RESEARCHER PROFILE (Filmed November 2023)
Dr Felicity Han, Research Fellow
Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology
University of Queensland, Australia
Applying nanotechnology to chronic pain management
Dr Felicity Han is a Research Fellow and Leader in Pain Relief Innovation, at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology in the University of Queensland. Dr Han’s research interests sit at the interface of drug delivery and the pain field. Her overarching research goal is to improve the quality of day to day life of patients suffering from chronic pain, by applying nanotechnology to the development of novel highly effective pain-killer products for improving chronic pain management.
Dr Han’s team have developed five different techniques to produce painkiller-loaded nanoparticles and nanofibers aimed at improving pain relief for patients where available pain-killers either lack efficacy or produce dose-limiting side-effects. With the use of their nanoparticles, Dr Han’s team aim to turn a small but potent peptide that has been on the market for over a decade into an oral treatment for improving pain management that currently lacks efficacy in patients. T
Dr Han’s research focuses on developing drug-products to solve one of the largest unmet medical needs in the pain field through the use of sustainable materials. Her team are currently working on developing multifunctional sutures including biodegradable pain relief sutures and innovative novel nanoparticles, which deliver innate-immune targeting peptides for the treatment of cancer and cancer-related pain. Their research also investigates the role of C5a and C3a in the pathogenesis of chronic pain including neuropathic pain, cancer-related pain, low back pain, and OA pain.
Dr Han works in collaboration with other leading Australian and international researchers to stay at the forefront of the drug delivery systems field and the pain field. They also provide a preclinical evaluation of novel compounds and formulations.
Dr Han enjoy’s volunteering within the academic community, most notably as Head of the SBMS ECR Committee and Treasurer for The Queensland Chinese Association of Scientists and Engineers (QCASE). Currently, she is serving as a guest editor of Pain Research and Management.
-
Impact of Leukaemia Foundation’s Research Funding into Blood Cancer
Bill Stavreski is the Head of Research at the Leukaemia Foundation who talks about the research impact in recent years. The Foundation itself marks its 25th anniversary in 2025, having funded a wide range of health and medical research since 2000. With a focus on basic science, health services research, treatment, and care, the organisation has invested nearly $90 million (adjusted in current dollars terms) in approximately 370 research grants over the years.
-
New treatments for patients with mental illness
Associate Professor Bernadette Fitzgibbon is a neuroscientist with several decades of experience in researching, developing, and translating novel therapies for mental health and chronic pain conditions. This includes the application and optimisation of brain stimulation and psychedelic therapies, overseeing large multi-site intervention trials, both within Australia and abroad. Through her work, she has developed meaningful collaborations with consumers, volunteers, policy makers, and services providers, ensuring that the outcomes of her work contribute towards real-world clinical impact.
-
Dr Nischal Sahai
RESEARCH IN DEVICE TRIALS, VACCINE STUDIES, ORAL MEDICATIONS, INJECTABLES & INFUSIONS.
@ CLINICAL TRIAL CENTRE, UNIVERSITY OF THE SUNSHINE COAST
QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA
