The Australia – China Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Research Forum 2013 brings together leading biomaterial, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine scientists from Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and leading universities and research institutes in China to share emerging science, exchange ideas, strengthen collaborative links and develop innovative research project concepts. Key Chinese partners represented at the Forum include Wuhan University, Sun Yat‐sen University, Nanjing University, Tongji University, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences and the General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, each of whom are leaders in specialist research areas in China.
Days one and two of the Forum will see invited speakers reporting on exciting research ranging from fundamental biological and material science studies, through to innovative applications of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine concepts in the clinical setting. The formal speaking program will be followed by a half-day workshop on day two in which selected participants will discuss the establishment of the Australia – China Centre for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (ACCTERM), a multi-institutional and multidisciplinary joint research centre, which will support enhanced knowledge exchange, collaborative postgraduate training and the development of new collaborative research initiatives in this important field. Day three will feature optional visits to key QUT research facilities, including the Medical Engineering Research Facility, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation and the Translational Research Institute, followed by a social visit to Queensland’s world famous Gold Coast region.
The fields of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine hold great potential to deliver new technologies and techniques, which may address some of the greatest medical challenges of our time, from osteoarthritis through to traumatic musculoskeletal injury. Furthermore, such innovations will underpin the expansion of the growing biotechnology and medical technology industries in Queensland and China.
Increasing investment in recent decades has seen China become one of the world’s leading science producers. Australia has a long track record of close scientific cooperation with China, with the first treaty level agreement on Cooperation in Science and Technology signed by the Australian and Chinese Governments in 1980. QUT has a similarly long history of research cooperation with China, which I believe will continue to grow rapidly as new collaborative relationships are established and existing relationships are strengthened through events such as this.