Scientists at the University of Wollongong have been recognised for their innovative research projects that provide new approaches to tricky to treat medical conditions.
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Researchers from Wollongong are finalists in two categories at this year's Eureka Awards, Australia top award for science.
A breakthrough finding in a disease that has been known for more than a century but has no effective treatment has led to Professor Justin Yerbury being nominated as a finalist in the 2022 UNSW Eureka Prize for Scientific Research.
Professor Yerbury is known for his research on Motor Neuron Disease (MND), a fatal disease which affects nerves in the brain and spinal cord.
Professor Yerbury and his research team found the cause of the pathological hallmark of MND, a dysfunction in a process known as protein homeostasis in the protein deposits within motor neurons.
Professor Yerbury's findings are already informing the search for new therapies for the untreatable disease.
"MND was discovered more than a century ago, yet there is still no effective treatment, so continued research is vital," he said.
"I can personally attest to the devastating nature of the disease and the challenges that one faces not only in continuing to work and be productive but to face the effects that such a diagnosis has on the people closest to you as they watch helplessly as you are stripped of your ability to move, eat and eventually breathe."
Professor Yerbury, who has been diagnosed with MND himself, has already completed groundbreaking research on the biochemical processes that lead to the loss of motor neurons in MND, leading to new therapeutics.
A technique of 3D bioprinting ears has put Professor Gordon Wallace and Dr Johnson Chung among finalists in the excellence in interdisciplinary scientific research category.
Bringing together researchers in fields including medicine, engineering and prosthetics, the NEW EARS project provides a low-cost, single-step solution to the normally complex procedure of ear reconstruction.
Using new materials and 3D bioprinting technology, researchers from Wollongong worked alongside colleagues from the RPA Institute of Academic Surgery and the Chris O'Brien Lifehouse.
Professor Wallace said the team hopes to have their technique deployed in treatments soon.
"The number of people involved in this project is extensive," he said. "We are all proud of where we have got to so far and are all determined to realise clinical deployment."
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