VOW’s mission is clear and simple – to ‘make ridiculously good meat’. It does this by culturing animal cells from traditional and new species. In fact, VOW’s aim is to bring any animal on the menu and recently made headlines for producing a woolly mammoth meatball. Last year, VOW raised ~US$50M in Series A funding.

In this episode, I asked George how he went from developing an idea built on academic research to opening the largest cultivated meat facility in the southern hemisphere. Research and Development are key to VOW’s growth and innovation. They have hired or trained an incredible team of entrepreneurs, investors, scientists, innovators, engineers, artists, and chefs!

Listen to this episode where George also talks about the attitude, culture and skills required to lead a successful start-up built on science, technology and research.

For direct access to your preferred platform, go to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Spotify or Google Podcasts.

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Cochlear Limited was established in 1983 as a subsidiary of Nucleus, to commercialise the cochlear implant, also known as the bionic ear, an innovative technology developed by Professor Graeme Clark at the University of Melbourne. After more than 40 years of innovative research and sustainable commercialisation, cochlear implants have made significant strides in improving hearing outcomes for individuals with severe-to-profound hearing loss. To date, Cochlear Limited has provided more than 720,000 people with cochlear implants and has a global market share of more than 60%. Their commitment to advancing technology and improving patient outcomes has led to numerous breakthroughs in cochlear implant technology. In this episode, Dig Howitt explains why excellent research and development combined with smart commercialisation, are key elements of Cochlear’s innovation and success. A must listen!!

For direct access to your preferred platform, go to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Spotify or Google Podcasts.

Note: this episode was recorded before the last federal election so any reference to the current government actually applies to the former Government.

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In this week’s episode of Research for What?, I learn about the work of legally-blind artist and researcher Dr Erica Tandori. Erica creates artwork to exhibit science to people with vision or hearing impairment, who traditionally don’t have access to research. Erica has spent the last couple of years in the Rossjohn Lab at the Biomedicine Discovery Institute at Monash University to understand, articulate and exhibit research and science using multiple senses like vision, touch, sound and smell.

Here, Erica describes the similarities and parallels between art and research. She explains how bringing both together, in harmony, can be relatively easy and immensely rewarding. Erica’s mission and unique approach to making knowledge accessible to everyone are impressive and inspiring.

In this episode, we are also joined by audio-designer and composer Stuart Favilla from the School of Design at Swinburne University. Erica and Stu produce extraordinary pieces, which not only touch artists and members of the public who are not familiar with research and its practice, but also speak to scientists and clinicians. They help researchers, who have been studying fundamental mechanisms and diseases for years, to see their work differently, as artists, turning structural biology models into sculptures. 

Erica and Stu recently launched a multisensory book titled ‘My Goodness’ (preview here). My Goodness is a series of 10 interactive ‘books’, combining tactile artworks, audio sonifications, braille-inspired protein molecules, large print, audio narration and braille supplements, which allow low-vision, blind, hearing-impaired and general audiences alike, to explore research on gut health, nutrition and immunity. It even comes with a pop song that can be heard at the end of this episode!

Find more examples of Erica’s and Stu’s artwork including:

• Erica’s website
• The Monash Sensory Science initiative (video of the 2019 Sensory Scientific exhibition here)
• Covers of scientific journals that Erica created (here)
• The HIV data projection project (video here) and the HIV CousCous Project (video here)

For direct access to your preferred platform, go to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Spotify or Google Podcasts.

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This recording is from a live free panel discussion with three inspiring experts and scientists:

• Dr Vaishnavi Ananthanarayanan, an EMBL Australia group leader at the EMBL Australia Node in Single Molecule Science at UNSW Sydney. Previously, she was an Assistant Professor in the Centre for BioSystems Science and Engineering at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore. She is passionate about mentorship both as a mentee and a mentor. 
• Dr Marguerite Evans-Galea, Executive Director of the Industry Mentoring Network in STEM (IMNIS) at the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering and the co-founder and CEO of Women in STEMM Australia
• Dr Melina Georgousakis, founder of Franklin Women, an Australian women's organisation for women working in health and medical related careers. Melina also works as Policy and Research Manager for the Bupa Health Foundation. 

