LEADING EXTRACELLULAR VESICLE RESEARCH TOWARDS THE NEXT GENERATION OF TREATMENTS AND DIAGNOSTICS
With
Associate Professor Joy Wolfram, Group Leader,
Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology,
School of Chemical Engineering, University of Queensland
PEOPLE IN HEALTH CARE SEGMENT
Filmed in Brisbane | May 2025
Joy Wolfram is an Associate Professor at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology and the School of Chemical Engineering at the University of Queensland in Australia. Originally from Finland, she earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology before transitioning to engineering with a PhD in nanotechnology completed in China. Wolfram has over a decade of experience working in hospitals in the United States before joining the University of Queensland.
Her research focuses on extracellular vesicles, which are crucial for cell communication both locally within tissues and over longer distances between organs. Her lab studies the roles of these vesicles in both health and disease, particularly in cancer. They investigate the harmful messages released by cancer cells that aid in tumour growth, specifically in breast cancer, while also exploring how to harness beneficial extracellular vesicles from healthy individuals as potential therapeutics.
Wolfram’s lab is currently funded by the National Breast Cancer Foundation for a four-year project aimed at understanding how breast cancer-derived vesicles evade the immune system. Collaborations with the Faculty of Medicine and hospitals in the U.S. enhance her research efforts. Additionally, partnerships with local industries in Brisbane, supported by the Medical Research Future Fund, promote academia-industry connections. Notably, funding from Health Translation Queensland allows her to compensate patient advocates who contribute valuable insights and direction to her research.
Source: Written by AUDIENCED from transcript
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Startup Advances Biosensing
Melbourne based Nutromics is looking to solve some of the biggest healthcare challenges, by delivering on a mission to revolutionise precision medicine with Continuous Molecular Monitoring (CMM). Nutromics is developing biosensor technology integrated into a small and unobtrusive wearable smart patch.The software solution aims to be flexible and designed to connect with mobile and web solutions for integration with consumer health software and hospital platforms.
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HIGHLIGHTS The power of social determinants of health, panel discussion
Clinicians and consumers know only too well that life circumstances such as poor housing, income and food insecurity can have a negative impact on health outcomes. Conversely, participation in community activities, social connection and access to nature parks and leisure facilities can help maintain health and wellbeing.
More recent phenomena in public health have also focused us on the health and social care connection. Stress factors such as the sudden loss of employment and social interaction, moving to remote work or schooling, and the impacts of sudden, localised COVID-19 ‘lockdowns’ to prevent further outbreaks were triggers of increased psychological distress.
And loneliness is being described as our latest epidemic with chronic loneliness inked to a myriad of health problems and earlier death. A recent report found one in four Australians say they feel persistently lonely, and that loneliness costs $2.7 bn a year in health costs alone.
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Nuclear medicine funding a win for men with prostate cancer
Australian men with higher risk prostate cancer now have access to a nuclear medicine scan to help detect and treat metastatic disease, after it was listed on the Medical Benefits Schedule (MBS) from 1st July 2022.
In 2021 over 18,000 Australian men were diagnosed with prostate cancer, resulting in over 3,000 lives being lost – and making prostate cancer Australia’s second most common cause of cancer death in men.
Australian Health Journal spoke with AANMS President Associate Professor Sze Ting Lee and Dr Geoff Schembri on the MBS listing and the efforts to get it listed.
