Just over three years ago Trajan Scientific and Medical (Trajan) invested in the ARC Training Centre for Personalized Therapeutics Technologies at the University of Melbourne. We continue our collaboration with the center and today welcome Dr Xumei Gao (Bryan) a Postdoctoral Researcher from the Centre, who has been awarded a REDI fellowship to partner with Trajan.
Bryan will undertake a 12-month project with Trajan to enhance his skills in product development, validation, and project management. In this collaborative project with Trajan, Bryan intends to explore and validate the application and utility of innovative multiplexed pump technology in commercial settings to emulate tissue physiology in cell culture to improve prediction of drug efficacy. He will work closely with Trajan’s R&D and marketing teams to optimize the technology, produce a minimum viable product, and develop the product value proposition for commercialization.
Dr Gao stated: “I am extremely excited to be part of the REDI program, which is a truly rare professional development opportunity that I am able to have in-depth collaboration with our industrial partner in both product development and commercialization. I hope to gain valuable industry-ready skills in R&D and project management, and ultimately translate our lab technology into a product that can benefit a much broader audience.”
Dr Gao’s supervisor, Prof Alastair Stewart, Director of The ARC Centre for Personalized Therapeutics Technologies, headquartered at the University of Melbourne, stated that he “is delighted to see Dr Gao’s training and experience greatly enhanced by a deep, market-focused engagement with our partner Trajan Scientific and Medical. Microphysiological systems, better known as organ-on-a-chip technologies urgently need innovation from highly skilled technology inventors/developers. The REDI scheme support of Trajan Scientific and Medical and Dr Gao will provide us with essential end-user feedback to guide transformation of drug assay technologies.”
Bryan will work closely with Dr Andrew Gooley, Chief Scientific Officer, at Trajan who commented on this award “Throughout his tenure at the CPTT, Bryan has regularly demonstrated his capacity to innovate and solve problems for the organ-on-a chip workflow. This has led to a very exciting invention of a “superfusion” culture media delivery system enabling multiplexed control of the culture environment. The REDI fellowship is a tremendous scheme to support the transition of this exciting development towards a commercial embodiment.”
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