The 3 fantastic panellists share their passion and experience and give lots of practical tips to find a great mentor! Some of the quotes in the chat were:

• "thank you so much .. such a great session";
• "I’m hoping to start my PhD in 2021, and have found this discussion to be hugely helpful. I will definitely be actively seeking mentors as I move forward. Very grateful to each of the speakers for your practical tips and insight!"
• "Thank you to all presenters for a wonderful session! I am one newly minted PhD grad who is now feeling very inspired!"

This event was supported by SMS, the ARC Centre of Excellence in Advanced Imaging and Research for What?. 

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Spotify or Google Podcasts.

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Mark has made it his career and business to help individuals and organisations collaborate. Here he shares tips on how to establish successful collaborations that will deliver innovative outcomes. A clue? Setting clear expectations early. He also explains how to keep momentum through long and multi-disciplinary projects. 

If you want to learn when and how to collaborate efficiently in a complex team, what to do before, during and after a large collaborative project, listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Spotify or Google Podcasts.

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Justin shares his views about the benefits of publishing for researchers from both academia and industry and tips to find the most suitable journal. Justin explains his role as editor-in-chief in attracting and selecting 'the best science'. We discuss the peer-review process, open access and who decides what makes a great paper. Justin also shares his thoughts on impact and impact factors...

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Spotify and Google Podcasts for tips to get your work accepted.

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Franklin Women is a grassroots organisation for women working in health and medical related careers. As I wanted to be more aware and conscious of women under-representation in research, I took the risk to expose my unconscious biases and ignorance on this very important (and sometimes controversial) topic!! My goal was primarily to better understand and talk about the challenges faced by women in research.

Melina offers some advice for women (and men!) to tackle those challenges faced by women, and other under-represented members of our community. Importantly, she discusses why increased diversity and experiences generate better Research and Science, for everyone (individuals, organisations and communities more broadly). I asked Melina what initiatives exist and why they are different; and what works and what doesn’t work. Melina talks with passion, compassion (!) and respect for a cause she feels extremely strongly about. She explains who can help make a difference and how. For better Science & Research!

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Spotify and Google Podcasts.

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This virtual event was part of National Science Week and was recorded on the 21st August 2020.

Designed primarily for research staff and students, this event was centred on a hypothetical scenario where a researcher, Dr Vaishnavi Ananthanarayanan from the Indian Institute of Science, was seeking opportunities to boost the impact of a scientific discovery. Five experts from different specialties, ranging from academia, publishing and commercialisation, made their pitches:

• Marcel Dinger, Head of School and Professor at the School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences at UNSW, will represent academia
• Justin Gooding, editor-in-chief of ACS Sensors, will represent publishing
• Julio Ribeiro CEO of Inventia Life Science will be our start-up founder and entrepreneur
• Natasha Rawlings investment manager at Uniseed will be our early-stage investor
• Marthe D’Ombrain, Senior Director and Head Global Research Innovation at CSL, will represent the giant global biotech company 

On-call is Nicholas Milne, Engineer, Patent and Trade-Mark Attorney at Patentec. Nicholas was here to answer any questions about Intellectual Property. Experts called on Nicholas when they needed any clarification about Intellectual Property.

In the final act, Erin Rayment, Chair of Knowledge Commercialisation Australasia and Director Engagement at the Queensland University of Technology, brought her expertise and experience to help our researcher clarify impacts.

Which pathway did the researcher follow?

You can also watch the video here.

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In this week’s episode of Research for What?, I talk with Hamish Hawthorn. Hamish has been the founder, director, advisor and investor of many start-ups. He was the Chief Executive of ATP Innovations, one of Australia’s first and largest incubators for start-ups and scale-ups. Hamish has vast experience working with founders through accelerator programs and has even been described as the god-father of the Australian start-up ecosystem. 

Here, he describes what accelerators really are and what they offer and gives insights to researchers who want to commercialise their discoveries. 

Can you really get mentorship, networking, education, market validation, and customers in 10 weeks?

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Spotify and Google Podcasts.

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In this week’s episode of Research for What?, I talk with Anna Guillan. Anna is the Deputy Chair of

Tourism Australia and the Australian consultant to Kerzner International, a global operator of luxury resorts.

More relevant to this podcast is the fact that Anna is the co-founder of the NELUNE Foundation, which she established with her friend Nelune Rajapakse in 2001. Today, they have raised over $33M to support patients diagnosed with cancer. Their work at the NELUNE Foundation supports NSW public hospitals and research facilities to provide and improve cancer patient care.

