2019 ACES Year in Review: Stories, news and accomplishments

The year has come and gone – and what an amazing year it has been at ACES. A year full of ground-breaking research, fantastic accomplishments and hard work from everyone at each of our nodes, including the University of Wollongong, Monash University, University of Tasmania, Deakin University, University of Melbourne, Swinburne University of Technology, the Australian National University and University of New South Wales.

So, with 2019 coming to a close, here is a look back at a number of highlights from 2019, featuring some of our favourite stories, news, interviews and accomplishments.

January

• Our vision for 3D bioprinting in Australia: TRICEP (Translational Research Initiative for Cellular Engineering and Printing) continued to help us to take ideas to industry and used fundamental research and knowledge to create commercial opportunities.
• PhD Interviews with Thomas Blesch and Charbel Tawk: We spoke with ACES PhD candidates Thomas Blesch and Charbel Tawk about their research, their experiences along the way and more.

February

• Celebrating the life of Leon Kane-Maguire: The annual Leon Kane-Maguire Address was held at our ACES headquarters, celebrating the life of one of Australia’s late great scientific minds, Leon Kane-Maguire.
• Spinning fairy tales into reality to revolutionise implantable devices: The team from our University of Wollongong (UOW) node in collaboration with researchers from the University of Texas at Dallas, developed novel graphene fibres as a new electrical stimulation device.
• Researchers unite for the 2019 ACES Symposium: Internationally renowned researchers from around the globe came together from far and wide for our ACES Symposium.
• Lilith Caballero Aguilar talks about her career for International Women in Science Day: To celebrate International Day of Women and Girls in Science, ACES Swinburne University of Technology PhD candidate Lilith Caballero Aguilar was invited by the Mexican Network for Science, Technology and Gender (MEXCITEG) to talk about her career in science.

March

• The sutrode – a breakthrough in the field of electroceuticals: Driven by a need to develop more ‘body friendly’ fibres, the research team at our UOW node developed the ‘sutrode’, which combines the electrical properties of an electrode with the mechanical properties of a suture.
• IPRI research strengths on display for NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer: We had special visit from the NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer, Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte.
• PhD Interview with Jeremy Dinoro: We spoke ACES affiliate and UOW Biofabrication PhD student Jeremy Dinoro about his journey, research and more.

April

• Prof Gordon Wallace to help enable the conversation of life and death: Prof Gordon Wallace shared his insight into life and death at the Illawarra Centre for Enablement’s (ICfE) Enabling Conversations event.
• Prof Doug MacFarlane joins ABC’s The Science Show to talk about hydrogen and ammonia: ACES Chief Investigator Prof Doug MacFarlane went on ABC Radio National’s The Science Show to join the conversation on the future of hydrogen and ammonia.
• Prof Robert Kapsa contributes to Al Jazeera English’s Inside Story on human genome editing: ACES Chief Investigator Prof Robert Kapsa spoke with Al Jazeera English, offering his expertise on human genome editing.

May

• World-renowned burns specialist Prof Fiona Wood visits ACES: Prof Wood visited ACES to deliver an address to the public titled, ‘Tissue Regeneration, Tissue Delivery and Tissue Integration Challenges of the Future.’
• Prof Gordon Wallace: Visit to Vizag: ACES Director Prof Gordon Wallace reflected on his visit to Vizag, India to strengthen collaboration.

June

• PhD Interview with Luciana Yumiko Daikuara: We spoke ACES and UOW Biofabrication PhD student Luciana Yumiko Daikuara about her research, winning the 2018 Bill Wheeler Award, her future plans and more.
• Prof Mark Cook chats with ABC about concussion in sport: ACES Chief Investigator Prof Mark Cook featured on ABC Radio National’s Sporty program, offering his expertise on concussion in sport.
• Prof Jeremy Crook on ground-breaking stem cell research findings: We caught up with Prof Crook for further explanation on his research and the published paper, ‘Human Neural Tissues from Neural Stem Cells Using Conductive Biogel and Printed Polymer Microelectrode Arrays for 3D Electrical Stimulation’.

July

• 2019 ACES Full Centre Meeting Recap: We recapped this year’s ACES Full Centre Meeting, filled with research, training… and popcorn and ice-cream.
• From biomaterials to smart materials: ACES research contributes to breakthrough artificial muscles: Researchers from ACES’ lead node at UOW’s Intelligent Polymer Research Institute (IPRI), joined with international partners from the USA, China and South Korea, developed sheath-run artificial muscles (SRAMs) that can be used to create intelligent materials and fabrics that react by sensing the environment around them.
• A recap of the 2019 Graeme Clark Oration: We were lucky enough to attend the 2019 Graeme Clarke Oration and recapped the various activities throughout the event.
• Charbel Tawk and Lingzhi Kang succeed at the UOW Three Minute Thesis Final: We caught up with Charbel and Lingzhi for a few questions after their success in the UOW Three Minute Thesis Final.

