Timothy Dargaville from the Queensland University of Technology’s Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation had received a $150,000 Smart State Fellowship for his pioneering work on using advanced polymer chemistry as a new therapy for scarring.
“Dr Dargaville’s work holds out immense hope for people with burn-related scars as well as people who are genetically predisposed to scarring due to abnormal healing after injury or surgery,” Mr Mickel said.
“Each year hundreds of Queensland children receive shocking scars from burns, usually from hot liquid like boiling water. The effect to children from burns is immense, both physically and psychologically. Very often they suffer severe damage to a large part of their body, including the face and neck.
“In 2005, the Royal Children’s Hospital in Brisbane alone received over 450 children with new burns, many of them requiring extended hospitalisation.”
He said on top of that, over 2000 Queenslanders per year had melanomas removed that left relatively small, but noticeable scars.
“And some Queenslanders, particularly Indigenous Australians, are predisposed to abnormal wound healing leading to keloid or hypertrophic scarring.
“The quality of life of patients who have suffered unsightly scarring is significantly affected in terms of self-perception and willingness to engage in social activities. This is why Dr Dargaville’s work is so important – if he can develop a bandage that reduces scarring, that will have a huge impact on a lot of lives,” Mr Mickel said.
Dr Dargaville said his research focused on developing an interactive polymer bandage, based on hydrogel technology that was programmed to release an active healing agent upon contact with the skin.
“The idea is to accentuate the body’s own healing system, encouraging cell regeneration and repair, thus controlling the formation of scar tissue and also reducing the detrimental effect of existing scars,” Dr Dargaville said.
“If we can achieve that, this will help repair the damage much quicker than current tissue repair therapies and be more effective than any other product currently on the market,” he said.
Mr Mickel said Queensland was already developing a reputation as a hub for expertise in wound healing.
“Professor Zee Upton and her team at the Institute of Health and Biomedical Research along with the QUT spin-off company Tissue Therapies Ltd, with its VitroGro technology, are helping the Smart State attain ‘iconic status’ for products to treat wounds,” Mr Mickel said.
The Smart State Fellowships are part of the Queensland Government’s $200 million Smart State Innovation Funding Program, which aims to build world-class research facilities, attract top-quality scientists to Queensland and stimulate cutting-edge research projects.
Round Two of the Smart State Innovation Funds set out about $18.5 million in assistance, including project funding, research fellowships and university internships
Mr Mickel is hosting a special reception at 3pm today for the latest recipients of the Smart State Fellowship and Queensland Clinical Research Fellowship programs at the Queensland Room, the Executive Building, 100 George Street, Brisbane.
“The Queensland Government has invested more than $3 billion in innovation, science and research since 1998. I think this demonstrates our deep and ongoing commitment to maintaining Queensland’s reputation as the Smart State,” Mr Mickel said.
Dr Dargaville’s Smart State Fellowship is co-sponsored by the Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation and Tissue Therapies, who have awarded matching funds.
Media contact: Chris Brown 3224 7349 or Elouise Campion 3224 6784.
10 July 2007
Queensland Minister for State Development John Mickel said Dr Timothy Dargaville from the Queensland University of Technology’s Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation had received a $150,000 Smart State Fellowship for his pioneering work on using advanced polymer chemistry as a new therapy for scarring.
“Dr Dargaville’s work holds out immense hope for people with burn-related scars as well as people who are genetically predisposed to scarring due to abnormal healing after injury or surgery,” Mr Mickel said.
“Each year hundreds of Queensland children receive shocking scars from burns, usually from hot liquid like boiling water. The effect to children from burns is immense, both physically and psychologically. Very often they suffer severe damage to a large part of their body, including the face and neck.
“In 2005, the Royal Children’s Hospital in Brisbane alone received over 450 children with new burns, many of them requiring extended hospitalisation.”
He said on top of that, over 2000 Queenslanders per year had melanomas removed that left relatively small, but noticeable scars.
“And some Queenslanders, particularly Indigenous Australians, are predisposed to abnormal wound healing leading to keloid or hypertrophic scarring.
“The quality of life of patients who have suffered unsightly scarring is significantly affected in terms of self-perception and willingness to engage in social activities. This is why Dr Dargaville’s work is so important – if he can develop a bandage that reduces scarring, that will have a huge impact on a lot of lives,” Mr Mickel said.
Dr Dargaville said his research focused on developing an interactive polymer bandage, based on hydrogel technology that was programmed to release an active healing agent upon contact with the skin.
“The idea is to accentuate the body’s own healing system, encouraging cell regeneration and repair, thus controlling the formation of scar tissue and also reducing the detrimental effect of existing scars,” Dr Dargaville said.
“If we can achieve that, this will help repair the damage much quicker than current tissue repair therapies and be more effective than any other product currently on the market,” he said.
Mr Mickel said Queensland was already developing a reputation as a hub for expertise in wound healing.
“Professor Zee Upton and her team at the Institute of Health and Biomedical Research along with the QUT spin-off company Tissue Therapies Ltd, with its VitroGro technology, are helping the Smart State attain ‘iconic status’ for products to treat wounds,” Mr Mickel said.
The Smart State Fellowships are part of the Queensland Government’s $200 million Smart State Innovation Funding Program, which aims to build world-class research facilities, attract top-quality scientists to Queensland and stimulate cutting-edge research projects.
Round Two of the Smart State Innovation Funds set out about $18.5 million in assistance, including project funding, research fellowships and university internships
Mr Mickel is hosting a special reception at 3pm today for the latest recipients of the Smart State Fellowship and Queensland Clinical Research Fellowship programs at the Queensland Room, the Executive Building, 100 George Street, Brisbane.
“The Queensland Government has invested more than $3 billion in innovation, science and research since 1998. I think this demonstrates our deep and ongoing commitment to maintaining Queensland’s reputation as the Smart State,” Mr Mickel said.
Dr Dargaville’s Smart State Fellowship is co-sponsored by the Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation and Tissue Therapies, who have awarded matching funds.
Media contact: Chris Brown 3224 7349 or Elouise Campion 3224 6784.
10 July 2007