In this episode Anna explains how the NELUNE Foundation was born to help provide better care for under-privileged or marginalised patients. Anna talks about how the NELUNE Foundation subsequently began to support long-term and complicated research projects, as new needs developed. In particular, Anna explains how the Rebecca Wilson fellowship was established to support a young cancer researcher at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. 

Anna explains the importance of relationships with the Foundation’s supporters and researchers. Without a strong scientific background, Anna and Nelune aid projects and people they can trust because of their integrity, honesty and ability to communicate. They build human connections with ‘young bright minds’ who share the same passion for helping others. Here, Anna gives some great tips for young researchers to communicate their work in a meaningful way that can be understood by potential supporters.

Lastly, Anna hopes her contribution helps foster more collaboration in research, between teams, institutions and companies. She wishes for ‘one big mega brain trying to solve major problems’ to get a better outcome for patients. 

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Spotify and Google Podcasts.

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Because his children played online shooting games and needed instant access to data, Vijay founded Canopus Networks, a start-up that commercialises technology developed in his research team.

Here Vijay discusses how his research led to developing a product to improve all internet users’ experience. Vijay says: ‘They are great ideas in research but they never get translated into products so that they can be consumed.’

He describes his dual role as an academic and entrepreneur, a supportive environment that helped him as a researcher to create his own start-up and his transition from science to commercialisation. 

Before launching Canopus Networks, Vijay had some prior experience working for start-ups, which together with knowledge in his technology helped build a passionate team with complementary skills, and turn an academic idea into IP and a commercial product. Engagement with industry has been a long process and Vijay had to learn business skills, language and drivers. He had to be very perseverant and accept rejections, traits he had built during his academic career… Today, when Vijay talks about his technology, he speaks both as a researcher and as the CEO of Canopus Networks. Ideas and projects also flow seamlessly between his research group, his start-up and other industry players. Now, Vijay is taking a sabbatical year to focus entirely on his role as a CEO, educate customers and explain the technology and its benefits. 

Here, Vijay brings a novel insight as he explains how becoming a founder and CEO has changed him as a researcher as well!! According to Vijay, moving a research idea into a commercial product that consumers use, gives researchers more field data about the product and the problem they are solving. Vijay is very confident that his commercial activities are spurring more and better quality academic research. Vijay’s story is evidence that research and commercialisation are not only compatible but also mutually beneficial, when there is a confluence of interests!

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I asked Alan what it takes to transform a start-up into a unicorn, and what the metrics and contextual drivers are. Alan generously shares his immense experience, passion and wisdom and answers questions such as:

• When to bootstrap or raise capital from investors? When not to?
• How to build a world-class team? How big should it be? How and when to find or compensate co-founders?
• Should you pivot? When?
• What is success? What makes great success stories? Is it always making money?
• What should you say (and not say) to investors?
• How ambitious or confident should you be?
• Who should you take advice from? 
• Should you aim to create a good business or a unicorn?
• What is impact? Which investors care about impact? Is it compatible with financial returns?

Of course, we could not avoid speaking about the current pandemic. Alan discussed how it affected start-ups and investment so far and how it is going to impact the 2nd half of 2020. Alan is very careful when making predictions about the future, but he gives very useful tips for founders to use over the next 12-18 months. Alan shares his thoughts on the companies or industries that might survive or even thrive in the future - a must listen for all entrepreneurs!!

Alan’s advice is simple: ‘Be in the right place at the right time with the right product’. He recommends joining an accelerator program that addresses a start-up’s customers and problems in safe work environments to develop ideas... and unicorns!!

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Maryam studied engineering in Iran before working as an academic researcher in Australia. In 2018, she founded SDIP-Innovations, a start-up that develops new reservable implants. In April 2019, Maryam received a 2-year fellowship from NSW Health to relocate to the QB3 incubator at the University of California San Francisco and UCSF Rosenman Institute and advance the commercialisation of SDIP-Innovations implants. 

Here Maryam explains why and how she transitioned from an academic researcher to an entrepreneur. She discusses the pros and cons of moving to the US to build a new deep tech start-up in the bay area. She talks about the differences between Australia and the US (and Iran) including regulatory pathways, funding, ecosystem and culture. 

Maryam also discusses the differences between academic research and R&D in a start-up. She shares what it takes to learn business and its language, and to build a new company and network, with the goal to develop and launch new products for medical treatment. She talks about mental health, timelines and her team. Maryam says: ‘Having a good co-founder is the key. It’s like a marriage: if you have a good marriage, it’s great; if you have a bad one, it’s really terrible!!’ 

