BioGeelong Symposium

8/05/2008 1:24:42 PM BioGeelong

On August 15th BioGeelong held its first half-day symposium at the Deakin Management Centre. Topics covered included BioSecurity, Stem Cells and BioActives. The day was a success, completely booked out and provided valuable networking time for local researchers.

Dr David Boyle and Prof Annabelle Duncan provided two insights into Australia's biosecurity. Annabelle took us on a tour through the history of bioterrorism and David detailed what Australia was doing to protect its borders from pests and disease. Prof Richard Boyd describe the research being conducted at Monash into stem cells and Assoc Prof Mark Kirkland showed the audience that Geelong was at the forefront of stem cell research as he has reprogrammed stem cells.

Finally, Prof Kevin Robards and Dr Xavier Conlan described the world of bioactives and functional foods and in particular the difficulty in identifying compounds with useful biological properties from complex food and beverage extracts.