Institute closes gap between commerce and science

The career prospects of Institute for Eye Research student Riaz Rasul, have been boosted via a scholarship aimed at enhancing the commercialisation knowledge and project management skills of postgraduate research students.

The PhD candidate was recently awarded a $10 000 University of NSW scholarship to undertake a Graduate Certificate in Research Management and Commercialisation. The scholarship aims to equip research students with the skills and knowledge to convert research-based ideas, inventions and innovations into marketable products.

According to Institute for Eye Research CEO, Professor Brien Holden, revenue derived from the commercial products resulting from research innovations has been crucial to the Institute’s ability to grow over twenty years.

Professor Holden says, “The commercialisation of our research findings is imperative to our future success. This year the Institute will invest $600 000 in postgraduate research education. We wouldn’t be able to pursue further breakthroughs in vision care and educate the next generation of researchers without that revenue.”

Originally from Karachi in Pakistan, Riaz has taken a circuitous route to fulfil his dream of undertaking a PhD. After completing undergraduate studies and a Masters degree in food microbiology in Karachi, Riaz’s career took him to Saudi Arabia, where he spent six years working as a microbiologist.

Limited funding opportunities to pursue a PhD in Pakistan led Riaz to Australia. He says, “Undertaking a PhD was a kind of passion for me.” Shortly after arriving in Australia he won a PhD scholarship to study at the Institute for Eye Research.

Riaz’s research project is investigating a novel antimicrobial coating for biomaterials, specifically an antimicrobial cationic peptide called ‘melimine’, which has anti-bacterial effects on a wide range of bacteria.

Chief Scientific Officer at the Institute, Professor Mark Willcox, also the project supervisor, explains, "This project is at the centre of IER’s push to develop ways of controlling bacterial infection associated with contact lens wear. The basic research that Riaz is doing will help us understand mechanisms of action of certain antimicrobials.”

The potential application of this research could not only lead to significant medical benefits, but may also create important commercial opportunities for the Institute. As Professor Willcox notes, “The research has application not only in the area of contact lenses, but more broadly in biomaterials such as those used in hospitals - catheters, artificial hearts, replacement joints"

One aspect of the project has involved researchers from outside the Institute. Riaz explains, “I’m also working on the mechanisms of action of melimine - to understand exactly how it’s killing the bacteria - and that involves collaborations with the School of Chemistry at the University of NSW”.

Supervising the project is Professor Mark Willcox. Dr Nerida Cole from the Institute for Eye Research and Naresh Kumar from the School of Chemistry, UNSW, are co-supervisors.