Professor Ewa Goldys, Deputy Director,
Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Nanoscale Biophotonics
Professor Ewa Goldys is internationally renowned for development and clinical application of advanced fluorescence techniques. Her pioneering research opened a new field of inquiry of nanoscale upconversion. Industrial translation of her work in advanced electronic materials has had a major impact on energy-efficient lighting. Professor Goldys has led major research initiatives, including the interdisciplinary $40-million ARC Centre of Excellence for Nanoscale Biophotonics, as Deputy Director. A role model for women in senior leadership, Goldys has mentored more than 30 early career researchers.
Internationally, Professor Ewa Goldys is a Fellow of the Optical Society which recognised her “for research leadership in optical characterization and biomedical sensing that has promoted widespread interdisciplinary awareness of light in life sciences”. Nationally, she is Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, and she was awarded an Australian Museum Eureka Prize for Innovative Use of Technology in 2016. She has also been instrumental in the formation of collaborative clusters of academic institutions and companies to enhance research capabilities and innovation in her fields of fluorescence, nanotechnology and biophotonics.
Professor Goldys is Deputy Director of the flagship interdisciplinary ARC Centre of Excellence for Nanoscale Biophotonics (CNBP) in which the ARC investment of $23 million has been matched by funding from academic and commercial partners of $17 million (2014 – 2021). At the Centre, she is responsible for partnerships, knowledge transfer and research commercialisation. The CNBP program has led to 15 industry-funded projects including five in industry-partnered translation. It has spawned three spinoff companies and has achieved 11 translational research outcomes, with nine more proposed by 2020. Among them is the cytokine in vivo probe program, where Prof Goldys collaborated with Dr Liu to create surgical devices with inbuilt biosensors for spinal trauma surgery. A commercial partnership has been established to use these devices in the development of novel pain therapeutics.
Professor Goldys established and led the $2-million ARC/NHMRC Fluorescence Applications in Biotechnology and Life Sciences Network (2004-2009), to foster interdisciplinary research and develop linkages between industry and academia. This successful network grew to more than 500 participants in Australia and overseas and included 49 commercial organisations. In 2010, Goldys established Macquarie University’s Research Centre, MQ BioFocus, which brought together more than 45 academics and 160 PhD students to maximize opportunities for research and end-user engagement.
In total, Professor Goldys has been awarded over $60 million in competitive national and international funding.
Professor Ewa Goldys’ scientific career bridges the areas of advanced materials, nanotechnology and the life sciences, resulting in significant achievements in each. They include the development of:
- a non-invasive technique capable of recognising cancer, diabetic complications and neurodegenerative conditions such as motor neuron disease, determining eye health, and assessing the quality of early embryos;
- technology to precisely determine tumour margins during surgery;
- fluorescent nanoparticles that enable cancer diagnosis and sex-specific chronic pain treatments.
- two commercialised methods to produce the gallium nitride used in modern LED lights cheaply and without toxic waste; and
- advanced materials for the security industry.
ARC Centre of Excellence for Nanoscale Biophotonics@UNSW 