This is a fantastic episode with a very smart and hard-working research-entrepreneur who shares her journey to commercialisation!! 

Good luck to the team!

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I was curious to learn how a Minister for Medical Research and Minister for Health, in charge of 1/3 of the NSW total budget, identifies health needs, selects projects and advisors, understands new technologies and works for our community.

I knew that Jillian was a strong advocate of health and research and I was surprised by her immense, genuine and on-going passion. I was also surprised to hear that politics was almost the obvious path for her to make a difference. As a Minister, Jillian worked with everyone's benefit in mind, including the underrepresented and under deserved members, constantly improving our infrastructure and educating people.

She strongly defends integrative models where interdisciplinary and collaborative projects prevail, and where researchers, clinicians and patients interact.

I was very impressed with Jillian's knowledge, engagement, strong passion and commitment to create impact and improve our community health!

To hear more, listen on Apple Podcasts or on Spotify!

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Promoting STEM through funding and presentations like this one is one part of the NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer’s job. Hugh also provides evidence-based policy advice to ministers, on a diverse range of topics, including controversial issues like water management and horses in the Kosciuszko National Park. Here Hugh insists on his independence and his strong reliance on external experts to make scientific recommendations. Secondly, the NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer Office distributes funding mainly to universities, including to promote translational research outcomes. Finally, Hugh talks about his role in assisting NSW with industry strategy, in collaboration with the Government.

Interestingly, Hugh talks about the opportunities for universities to collaborate more tightly and naturally, together and with industry. Because of his scientific and technical knowledge and experience, and appreciation for other political and economical forces, the NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer plays a major ‘connector’ role in forming partnerships and attracting large companies, investors, Defence, venture capitalists and start-ups. Importantly, Hugh’s office creates the environment and enables young researchers and engineers to do their best.

At the end of the day, I believe there is a real opportunity for researchers and scientists to engage with Government, Industry and large companies to build translational research, future economic and social outcomes and ‘prosperity’ for NSW and beyond.

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A few weeks ago, I launched ‘Research for What?’ to discuss why we do research. This week’s episode is special as I learn about defence research and innovation with Dr David Kershaw, Chief Science Engagement and Impact Division, Defence Science and Technology (DST), an agency of the Australian Department of Defence.

I asked naive questions to David who spoke very openly about defence research, its role and impact. David talks about the unique structure and objectives to support the Australian Defence Force and guard Australia’s security needs. Unlike for academic research, the goals of defence research are not to publish papers or to competitively expand our knowledge base. Nonetheless, defence research surprisingly shares many similarities with civilian research and innovation, collaboration and impact are also essential elements.  

DST recently launched ‘More, together: the Science and Technology 2030 Strategy for Defence’. DST works closely with Australian government agencies such as CSIRO and ANSTO, and is looking to establish new partnerships with civilian researchers, including in academia. The appointment of Professor Tanya Monroe, previously Deputy Vice Chancellor Research and Innovation at the University of South Australia, as Chief Defence Scientist in 2019, further demonstrates the overlap and bridges between defence and academic research. David explains how and why collaborations between defence, academia and industry can create win-wins for everyone involved, benefits for Australia and impact globally. 

Learning about all aspects of research and researchers is exactly the goal of ‘Research for What?’ - this episode shows an unfamiliar, yet extremely important and impactful, side of research.

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By providing a frame and structuring thinking, Ben’s role is to translate research into investable ideas people want to support. To convince investors, Ben argues that researchers should move away from a grant application mindset to a better understanding of investors and their drivers. Ben argues that business money is not dirty money and that a better understanding of industry is key to translate research and have impact. 

Ben believes that it is easy to evaluate impact - ‘impact is, in simple terms, good ideas applied’ - if you keep it simple and follow these 3 steps

• Clearly understand which investor you are talking with - be aware of the drivers of the investor
• What are the most relevant parts of my research that could be of interest to that investor
• What is missing - what is required to translate my idea so that’s it’s valuable to that investor

This framework is useful for translation generally, ie not only to secure funding from investors but also to create impact by influencing policy changes. 

Ben also argues for a better understanding of the end-users, the people who will directly benefit from research translation.

This short episode provides a different perspective and resource that can be used to translate research and have impact.

