O'Brien Institute

A tissue engineering industry group, hosted by the O’Brien Institute, is building a better future for the tissue engineering and regenerative surgery industries. Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine hold the promise of groundbreaking therapies for patients. They bring together a variety of emerging disciplines, all of which hope to improve the health and quality of life for millions of people in Australia and around the world. The Tissue Engineering and Matrix group of Victoria (TEAMVic) is an initiative that provides a networking community for researchers, industry, government, funding agencies, media, regulators and clinicians in Victoria.TEAM-Vic members work together for a successful and sustainable tissue engineering and regenerative medicine industry in Victoria. There are currently 180 active members, who meet four times a year at the O’Brien Institute. The network is of particular interest to those engaged in the translation of research into clinical applications and all aspects of new regenerative medicine technologies.

The next Team Vic event will be held on Thursday,28 October. Its focus will be ‘Bench to Clincial Translation’, with Professor Austin Smith and Dr Jeremy Crook as the guest speakers. For more information on TEAM-Vic activities and how to join, contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Sir Laurence Muir, a life-long patron of the Institute, passed away on 21 April 2010. Professor Wayne Morrison talks about the man he calls the Institute’s ‘spiritual godfather’.

Laurence Muir was a life patron of the O’Brien Institute and its second Chairman. He guided the fledgling research centre through one of the most exciting chapters in the history of reconstructive surgery, where we witnessed in the space of a few short years the perfection of microsurgery that, for the first time, allowed surgeons to re-attach amputated hands and fingers seemingly in defiance of nature’s ordinance and to transfer tissues from one part of the body to another for the repair of deformities that previously were untreatable.

Laurie saw the potential for this work and backed its entrepreneurial pioneer, Bernard O’Brien, whom he first encountered as an opponent on the school football field between Scotch and Xavier. They were like minds to the cause. Laurie, already legendary for his multiple charitable causes, was the ‘go to’ man for fundraising with his business skills, contacts, sincerity and elegant charm. Bernard had his blend of Blarney and the spectacular images of early microsurgery miracles. Together, the two presented a powerful force to would-be donors, including

State and Federal Governments, philanthropic trusts and generous individuals. Laurie raised the funds for building the world’s preeminent microsurgery research centre at St Vincent’s Hospital. When he handed over the reins to his successor, Ron Walker, in 1992, his enterprise and generosity were rewarded by seeing his‘child’ become a Mecca for training in microsurgery for surgeons from around the world and a centre of excellence for microvascular research. Despite his myriad other charitable causes, Laurence remained committed to the centre, which continued to grow and is now called the O’Brien Institute. Laurie attended every Christmas party, donated every year and regularly rang to offer encouragement and praise. We owe more than words can say to our patron, who shone a torch that lit the path for microsurgery to bloom. This man of compassion and vision was justly proud of his ‘child’ that he nursed through adolescence to manhood and will forever remain its spiritual godfather.

Wayne Morrison

Julie Leeming, a former member of the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation Board, is helping the O’Brien Institute raise funds for life-saving research. Julie and nine dedicated friends (and experienced fundraisers!) have formed a group called the ‘Hummingbird Ambassadors’.

The Ambassadors are former Lady Mayoress Wendy Cheng, Janet Spooner, Floria Baccini, Thelma Peterson, Silvia Lau, Leanne Kibby, Saiyuen Hunter, Denise Lord and Christine Carroll. “We decided to form a voluntary organisation to help the O’Brien Foundation, because we’re so impressed with what they do,” Julie said.

The group will hold three or four social functions a year, the first one a luncheon at Sketch restaurant on Central Pier in Docklands in June. “It will be a sell-out, no doubt about that,” Julie said.

“We’re getting great support and we’ve all got different skills.Some of us are good at sourcing  good quality items at a good price, some at collecting people and some at entertainment. Everyone does a different job and it all melds together beautifully.

“We’re committed to what we’re doing. We’re not only raising funds – we’re raising the profile, so that more people will learn about the Institute’s fantastic work. It’s really important, and we feel special to be involved.”

Neopec is a revolutionary project whose goal is a combination of device and surgical procedure that could use a woman’s own regenerative capacity to grow a living fat tissue substitute for breast reconstruction. The project is funded by a $3 million grant under Victoria’s Science Agenda Investment Fund and matching contributions from industry and research centre stakeholders, including the O’Brien Institute, St Vincent’s Hospital, University of Melbourne’s Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Anatomics and Cogentum. Newly appointed CEO, Peter Mountford, believes that in addition to helping thousands of patients world-wide, Neopec could also develop a much needed business model which would ensure that local stakeholders reap greater benefit from Australia’s smaller hightech initiatives in the global marketplace. “We have many partners contributing to this project in many different ways – financial support, surgical support, engineering support  and biological research. We’re keen to see that all local stakeholders, including the local community, realise their fair benefit,” Peter said. The business model would also ensure tangible outcomes are delivered globally to patients as quickly as possible and in a way that maximises patient safety. The project is currently entering proof of concept stage, with a number of patients now recruited for a pilot study. “The first step is to prove that the results we’ve seen in animal studies could be replicated in humans. We expect to have early stage results by the end of the year,” Peter said. At the same time, about 12 full-time researchers are working on developing a biodegradable chamber and the optimisation of the fat deposition response. “In all of this, it’s not only efficacy that’s foremost on our minds, but also ensuring safety and reducing the demands made on the patient and the surgeon,” Peter said.