News

Filed Under: LIVE, People of the Precinct

Community builds during COVID-19 lockdown

Resilient retailers and residents come together

Building a strong sense of community takes time, and there’s nothing like a pandemic to bring people together, even in isolation! We asked Alex Slingsby, Marketing and Community Manager at Smith Collective for an update on how the Smiths are surviving and thriving.

Just over 2 years on from the Commonwealth Games and we are now a thriving community with over 1700 residents! From baby boomers and young families, to university students, millennials, Gen Z’s and healthcare workers, there is something for everyone.

While things were a little quieter than normal during Covid-19 lockdown, we were resilient and our community rallied together in more ways than one. We saw huge generosity from our cafes & restaurants offering up some unbeatable specials, especially for those incredible healthcare workers.

Residents also took matters into their own hands with reports of healthcare workers receiving deliciously cooked dinners from their fellow Smiths. Our retailers were extremely nimble and quickly adapted their businesses to takeaway and delivery to do what they could to keep their doors open. The random acts of kindness were and continue to be flowing in and around the precinct which is such a testament to our residents feeling part of a genuine community that cares for each other.

The pandemic unfortunately impacted across diverse areas, from residents losing their jobs and income, others needing to move back home with their folks and some of our international students having to return home until the dust settles. It has been a tough time for our community and the management team has been tirelessly working through providing customised solutions with individual residents to help them through this unprecedented period.

With restrictions easing, we are so pleased to see residents out and about once more with their furry-friend in tow, enjoying a workout in our resident gyms and taking advantage of our FREE resident Yoga classes.

Meet Georgia, healthcare work and ‘Smith’.

Hi there, I’m Georgia! I am a 27 year old iced latte and book lover with a silky terrier cross chihuahua named Duke. He is the main reason I moved into Smith as so many rentals don’t allow dogs. I love walking around the Smith Collective community with him every morning and night. I love that Smith offers FREE resident Yoga and that there is a coffee shop, Woolworths and BWS on our doorstep AND I also love that it is walking distance to my work.

Filed Under: BUSINESS

Precinct attracts new company set to deliver a probiotics-based biotechnology bonanza

Dr Gustavo M Cerqueira at COHORT

Cluster Biotech could be the perfect name for a scale-up company that already has a cluster of commercialised and emerging technologies based on harnessing the microbial power of probiotics, all from new R&D headquarters at COHORT, in the GCHKP’s Lumina commercial cluster.

Multiple agricultural, industrial and human health applications

The average person may think of probiotics as the good bacteria that promote gut health – for Dr Gustavo Cerqueira and his team, the potential of probiotics is virtually unlimited in agriculture, food safety and technology, waste and pest management, animal health, and now in a range of exciting new human therapeutic applications.

Hailing from Brazil, Dr Cerqueira was fortunate to undertake PhD studies through the prestigious Institut Pasteur in Paris, an ideal academic foundation for a microbiologist who is passionate about taking discoveries from lab to market.

“In searching for novel microbials we aim to use conventional discovery and genetic techniques to characterise new probiotics, which are micro-organisms sourced from nature including fungi, and put them to use in biotechnologies to preserve food, add nutritional value and reduce ingredient costs, enhance organic agriculture, and for use as hosts to deliver new biological-based human therapies and medical technologies,” Dr Cerqueira says.

“The Cluster Biotechnology team has a passion for solving real-life issues, and I can’t wait to see my staff create, collaborate and innovate to become a success story in the Precinct.”

Queensland Minister for State Development Hon Kate Jones and Member for Gaven Meaghan Scanlon MP meet some of the Cluster Biotech team

Arriving in Australia in 2011 as a research fellow at Monash University, before heading to James Cook University, Dr Cerqueira founded Cluster Biotech in 2015, based on industry demand for IP for specific solutions, such as Agriforte, the first probiotic pesticide used against fruit flies, and Agrisan, which prevents mould and fungal infection in crops.

He and his team have continued to develop their underlying discovery platform while patenting new applications – Foodsan, a probiotic biofilm spray, is their latest product undergoing pre-commercial trials in Norway and Ghana, aimed at preventing food spoilage and extending shelf-life and nutritional value.

“We hope it will extend opportunities for food exports from Australia and help to prevent food waste worldwide, while our project in Ghana shows the major opportunity to improve food security in Africa and elsewhere, where malnutrition continues to be such a big problem.”

