Ian Goodenough (Moore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

With 24,000 students, Edith Cowan University is the cornerstone of the Joondalup Learning Precinct—a leader in the fields of research, innovation and enterprise initiatives. I acknowledge the exemplary work of Professor Margaret Jones, Director of the Office of Research and Innovation, and Neil Butler, Community Partnerships Adviser, in promoting three leading research institutes based on campus.

ECU's Security Research Institute is one of the leading cybersecurity and digital forensic groups in the world, recognised for its expertise in human, physical and aviation security. The institute consistently delivers quality outcomes in computer and digital forensics, network and wireless security, information warfare, physical security and risk management. The institute was recognised in 2009 by the Australian Computer Society as a centre of expertise in security. The group's other achievements include a digital forensics tool developed with the WA Police to assist with cybercrime, preliminary crime scene investigation, disaster victim identification and evidence tracking.

Established in 2003, the university's Electron Science Research Institute has grown into a world leader in fundamental and applied research in nanophotonics and materials science. Rapidly establishing a reputation for excellence in new functional materials, optoelectronics and microfabrication research, the institute has worked with industry to develop a suite of novel prototypes, including a multilaser optoelectronic plant identification sensor engine for the agri-bio industry; magneto-optic thin films of world record visible range performance; an energy-producing transparent glazing system; and, most notably, 10 gigabit per second chip-to-chip optical interconnects, which earned the institute's director, Kamal Alameh, the 2007 WA Inventor of the Year award.

Edith Cowan University's Health and Wellness Institute houses an innovative multidisciplinary research team in exercise medicine dedicated to investigating the extent to which exercise can be employed in cancer management to materially improve patient outcomes. The group's unique convergence of clinical patient care, exercise oncology and innovation in health interventions has underpinned their achievements in cancer research. Most notably, their multifaceted research program has been the direct result of work in prostate cancer, enabling direct translation of their research findings into practical outcomes for patient benefit and the design and implementation of clinical and community based cancer survivorship programs.

Research is supported by a high level of collaboration between cancer specialists with distinguished international reputations in the fields of clinical exercise science, radiation oncology, urology and molecular biology. Collaborative partnerships with leading clinicians at several major metropolitan hospitals and universities, nationally and internationally, have expanded the pool of multidisciplinary expertise. During the past five years the institute has recorded over 150,000 patient contacts. Ongoing research will further support the community, with the institute examining the role of exercise in various areas, such as men receiving therapy for prostate cancer; neoadjuvant chemoradiation in patients with rectal cancer, breast cancer and related lymphoedema; cancer patients with advanced bone metastatic disease; patients with lung cancer and mesothelioma; and depression in later life.

In summary, continued support, recognition and investment by the federal government will allow these exciting fields of research and innovation to flourish, creating a wide array of career pathways and providing the highly skilled and educated workforce required to build a stronger economy.