New research centre launched

La Trobe’s new Biomedical and Environmental Sensors Technology Centre has been launched

La Trobe University’s new Biomedical and Environmental Sensor Technology (BEST) Research Centre was launched on Tuesday 26 March 2019. The Centre, headed by Dr Conor Hogan, will research new sensing and imaging technologies to meet the major challenges currently facing our society in climate, energy, health and manufacturing.

The launch event brought together innovators from academia and industry to discuss opportunities for collaboration in the field of sensors. The organisations exhibiting ideas and technologies included Advanced Molecular Technologies, Barons Medical Consulting, Minifab, Metrohm Australia, Trajan Scientific and Medical, Universal Biosensors and the Australian Government Department of Defence, Defence Science and Technology Organisation.

“We use sensors to do everything from diagnosing diseases and monitoring the environment, to improving industrial process efficiency and ensuring food quality,” explained Dr Hogan. “They enhance our quality of life by providing essential information about our health and the environment. In particular, they are at the fore-front of the emerging areas of digital health and personalised medicine.”

The BEST Centre aims to bring together a diverse range of expertise from academia and industry, giving members the opportunity to share ideas and demonstrate techniques. Cross-disciplinary projects include improving disease detection accuracy, developing miniaturised instrumentation for environmental and healthcare tests, and new cell imaging techniques.

“We hope to have a positive effect on people’s lives by developing next-generation sensor technology,” said Dr Hogan. “To quote La Trobe’s founding Vice-Chancellor, David Myers, ‘The true measure of a university’s greatness is the total effect it has on human welfare and progress.’ This principle drives our research.”