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Using nano-flashlights to see inside our cells

NANOSCALE BIOPHOTONICS-23Minute diamonds to be a cardiologist’s new best friend.

Fluorescent materials, made of things like minute diamond and ruby particles, are being developed by Melbourne researchers to help us see inside the living body.

Dr Philipp Reineck is exploring how these materials can help to us visualise what is happening inside living organisms using new fluorescent nanomaterials in his work at RMIT University and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Nanoscale BioPhotonics.

Philipp hopes to develop this technology into a simple blood test to diagnose heart disease much earlier than we can now.

“It’s hard to diagnose heart disease at an early stage,” says Philipp. “We envisage this technology to be used like a simple blood sugar test, thus improving our ability to monitor and treat heart disease.”

Philipp is also developing this technology to quantitatively measure pain and embryo development.

“These nanomaterials are more than 1,000 times smaller than the diameter of your hair,” explains Philipp Reineck. “By shining a light on these tiny fluorescent materials, we can see very specifically what is happening inside the human body at the level of individual cells and even individual molecules.”

 

Philipp resented his research at Fresh Science Victoria 2015.

Fresh Science is a national program that helps early-career researchers find and share their stories of discovery. Over 30 early-career researchers nominated for Fresh Science Victoria, which was held at Scienceworks (training), Melbourne Museum (schools forum).

Fresh Science Victoria the Kelvin Club (public event) and was supported by Museums Victoria, Bio-Medical Research Victoria and the Office of the Victorian Lead Scientist.

Contact: Philipp Reineck, RMIT University and Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Nanoscale BioPhotonics, philipp.reineck@rmit.edu.au

Philipp

Bright spark: Philipp presenting at the Fresh Science pub event

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Feedback and Testimonials

Comments from Fresh Scientists:

I never had so much confidence to go out in public and talk about my research and would have never done if I had not been part of this workshop. They were also very patient and explained the concepts so clearly. They have definitely been great initiators to take science to the society and have changed my view on science journalism for good. Thanks a lot for all the efforts and training.

Shwathy Ramesan, RMIT, 2019 VIC Fresh Scientist

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2020-11-24T13:35:16+11:00

Shwathy Ramesan, RMIT, 2019 VIC Fresh Scientist

I never had so much confidence to go out in public and talk about my research and would have never done if I had not been part of this workshop. They were also very patient and explained the concepts so clearly. They have definitely been great initiators to take science to the society and have changed my view on science journalism for good. Thanks a lot for all the efforts and training.
Took part in their media training course as part of Fresh Science. Great opportunity, learnt a lot and thoroughly enjoyed the course.

Laurence Luu, UNSW, 2019 NSW Fresh Science

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2020-11-24T13:52:58+11:00

Laurence Luu, UNSW, 2019 NSW Fresh Science

Took part in their media training course as part of Fresh Science. Great opportunity, learnt a lot and thoroughly enjoyed the course.
I had the incredible chance to participate at the FreshScience workshop in Perth this year and I could not be happier with the organisation and the material provided. Very useful and great tips for science communication. Definitely, this will help me in my future career. Thanks a lot for the opportunity!

Alba Claramunt, UoWA, 2019 WA Fresh Scientist

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2020-11-24T14:09:32+11:00

Alba Claramunt, UoWA, 2019 WA Fresh Scientist

I had the incredible chance to participate at the FreshScience workshop in Perth this year and I could not be happier with the organisation and the material provided. Very useful and great tips for science communication. Definitely, this will help me in my future career. Thanks a lot for the opportunity!
I participated in the Fresh Science media training program in 2017 and was the winner in Victoria. I am sincerely thankful to the team - Lydia, Sarah, Toni and Niall - for giving such excellent guidance on how to deal with the media coverage and how to present my work to the general audience. The exposure that we got in the training - meeting with several journalists from different media channels, rehearsing media interviews and pitching for funding - was excellent boost for me to think beyond my PhD.

Deepti Aggarwal, RMIT, VIC 2017 Fresh Scientist (winner)

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2020-11-24T14:15:24+11:00

Deepti Aggarwal, RMIT, VIC 2017 Fresh Scientist (winner)

I participated in the Fresh Science media training program in 2017 and was the winner in Victoria. I am sincerely thankful to the team - Lydia, Sarah, Toni and Niall - for giving such excellent guidance on how to deal with the media coverage and how to present my work to the general audience. The exposure that we got in the training - meeting with several journalists from different media channels, rehearsing media interviews and pitching for funding - was excellent boost for me to think beyond my PhD.
Presenters are very knowledgeable and approachable.

Dayna Cenin, UWA, 2019 WA Fresh Scientist

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2020-11-24T14:18:43+11:00

Dayna Cenin, UWA, 2019 WA Fresh Scientist

Presenters are very knowledgeable and approachable.
I loved getting to talk to journalists and being able to pitch to them.

Anonymous, 2019 Fresh Scientist

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2020-11-24T14:21:42+11:00

Anonymous, 2019 Fresh Scientist

I loved getting to talk to journalists and being able to pitch to them.
The fresh science training was a hands on program. I truly enjoyed the training with actual journalists and stake holders.

I had been struggling for a while with how to explain my research to the general public and the fresh science training really helped me to come up with different angles for different audiences.

I truly enjoyed the pub test because I had the opportunity to talk about the importance of geology  to the general public.

Sara Polanco, University of Sydney, NSW 2019 Fresh Scientist

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2021-07-02T18:54:22+11:00

Sara Polanco, University of Sydney, NSW 2019 Fresh Scientist

The fresh science training was a hands on program. I truly enjoyed the training with actual journalists and stake holders. I had been struggling for a while with how to explain my research to the general public and the fresh science training really helped me to come up with different angles for different audiences. I truly enjoyed the pub test because I had the opportunity to talk about the importance of geology  to the general public.
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