With agricultural and industrial applications providing a fertile proving ground for their R&D, Cluster Biotech has recently entered into a joint venture arrangement with a major Australian Plastics player, which will help the industry partner diversify its repertoire of businesses, and jointly expand into the lucrative yet highly-regulated market of human health”

“We will be exploring opportunities in the medicinal cannabis field and we also believe we can use probiotic ‘biofactories’ to grow new anti-oxidants and anti-virals to be delivered as precision medicines and immune system therapies, while reducing the costs of treatment options.”

Another medtech application in the wings is a smart wound healing patch that it’s hoped will allow for remote monitoring of wound infection, with the slow release of healing doses of medication contained within the probiotic patch.

“Moving into our new labs in the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct gives us the first-class facilities to really focus on human health as our previous premises were set up for industrial R&D, and we’re eager to be able to meet Australia’s strict TGA requirements to develop new products that will be readily accepted worldwide.”

Read more about the move into COHORT and their exciting new lab spaces.

Precinct partnerships planned

“We look forward to finding research partnership opportunities with Griffith University and engaging their research students and talent – this is the ideal environment for our growth.”

Cluster Biotech hopes to expand its current core group of up to 10 staff and collaborators, to a 50 strong global team within the next 3-5 years.

Filed Under: Uncategorised Tagged With: AI, artificial intelligence, Griffith University, Institute for Glycomics, Institute for Integrated and Intelligent Systems

AI whiz takes super skills from Gold Coast to United States on major scholarship

Joshua Russell (centre) with Assoc Professor Alan Liew (left) and Professor Johnson Mak

Griffith University Bachelor of Computer Science graduate Joshua Russell has earned a perfect GPA and a ticket to the United States on a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship.

Here in the Precinct we’re hoping the Gold Coast-based former Kings Christian College student will return home with even more smarts than he leaves with in the burgeoning field of AI, with a specific focus on biologically-inspired artificial intelligence and the myriad of biomedical applications.

We caught up with Joshua to talk about the highlight of his undergraduate studies – a research project to use machine learning to shorten the time for creating 3D models of pathogen particles, to assist researchers in drug and vaccine discovery.

And we discovered his pathway to success, including a passion for gaming, and his plans for the future.

Joshua with Griffith University Vice Chancellor and President Professor Carolyn Evans, who is a former Fulbright Scholar

From biomedical science, to professional gaming, to AI

Joshua began university life enrolled in biomedical science, and the field remains a strong area of interest, even after data science and all things AI have become his career calling.

On the way to blitzing a Bachelor of Computer Science, the 21-year-old took time out from study to pursue another passion – professional gaming – taking his online gaming talents into the emerging arena of big-time E-sports in Sydney.

“It was a good experience and for me it was all about problem solving, and learning that through dedication you could become exceptional at anything,” explains Joshua, who found the same immersive and challenging opportunity in a healthy obsession with chess.

Griffith’s innovative new offerings in data science and AI were ideal and Joshua quickly flourished on his return to academic study under the mentorship of Associate Professor Alan Liew, who organised an ‘amazing opportunity’ to work with Professor Johnson Mak from the Institute for Glycomics.

“This was such a great project working to help speed up research into gaining a better understanding of the biological particles that cause disease and make up our world,” explains Joshua.

“We use a technique called Cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) to make a 3D model of biological particles and generally it is a very time-consuming exercise in the lab to collect sufficient images to create the models.

I was able to create an algorithm that effectively reduces the ‘noise’ in the picture information, so that only around half as many images are required to create a clear and accurate model. My work was a proof of concept, showing that it may be possible to significantly reduce the time required for imaging these biological particles whilst maintaining the structural information of the 3D models.”

As an undergraduate student, Joshua was inspired by how well he was integrated into research team activities.

“I was able to go to lab meetings and get involved in professional discussions, it was a really enjoyable experience.”

3D model illustration of a HIV virion (particle). Source.

Biologically-Inspired AI

Joshua has applied to a number of US universities to undertake his Fulbright Future Scholarship (funded by The Kinghorn Foundation) and his study location and research supervisor will provide specific direction to his research path, however he believes that biologically-inspired machine learning will be the future.

“The human brain is the best example of intelligence we have. I believe there is much to learn from the brain in relation to how to design efficient and more general AI algorithms. This is an exciting frontier within the AI community, and I believe it will bring us closer to an understanding of intelligence and how to design intelligent machines.”

Read about Griffith University’s four Fulbright Scholars in 2020.