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A strength of the future precinct will be collaboration fostered between many local partners including the Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, Liverpool Hospital, Liverpool City Council, South Western Sydney Local Health District, local businesses and start-ups, schools and universities. Lance describes with pride and passion an extraordinary environment and shared facilities with engagement from researchers, clinicians, teachers, health care workers, entrepreneurs, business and government leaders and local students. 

The Innovation Precinct is a visionary project with ambitious plans to bring extremely diverse skills and backgrounds to address local health challenges. Lance reflects on trust between collaborators and explains what he regards as world-class research, innovation and impact. This new precinct will bring endless opportunities, change the entire city of Liverpool (and beyond) and will be the framework for research to improve the community wellbeing.

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In October 2012, the Ingham Institute came to life in Sydney’s South West with massive generous support from Mr Bob Ingham AO and his family. The Ingham Institute is now one of the 55 Medical Research Institutes in Australia.

A major goal of the Ingham Institute is to perform world-class translational research that benefits the local community. I asked Darryl how he defines and measures world-class research, how the institute attracts top researchers and how research can solve local health challenges. 

Interestingly, the Ingham Institute is also very open to the public and invites members of the community to engage with basic researchers and clinicians, ask questions and directly help shape the research. The Institute also brings local business and government leaders and donors to support and connect with the research and make a local impact. 

Finally Darryl shares his vision for the future of the Ingham Institute and the multi-billion dollar redevelopment plan to enable Liverpool to become a competitive and innovative health precinct. In the next few years, we will see major capabilities and innovation in Liverpool not only in medical research, but also clinical trials, commercialisation and robotics…

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In this episode, Natasha Rawlings introduces Uniseed, an early-stage deep-technology investment fund, its role and partners. Natasha explains what she sees as great research and how she finds it to create big businesses that do good in the world. She discusses why and how Uniseed invests in early-stage research and what the expectations are. 

Natasha receives 300 disclosures every year and gives some tips on how to get funded. She explains when and how to pitch to a seed investment committee; how to de-risk an early-stage business and what role the founders may play. 

Finally, Natasha also talks about impact in ‘her world’ and how investors regard and rank impact. Despite the importance of the financial return, Natasha is passionate about research and ‘researchers at universities who are tuned to make a difference to the world… and are interested in change and doing good.’ She also discusses when researchers might be great business people or why it is sometimes better to bring other people to the team. 

Natasha is one of the most engaging and honest startup investors I have ever met!! Her experience and insights must be heard!! 

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My conversation with Erin Rayment was truly amazing. Tune in if you want to hear Erin explain what is useful research; what is research commercialisation; how to create an impact; or how to quantify research impact.

Erin talks about her work at QUT and how she brings together governments, researchers and industry to engage, collaborate and create an outcome with impact in communities. We discuss how Australian research performs in terms of industry engagement at an international level. Finally, Erin shares tips to engage with researchers, industries, grow teams, find good partners, build capabilities and add value!!

‘All research is useful but it is useful to different audiences’

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Parisa discusses why a leading independent medical research institute, like the George Institute, focuses on big issues and major global health challenges, in particular in developing countries. She is passionate about evidence-based research conducted at the Institute that addresses unmet needs globally.

Parisa also explains what is global impact and how it is measured. She discusses how the George Institute supports its (younger) researchers and partners, including local communities, to provide solutions to people who need them. Bringing entrepreneurship to the George Institute, Parisa talks about new ways to harness business expertise, in collaboration with researchers, to create profit-for-purpose businesses, which can achieve big goals, be sustainable and deliver affordable and research-based solutions to patients who need them.

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Eric and I discuss the mission of the University, why we do Research, what makes Australian research and talents attractive to local and international organisations, and whether Australian universities need to transform the nature of leadership. Importantly, Eric offers innovative ideas and approaches to promote risky, impactful and excellent research. 

Eric is a fascinating speaker and optimistic leader!

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Robert also speaks about his interactions with researchers and why he hopes that research will improve the wellbeing of PKD patients in the future.

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Kristy and I also talk about knowledge creation, transfer and exchange. Kristy defines impact very clearly and discusses why research can and should have an impact. Kristy explains why Art and Social Sciences are as important as other branches of Science for our community wellbeing. Kristy advocates for ‘more research and more funding for research in things that people fundamentally value in their lives that goes beyond the economic dollar value’.

Finally, Kristy provides some hope for what the world might look like after the COVID-19 crisis.

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