Molecular Engineering Research Laboratory

19/03/2025

Our lab is looking forward to getting some rapid on-site PCR testing into piggeries. Hopefully first demonstration systems going on-site (for salmonella initially) in just a few months. If farm are interested in trialling please contact jmacdon1@usc.edu.au

14/03/2025

https://www.usc.edu.au/about/unisc-news/news-archive/2025/march/pigs-healthier-and-farmers-wealthier-how-a-unisc-invention-can-help

A University of the Sunshine Coast invention to keep pigs healthy and put more money in the pockets of farmers has received almost $500,000 in Federal Government funding.

05/03/2025

Excited to have recieved funding from the AEA Ignite Program. This will enable us to accelerate our work towards enhancing pig farm productivity - by integrating real-time, on-site disease detection. Looking forward to progressing this in collaboration with University of the Sunshine Coast and BioCifer.

Twenty-eight universities have been awarded 155 research grants under the first round of AEA Ignite.

These grants will help researchers translate world-class research into new industries, services and jobs.

Projects include the development of a sensor for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease, development of an implantable device for pancreatic cancer treatment, and zero-emission safer roads for rural and regional road systems.

Read the full list of successful projects at http://srkr.io/6186ZIY

21/08/2024

This week in our journal club we read the fascinating paper by Bracha et al., where they engineered Toxoplasma gondii to deliver therapeutic proteins to the brain. Joanne Macdonald even got to chat about it with science reporter Jacinta Bowler, who published a really clear and fascinating explanation of the article here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2024-08-21/pathogens-toxoplasma-gondi-medicine/104166564

Original article here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-024-01750-6

While humans and pathogens have waged war for millennia, researchers suggest even dangerous parasites like Toxoplasma gondii could be engineered for use in medicines.

18/11/2023

Do you know any horse owners, vets, farriers, horse dentists in Australia? If so, would you please ask them to fill out this survey? We're trying to get an estimate of how important a test for Hendra virus would be for the horse industry.

Please help improve Hendra virus testing by answering this short survey. Estimated time for survey completion: 3-5 minutes.

12/10/2023

12/10/2023

Our latest research, published in Frontiers in Microbiology, shows a faster way to process samples for SARS-CoV-2 PCR testing. Combined with a portable PCR machine for decentralized testing, we could speed up results for patients needing anti-viral treatment.

19/08/2023

Watch this great clip made by Channel 7, showcasing our rapid Dengue test made by Madeeha Ahmed, Nina Pollak, Joanne Macdonald and our collaborators. Many thanks to our Industry partner BioCifer for hosting the filming in their labs, where Madeeha is now working.

07/03/2023

We're excited to share that our rapid test for virus has been published. We're making it safe to do field testing because the virus is inactivated in the first step of the procedure. Developed in collaboration with CSIRO, BioCifer & University of the Sunshine Coast.

University of the Sunshine Coast-led research has developed a simple dipstick test to screen for a highly infectious, potentially deadly virus transmitted by bats to humans and pigs in Asia.

02/12/2022

Great to see some of our research moving into commercial development.

10/11/2022

We are excited to announce our latest publication has just been released. Here we show how to detect a prawn virus from prawn samples without needing any sophisticated equipment - only a heating block and pipettes for liquid handling.

Background Viral diseases are a major problem in shrimp aquaculture facilities as these diseases reduce growth rates, which inevitably lead to production and profit losses. Hepatopancreatic parvoviruses (HPV) are common diseases in shrimp that appear to be associated with high or low levels of repli...

06/10/2022

We're very excited to see our research technology recieve a high commendation national innovation award this week at Land Forces 2022. A big thanks to Nina Pollak for her hard work and dedication to this enormous project, performing some excellent research and developing rapid tests for detection of Hendra, Nipah and Dengue viruses.

A DMTC-led collaboration has been awarded a High Commendation as part of the prestigious Land Forces 2022 Innovation Awards on the first day of the Exposition in Brisbane. The award of a high commendation recognises the effort of Health Security Systems Australia (a division of DMTC),...