2024: Partnering for impact

In 2024, the Centre demonstrated exceptional research leadership, securing more than $4.2 million in competitive funding and expanding our strategic partnerships across national priority sectors in agriculture, forestry, fisheries and medical science. These investments reflect our focus on translational science across human and animal health, conservation and biodiversity, and sustainable technologies, with key projects addressing pressing challenges such as chronic lung disease, cancer prevention, and the need for eco-friendly pesticides.

A strong focus was on deepening engagement with partners to accelerate industry-aligned research and deliver sustainable outcomes for health, food security and ecological resilience. Our researchers led close to 10 active Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) and Marine Bioproducts Cooperative Research Centre (MBCRC) projects, advancing breeding programs for native aquatic species in collaboration with state agencies and industry groups. Our members also continued to work closely with global and local organisations including Ceva Wildlife Research, QBiotics, Global Sustainable Solutions, Radetec, Hive and Wellness Australia and Take Action for Pumicestone Passage Inc.

Our research excellence was reflected in 122 publications, with more than half involving international collaborators and more than one third in the top 10 centile of journals. High-impact studies in evolutionary biology, genomics, biodiversity and microbiology attracted widespread media attention and helped to influence state and national policy, including steps towards the rollout of a koala chlamydia vaccine.

We also continued to develop and support UniSC’s research infrastructure and capacity by funding key equipment to increase the University’s capabilities in molecular and cell biology, genetics, cell and tissue culture and disease diagnostics.

Unlocking new advances in medical diagnostics

In 2024, the Centre for Bioinnovation’s researchers leveraged the power of bioinformatics to unlock significant advances in translational microbiology and medical diagnostics.

Led by Principal Research Fellow Associate Professor Derek Sarovich and Associate Professor Erin Price, the Pathogen-Omics Group developed a new software tool capable of detecting and predicting antimicrobial resistance (AMR)  to about ten clinically important antibiotics used to treat deadly infections in humans caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa including pneumonia, sepsis, lung failure and bone disease.

The new tool – known as ARDaP – is already available to hospitals with onsite genome sequencing capacity.

The team hopes that in future, the technology will also become routine in GP clinics, where it will support doctors to better target their antibiotic prescriptions, lessening antibiotic overuse and slowing AMR development across populations.

If unmitigated, AMR infections are predicted to cause 10 million deaths globally by 2050 and cost more than $100 trillion a year.

Improving diagnosis and treatment of chronic lung disease

In December, a team led by Associate Professors Sarovich and Price was awarded a $1.5 miillion Australian Government NHMRC Ideas Grant for a project that aims to further tackle the AMR crisis by profiling the airway microbiome of people with the debilitating lunch airflow condition – chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) – at an unprecedented molecular level.

The team will apply its novel ARDaP software along with cutting-edge molecular diagnostic techniques and artificial intelligence technologies to assist clinicians in providing their patients with highly personalised diagnosis and treatment.

The collaboration includes UniSC graduate research candidate and Sunshine Coast Health Service respiratory specialist Dr Timothy Baird, Sunshine Coast Health Service clinical nurse consultant Jane Neill and Mater Hospital Brisbane respiratory specialist Associate Professor Lucy Burr.

Highlights

• Principal Research Fellow Associate Professor Derek Sarovich and team (that includes the Centre’s Associate Professor Erin Price and Dr Tim Baird), were awarded a $1.5 million National Health and Medical Research Council Ideas Grant for a study to improve the diagnosis and treatment of chronic lung disease.
• Expert in proteomics Associate Professor Tianfang Wang with Professor Scott Cummins, as well as expert in molecular neuroscience Professor Robert Harvey with Associate Professor Kate Mounsey, led three successful Australian Research Council Discovery Project applications worth a combined $2.2 million on bio-controls for parasites, neuroreceptor proteomics and precision miticides for bee conservation, respectively.
• Dr Lochlan Fennell received an international Cancer Research UK Experimental Medicine Award as well as a Cure Cancer Early Career Researcher Grant to research the prevention of colorectal cancer by targeting aging biology.

Celebrating our staff 

• Professor Alison Shapcott collaborated on the high-impact study ‘Phylogenomics and the rise of the angiosperms’, which was published in Nature, the world’s leading multidisciplinary science journal, in April. Professor Shapcott played a key role in ensuring the study’s scientific quality and impact.
• Associate Professor Bryan Chan, also a Senior Medical Oncologist at Sunshine Coast Health, was awarded a prestigious Queensland Health Targeted Clinical Research Fellowship in the Genomics Stream to study the lung-airway microbiome and its impact on lung cancer development, progression, and treatment response.
• Senior Researcher in Organic Chemistry Dr Trong Tran received an Advance Queensland Industry Research Fellowship to focus on the study of stingless bee propolis, or Australia’s ‘bee glue’, for sustainable food and health products.
• Postdoctoral Research Fellow Dr Shaodong Guo also received an Advance Queensland Industry Research Fellowship to work on developing eco-friendly insecticides from spider venom.
• At the 2024 Life Sciences Queensland Globally Engaging Networking Event (GENE) Awards, Deputy Director Professor Peter Timms was awarded the Rural and Regional Service Award for his pioneering dedication to developing a vaccine for chlamydia in koalas. Director Professor Abigail Elizur was a finalist in the Woman of Influence Award for her dedication to the Queensland life sciences sector throughout her extensive career.

Making a difference: Our research in action

Australia’s latest gold rush: Unlocking the potency and power of ‘bee glue’

Each year, Australia’s more than half a million honeybee hives produce propolis: a resinous byproduct of honey production that is rich in antioxidants, and is a sought-after ingredient in health products, cosmetics, supplements and more. But despite our superior-quality production, most Australian propolis is discarded, along with significant opportunities for economic growth – local demand relies on 60-80 tonnes of imported propolis annually, which contributes to a retail market worth over $20 million. The global market is projected to reach $1.6 billion by 2033.

To tap into this potential, researchers from the Centre for Bioinnovation partnered with Hive and Wellness Australia (owners of the Capilano honey brand) to study the unique qualities of Australian propolis. Led by Dr Trong Tran and Dr Peter Brooks, the team received initial funding from AgriFutures Australia’s Honey Bee and Pollination Program and collaborated with local beekeepers to analyse the yield and antioxidant and phenolic content of propolis samples.

Their groundbreaking research identified the chemical makeup of 16 distinct types of Australian propolis that showed stronger antioxidant activity than popular international varieties. The team also traced the botanical origins of these high-grade samples and mapped their production areas across the country. Notably, four of the most potent samples came from South-East Queensland.

The findings have helped beekeepers recognise the value of propolis as a high-quality byproduct, especially during cooler months when honey production slows. This opens the possibility of a new revenue stream for Australian beekeepers and more jobs in the industry.

The findings were also shared with manufacturers and distributors, including Hive and Wellness Australia and AgriFutures Australia, who help agribusinesses adopt new technologies for commercial production, improve profitability and build resilience in a changing climate.

Beekeepers and manufacturers are now using this data to improve product marketing and reduce reliance on imports.

• Building public awareness: The research has gained significant media attention, including coverage by ABC TV’s Landline, 7 News, WIN/9 News, and international outlets.
• International reach: The published study in Nature’s Scientific Reports has been accessed nearly 5,000 times and cited 11 times.

Beating the Crown-of-Thorns Starfish at its own game: Genomic innovation for reef protection

The Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (CoTS) is a major threat to coral reefs across the Indo-Pacific, including the Great Barrier Reef. Each starfish can consume up to 200 kilograms of coral tissue in its one-to-two-year lifespan, contributing to large-scale reef degradation and ultimately causing catastrophic disruption to marine biodiversity and reef ecosystems. In response, the Australian Government has committed $54.3 million to the CoTS Control Program as part of its broader $1.2 billion Reef Protection Package.

Led by Professor Scott Cummins and Associate Professor Tianfang Wang, Centre for Bioinnovation researchers are pioneering a biocontrol-focused research program to address this challenge. In collaboration with The University of Queensland, the Australian Institute of Marine Science and Japan’s Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, the team has mapped the CoTS genome and identified key chemical communication pathways. Their findings reveal that CoTS use smell to locate mates and avoid predators, and their spines to both sense and secrete a diverse array of peptides beyond defensive toxins.

This foundational research led to the creation of two major open-access resources: the first comprehensive CoTS echinoderm protein database for neural tissue (2023) and the Marine Animal Saponin Database (MASD v1.0, 2024). These databases are now being used globally in fields ranging from marine ecotoxicology and pharmacology to environmental education and scientific policy. Further applications include drug discovery, toxicology and the identification of novel bioactive compounds.

The program has secured more than $1 million in funding, trained four PhD graduates, and reached over 9,500 researchers through global dissemination. Its findings have informed international conservation policy – including reports and guidelines from the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Task Force on Synthetic Biology and Biodiversity Conservation – and contributed to education and medical research initiatives.

The Centre’s CoTS research program is advancing global understanding of this destructive reef predator and is on track to deliver significant environmental impact. Our ongoing research aims to lay the groundwork for a semiochemical-based biocontrol strategy, which could enable precise CoTS removal and disrupt spawning events, offering a powerful new tool for large-scale reef conservation.

Resources

Download the report (PDF)