A new facility for the training of the next generation of microsurgeons in both molecular biology and advanced surgical techniques will be officially opened by the Governor of NSW, Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO, at the University of Sydney on Tuesday 22 April.
Established through a partnership between the Microsearch Foundation of Australia, the Bosch Institute and the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Sydney, the facility will combine state of the art molecular biology and tissue culture laboratories with a world class microsurgery suite.
Providing accommodation for up to 14 surgery students alongside basic researchers from a variety of disciplines, the laboratories will enable Microsearch to support improvements in surgical techniques and technologies, and will facilitate translational research in areas such as stem cell biology, gene therapy, tissue engineering and transplantation.
Since its foundation in 1973 by Professor Earl Owen AO, Microsearch has been at the forefront of innovation in the development of the microsurgical techniques allowing reattachment of severed limbs, hand and face transplantation and restoration of fertility in both men and women.
Microsearch became part of the University of Sydney in 2006, following the retirement of Professor Owen.
Synergy between the goal of Microsearch to foster closer links between surgeons and basic researchers, and the mission of the Bosch Institute to encourage translation of basic discoveries to clinical applications, has resulted in the establishment of this new facility.