Associate Professor Damien Harkin Sc, BSc Hons, PhD 

2013 Research Grant recipient

Damien Harkin is an Associate Professor at the School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology and the Queensland Eye Institute.

On 10 October 2013 he was awarded a Macular Disease Foundation Australia research grant (comencing 2014) to support his novel research project looking at a protein extracted from silk as a form of scaffold on which to grow new retinal tissue, with the view to replacing the damaged tissue that eventually leads to permanent loss of sight in macular degeneration patients. This project may help maintain or restore vision for people living with late stage disease.

Speaking of his research Professor Harkin said, “The ultimate goal of our research is to develop an effective, affordable and accessible treatment for patients afflicted with age-related macular degeneration. The novelty of our study is that we will use a protein extracted from silk as a form of scaffold on which to grow new retinal tissue, with the view to replacing the damaged tissue that eventually leads to permanent loss of sight in age-related macular degeneration patients.”