PERIscope puts research translation on the express route

The strategic initiative is led by the Office of the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research Enterprise) and managed by the Sydney Knowledge Hub. 

“We had a huge amount of interest in this pilot scheme. We were able to select 13 projects to participate, many led by senior researchers who have been developing their invention for years. A market understanding is a prerequisite to get a solution to those that can ultimately benefit from it”, said Rupal Ismin, Director of Sydney Knowledge Hub.

“We have been working for over 2 years to get this scheme funded and over 100 people have contributed to its design, so it feels great to see the research community’s response to the scheme.” 

This groundbreaking scheme gives researchers the time, training, and industry connections to discover the potential market of their invention. Successful teams will take up residency at the Sydney Knowledge Hub for 14 weeks from late February, with funding of up to $61,500 per project.  

Teams will participate in a 4-day bootcamp, and ongoing activities designed to build commercial skills, unleash entrepreneurial mindsets, uncover their product’s market fit and consider future opportunities, including funding.  

Jane Cockburn, PERIscope Program Manager, who was brought on board as steward of the scheme adds, ”The program concludes with advice from commercialisation experts on whether the solution should be a new venture, a license with an existing company, or should go back to the lab.”  

"I'm excited to have the opportunity to share my passion for commercialisation and coach all the awardees through the program. We are making possibilities for the future come to life."

“The overall objective is to accelerate spinouts and licensing opportunities for projects with high commercial potential. Lack of entrepreneurial positioning and skills are an obstacle to accessing the commercialisation pathway and the PERIscope program seeks to address this”, said Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research Enterprise), Professor Julie Cairney. 

“The University of Sydney has prioritised the translation of our research outputs as part of our 10-year strategy. The PERIscope program complements our vibrant ecosystem to support research impact including our dedicated commercialisation office, Sydney Knowledge Hub’s incubator, plus accelerator and mentoring programs including INCUBATE and Genesis.” 

The successful projects and teams for the inaugural PERIscope Commercialisation Award are:

• Professor Rachel Codd and Todd Markham from the School of Medical Sciences in the Faculty of Medicine and Health. Project: Scoping the commercialisation and manufacturing landscape of a new class of iron chelator 
• Professor Fariba Dehghani and Dr Syamak Farajikhah from the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering. Project: A user friendly and portable device for rapid cardiac health monitoring 
• Professor Ollie Jay and Grant Lynch from the School of Health Sciences in the Faculty of Medicine and Health. Project: Environmental measurement unit systems 
• Associate Professor Agisilaos (Agi) Kourmatzis and Athiya Azeem from the School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering. Project: Deposition-Diffusion-Dissolution Particle Analyzer (The D3PA system) 
• Associate Professor Girish Lakhwani and Dr Inseong Cho from the School of Chemistry in the Faculty of Science. Project: Low-cost Faraday rotators for next generation optical devices 
• Professor Alex McBratney and Daniel Irving from the School of Life and Environmental Sciences in the Faculty of Science. Project: Spequatrace - accurate and meaningful information from a single agricultural product
• Professor Lenka Munoz and Dr George Joun from the School of Medical Sciences in the Faculty of Medicine and Health. Project: A novel combination therapy to target drug tolerant persisters in Glioblastoma 
• Dr Sina Naficy and Dr Aeryne Lee from the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering. Project: Polymeric heart valve replacements 
• Professor Richard Payne  from the School of Chemistry in the Faculty of Science and and Professor Scott Byrne from the School of Medical Sciences in the Faculty of Medicine and Health. Project: Development of an immune-modulating human peptide as a next generation topical therapy for psoriasis 
• Dr Pierre Qian from Sydney Medical School in the Faculty of Medicine and Health, and Edward Yang from the School of Biomedical Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering. Project: Mu microwave catheter for the treatment of hypertension 
• Professor Steven Wise and Timothy Mitchell from the School of Medical Sciences in the Faculty of Medicine and Health. Project: Engineering a clinically relevant blood-vessels-in-a-box 
• Professor Paul Witting and Dr Belal Chami from the School of Medical Sciences in the Faculty of Medicine and Health. Project: MPOLR – a rapid at-home device for detecting inflammation in patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease 
• Dr Jingjing You and Yuan Fang from the School of Medical Sciences in the Faculty of Medicine and Health. Project: A slow releasing antimicrobial contact lens for treating corneal infections