Building partnerships in health and the environment

Australian and Canadian researchers will work together to address challenges in health and the environment in the first round of a new exchange program between the ATN and the University of Waterloo.

The Researcher Exchange Program will support short term visits in Canada and Australia for ATN and UW researchers and PhD students. The three successful projects in the first round involve the development of:

Nano-biopolymers for inclusion as nanofibre components of high-quality plastics. These will enhance the more efficient manufacturing of plastics, say for use in food packaging;
Nanocapsules for the targeted delivery of drugs to specific sites in the body. For example these capsules can deliver chemotherapy drugs direct to the site of tumours enabling more effective treatment and fewer side effects;
Magnetic nanoparticles for more effective removal of heavy metals from groundwater. Thus metals may be reclaimed for whilst making the water safe for other uses.

Announcing the successful projects, ATN Chair, Professor Ross Milbourne said the partnership between Australian and Canadian researchers was critical as both nation’s worked toward finding solutions to shared problems.

“Australia and Canada have a great deal in common, both culturally and in many of the challenges we face that drive our research and innovation priorities,” Professor Milbourne said. “This program is designed to not only take advantage of complementary skills and resources within our universities to address key research problems, but also to begin linking Canadian and Australian researchers.

“The involvement of PhD students in all of these projects is a key aspect of the program, providing them with the opportunity to use complementary research techniques available in partner institutions thereby boosting their personal and professional development via the internationalisation of their research”

Further details and guidelines for the Researcher Exchange Program can be accessed here.