We are thrilled to share that our early career researchers, Dr Lucy Barrett and Dr Andrew Stevenson, have been announced as recipients of the WA Near-Miss Awards Ideas Grants 2022-2023 Program. This funding program has been designed to accelerate the success of WA's early-and mid-career researchers.
Below we have provided a summary of their upcoming research activities and look forward to providing further information and updates as the studies commence and progress.
The official announcement can be accessed by clicking here.
Dr Lucy Barrett
Research activity: Understanding how a childhood burn can impact on lifetime health.
Brief summary:
For some patients, burn injuries sustained in childhood can disrupt immune system function, which if left untreated can increase the risk of secondary diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, cancer and mental health conditions. This research study will focus on identifying burn-associated changes to the immune and metabolic systems at the cellular level, which will help us identify patients who may be at risk of infection or other secondary diseases after their burn. In addition, we anticipate this research will enable us to identify treatments for these patients to restore their immune function and ensure the best possible health outcomes for burn survivors.
Dr Andrew Stevenson
Research activity: Developing next-generation cell therapies for enhancing skin regeneration after injury
Brief summary:
ReCell ("Spray-on-skin") is a staple in improving wounds and scars for burn patients. Recent scientific advances have discovered different sub-types of skin cells, some of which cause bad scarring, and also that certain natural proteins may help skin heal faster. This project combines ReCell and this new knowledge, using a unique magnetic technique to separate the 'bad' cells from the ReCell before applying them to patients and adding beneficial proteins to improve wound and scar outcomes.
Lucy and Andrew are incredible researchers and are pivotal in our research team. We want to congratulate them on their notable award and for their passion and dedication in continuing to expand the body of knowledge in our unique burns field.
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