Industry partnership aims to heal wound control problem
University of Newcastle experts and industry leaders will join forces to develop new ways to address wound control, a distressing problem that costs the Australian healthcare industry $3.5b each year.
[Updated on 5 June 2024*]
Minister for Industry and Science, Hon Ed Husic MP, announced $44m in AusIndustry Cooperative Research Centre – Projects (CRC-P) grants to fund 19 industry-led collaborations with researchers and end users.
Newcastle researchers, led by Professor Sarah Johnson, will work with Hunter-based therapeutic goods manufacturer Whiteley Corporation, Genesys Electronics Design and Western Sydney University to develop better treatments for chronic wounds.
The latest grant worth $1.97m brings the total funding for the ‘Effective management of Chronic Wounds’ project to $5.6m over three years.
Outcomes delivered through this Cooperative Research Centre have the potential to deliver medical improvements in Australia and worldwide.
University of Newcastle Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) Professor Zee Upton said its researchers were renowned for finding new ways to help people live better, healthier lives.
“We also have a strong track record of working with industry partners to turn innovative ideas into real-world solutions,” Professor Upton said.
Effective management of chronic wounds requires a combination of treatments that include wound debridement, an anti-biofilm treatment, wound mapping, and a deeper tissue perception of bacterial engagement beyond the wound surface, which cannot typically be seen. This collaboration aims to tackle those elements not as individual, stand-alone issues but through a holistic approach to chronic wound care.
Executive Chairman of Whiteley Corporation, Associate Professor Greg Whiteley, said the work would be of major medical impact worldwide.
“Chronic wounds start with a minor skin injury that doesn’t heal but progresses to a problem costing $3.5 billion each year in Australia alone,” he said.
The funding enables industry innovators, researchers, students, and end-users to work together to deliver real outcomes for our community, including job growth within Australian manufacturing to support our local economy.
*Collaborators have changed since the partnership was initially announced. Content has been updated to reflect the current project partners.
Contact
- Carmen Swadling, Communications Coordinator
- Phone: +61 2 4985 4276
- Email: carmen.swadling@newcastle.edu.au
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