CURRENT PROJECTS
COMPLETED PROJECTS
- Improving germination for Australian native plant seeds
- Agricultural Product Development
- Biosensor for early detection of plant diseases
- 3D printed renewable and biodegradable materials
- Innovative Agricultural biomaterials technologies
- Biomimetic Materials for Preventing Crop Diseases
- Therapeutic Strategies for Polymicrobial Biofilms
- Combating Fungal Biofilm Growth on Surfaces
- Rational Design of Plasma Polymer Coatings
Current Projects
2024-2025 Plasma Activated Water: Investigating opportunities to reduce food waste in the poultry industry
BR Coad, K Richter, A McWhorter. End Food Waste CRC
In Australia, bacterial organisms contribute to a total economic loss of food valued at $36 billion each year. Currently 20% of all poultry products are wasted, which is primarily caused by bacterial spoilage organisms. In this project, we will investigate the efficacy of plasma activated water (PAW) as a potential food sanitiser. Working with industry partners, we aim to develop PAW formulations for eggs and meat that surpass the performance of chemical sanitisers. Finding new chemical-free sanitisers is a promising solution that aims to reduce food loss, increase industry profitability, and provide cleaner and safer products to consumers.
2023-2025 Outsmarting fungal pathogens by preventing host recognition
BR Coad. Grains Research and Development Corporation
This project will identify the components of crop leaf waxes that trigger fungal
spores to germinate and initiate infection. Project outcomes will identify the key wax components which stimulate or inhibit disease progression in key fungal/crop pathosystems. This information will be utilised for future development of novel strategies to prevent fungal crop diseases, through interference with the process of fungal host recognition, germination and disease development and expression.
2022-2026 Bioplastics from Food Waste
PhD project of Melinda Nguyen. BR Coad principal supervisor. End Food Waste CRC Scholarship
The aim of this project is to transform food waste biopolymers into innovative, biodegradable bioplastics that aim to serve as a replacement for unsustainable plastic packaging materials.
2022-2025 Deriving Value from Brewery Wastes
PhD project of David Nkurunziza. BR Coad principal supervisor. University of Adelaide Scholarship
The aim of this project is to analyse and then transform wastes from the brewing industry using an integrated biorefinery process. Extraction methods are being developed to use green technologies.
Past Projects
2022 Improving germination success for Australian native plant seeds using plasma treatments
BR Coad, J Guerin. Australian Flora Foundation
Growing native plants from seed is important for revegetation and restoration of ecological systems. This project will use a form of energy known as cold gas plasma to treat seeds. This novel treatment has been shown to benefit the germination of some cereal crop and native plant species, but little is known about why this is so and whether there is a demonstratable improvement over current best-practices used to break seed dormancy for natives. Outcomes from this study aim to understand how plasma can be used to improve germination outcomes for the benefit of seed and plant conservation..
2022 Research Consortium Project for Agricultural Product Development
V Bulone, T Pukala, M Krakowsaka, A Zannettino, A Abell, D Beattie, BR Coad, A Blencowe. South Australian Department for Innovation and Science
The Research Consortium for Agricultural Product Development (RC-APD) is a $10.9 million (including cash and in-kind), four year program funded by the Government of South Australia. It brings together nine South Australian-based companies from the agriculture and food sector, and nine national and international academic institutions and industry partners to develop high-value products from agricultural waste.
2022 Biosensor for early detection and surveillance of plant diseases
M Francois, W Leifert, BR Coad, T Garrard CSIRO
It is critical to rapidly detect the onset of plant diseases. On farms, early detection will stop outbreaks from spreading and causing devastating losses to agricultural, horticultural, and forestry productivity. This project aims to produce a low-cost diagnostic biosensor that rapidly reports on early infection events on plants caused by fungal pathogens.
2019 3D printed renewable and biodegradable nanocellulose materials
BR Coad, A Little Waite Research Institute
This pilot study aims to provide ‘proof of concept’ for a novel conjugated nanocellulose bio-ink for use in 3D printers
2018 Transforming agricultural productivity through innovative biomaterials platform technologies
BR Coad. University of Adelaide Beacon Fellowship
A specific objective of this fellowship is to understand how fungal pathogens cause plant disease. My lab is designing leaf-mimicking biointerfaces that will help us to identify how fungi recognise surfaces and are induced to turn virulent.
2017 Biomimetic nanomaterials for preventing devastating crop diseases
BR Coad. University of Adelaide Fellowship
Fungal pathogens have effective and sophisticated strategies for invading plant leaves. Once settled on leaf surfaces, they search out for optimal physical and chemical environments and only then do they attempt to penetrate the leaf cuticle. But exactly how these sensed surface properties cause the cell to transform into invasive structures is largely unknown. If we can understand more about this process, we will be able to develop develop resistant crops or better fungicides. Both of these outcomes aim to improve agricultural productivity and increase world-wide food security.
2014 – 2017 Mechanisms of Interaction and Therapeutic Strategies for Polymicrobial Biofilms
A Peleg, A Traven, HJ Griesser, BR Coad. NHMRC Project Grant
Understanding the significance of bacterial-Candida biofilms and developing targeted strategies for their prevention or treatment is critical in the fight against hospital-acquired infections. This project leverages off our unique combination of expertise in infectious diseases, molecular microbiology and biotechnology to identify the mechanisms of interaction between bacteria and Candida in biofilms, and will apply these skills to develop much needed and more effective treatment strategies for hospital-associated infections.
2015 – 2018 Combating fungal biofilm growth on surfaces
HJ Griesser, BR Coad, H-A Klok, N Read. Australian Research Council Discovery Project
The formation of fungal biofilms on surfaces of biomedical devices leads to infections that can be life-threatening, and considerable healthcare costs. Mechanistic understanding of how the properties of a range of materials surfaces affect the effectiveness of fungal attachment will lead to the rational design and development of thin coatings that can be applied onto biomedical devices to confer resistance to fungal infections.
2016 – 2018 Order from chaos: Rational design of biointerfacing plasma polymer coatings
HJ Griesser, RD Short, BR Coad, A Michelmore. Australian Research Council Discovery Project
Bio-interfaces are a growing field in biotechnology, healthcare and medicine, encompassing biomaterials, biosensors, devices and diagnostic tools. Advances in bio-interface design have potential to impact Australia’s economy directly by improving healthcare outcomes locally, and increasing manufacturing competitiveness globally. The Project aims to deliver new opportunities for manufacturing advanced bio-interfaces with the ability to control complex surface functionality via plasma processing.