August

• PhD Interview: Alex Nagle: We sat down with ACES and UOW PhD candidate Alex Nagle to chat about his research, the move over from Ireland, what his work involved and more.
• A visit for the community on IPRI Open Day to celebrate Science Week: Science Week is always an exciting time at ACES headquarters. We celebrated by inviting the community for a tour of our labs.
• Chunyan Qin receives the 2019 Bill Wheeler Award: The 2019 Bill Wheeler Award went to ACES affiliate Chunyan Qin for best communicating the social impact of her bionics research.
• ACES researchers shine in CSIRO’s ON Prime program: ACES Early Career Researcher Shaikh Faisal, ACES PhD student Aida Naseri and ANFF materials node staff member Gregory Ryder we awarded for their outstanding team performance in CSIRO’s ON Prime program.

September

• PhD Interview with Sidra Waheed: We caught up with ACES and Unversity of Tasmanis (UTAS) student Sidra Waheed as she put the finishing touches on her PhD for submission.
• Future student tour ACES on Open Day: Prospective students visited ACES for our annual Future Student Open Day.
• PhD Journey interviews with Zhi Chen, Alex Nagle and Charbel Dalely Tawk: Prof Wallace chatted to Zhi, Alex and Charbel about their PhD projects, future plans and more.
• Australia-India Council awards funding to further 3D bioprinting: A partnership between ACES, the University of Sydney (USYD) and advanced medical technology collaborators in India was one of 11 successful projects across Australia to receive funding from the Federal Government’s Australia-India Council (AIC).

October

• ACES researchers discover new technique for electrospinning: ACES researchers developed a new technique in the field of electrospinning, led by ACES PhD student Alex Nagle.
• Congratulations, Prof Jennifer Pringle: ACES Chief Investigator Jennifer Pringle was promoted from Associate Professor to full Professor.
• PhD Interview with Shuo Dong: We caught up with ACES and Monash University student Shuo Dong for a PhD Interview to find out more about his project, how he came to join ACES, his future plans and more.
• Prof Douglas MacFarlane appointed Sir John Monash Distinguished Professor: ACES Chief Investigator Prof Douglas MacFarlane was appointed as a Sir John Monash Distinguished Professor at Monash University.
• Master’s Journey interview with Ane Albillos Sanchez: Prof Gordon Wallace spoke with Ane to reflect on her ACES journey.

November

• Prof Junji Fukuda visits ACES to further latest collaboration: ACES collaborator Prof Junji Fukuda from the Fukuda Lab at Yokohama National University (YNU) in Japan was back in Australia to work with ACES Director Prof Wallace to continue to strengthen the relationship between ACES and YNU.
• Master’s Journey interviews with Jacopo Bani, Ane Urigoitia Asua and Borja Sanz Gutierrez: Prof Gordon Wallace spoke with Jacopo, Ane and Borja to reflect on their ACES journey.
• Prof Michael Higgins presents at UOW Big Ideas Festival: ACES Chief Investigator Prof Michael Higgins gave a talk at the UOW 2019 Big Ideas Festival on ‘Watching Movies of Single Molecules in Action’.
• Students celebrate at UOW graduation ceremony: A number of ACES and UOW students graduated in November.
• ACES researchers take top gong at 2019 Research Australia Awards: ACES took out the coveted Frontiers Research Award at the 2019 Research Australia Health and Medical Research Awards.
• International collaborators visit for wireless communication workshop: ACES played host to a number of international visitors for a workshop on wireless communication, whilst progressing research with our collaborators in Taiwan.

December

• Researcher Interview with Dr Justin Bourke: We caught up with Dr Bourke to find out more about his research, how he came to join ACES, his involvement with Women in STEMM Australia and more.
• Abdul Moqeet Hai named a UOW Global Travel Scholarship Video Challenge winner: UOW and ACES Affiliate PhD candidate Abdul Moqeet Hai we named as a winner for the Global Challenges 2019 Travel Scholarship Challenge for his video, ‘Silk Based Electrowritten Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering’.
• Prof Simon Moulton among 2019 Swinburne Vice-Chancellor’s Award winners: ACES Chief Investigator Prof Simon Moulton from our Swinburne University node and the entire team at the ARC Training Centre in Biodevices were awarded a Vice-Chancellor’s Research Excellence Award.
• Jiahao Zhang and Ruijie Qiu visit from Shaanxi University: Master’s students from Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Jiahao Zhang and Ruijie Qiu, came to ACES for a three-month research visit.
• Prof Gursel Alici joins the Soft Robotics Podcast: ACES Chief Investigator Prof Gursel Alici joined the Soft Robotics Podcast to share his knowledge in the field.

For all ACES stories, be sure to check out our News Page.

Until next year…