CHIRI’s Associate Professor Pritinder Kaur.

A Curtin University research project led by CHIRI’s Associate Professor Pritinder Kaur, from the School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, will receive $737,689 in funding to develop a 3D printing-based system to revolutionise the treatment of skin trauma.

Supported by a Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Stem Cell Therapies 2020 grant, the research has the potential to speed up the healing process, reduce surgical and hospitalisation times and improve skin function for patients with skin wounds and scars.

Head of CHIRI’s Epithelial Stem Cell Biology Group, Pritinder and her team will develop and optimise a clinical prototype 3D bio-printing platform that uses stem cells to print skin tissue directly onto model wounds, as a precursor to skin repair in humans.

Pritinder will collaborate with seven key Australian investigators on the project, including WA burns surgeon Professor Fiona Wood and bio-printing and bioengineering expert Professor Gordon Wallace from the University of Wollongong.

CHIRI Director Professor John Mamo said, “This research bodes well for realising new treatments for persistent or slow-healing wounds that commonly occur in older-aged Australians with chronic diseases such as diabetes.

“I am thrilled that this MRFF funding will enable Pritinder and her team to progress this important research, which has the potential to greatly improve outcomes for patients with skin injuries of all ages, including as a result of age and disease.”

You can read more about the funded research project in the Curtin media release.