Clinical diagnostics are moving toward more accurate, minimally-invasive approaches with micromedical device technologies at the forefront. My stacked 3D microneedle device for instantaneously capturing small pieces of skin forms a platform onto which I will use to develop a broad range of micromedical device technologies that can sample a known volume of blood and skin for histopathology/molecular analysis. I am leading these efforts and coordinating the research with collaborators that span the globe. I am now shipping hundreds of these devices to Europe, Israel, North Africa, Japan and the USA. We are field testing the technologies in urban and rural areas of developed and 3rd world countries alongside large multinational companies. My microbiopsy technologies are leading the world in microsampling of skin. My sights are now set on scaling up device manufacturing and developing two new devices through my established pipeline. This Fellowship will enable me to continue this upward trajectory, remain in Australia and retain Australian leadership in this competitive area. Another highly competitive area of research that I am competing in is topical drug delivery. Many potentially therapeutic drugs have poor skin penetration profiles. I developed and patented a novel platform for field- or lesion-directed drug delivery, Foroderm. This technology is being commercialized for non-melanoma skin cancer by a significant Pharma company by sponsoring my lab to do the development work. We are also working to generate new knowledge on interactions between skin cancers and microparticles. This NHMRC funded project is key to establish a foundation for a new round of innovative microdevice development research in my lab. In sum, I run a leading topical microdevice development lab that is globally recognized, has significant impact on knowledge generation and commercial translation, but this Fellowship is absolutely necessary for continuing this effort.
