When Alison met Kate

When SVI supporter Alison Hyams was introduced to Dr Kate Firipis, she was inspired to support Kate’s career by funding a Rising Star Fellowship.

Kate is working in SVI’s Vascular Biology Lab to find new solutions for people who require reconstructive skin flap surgery due to severe trauma, burns, chronic wounds or surgical cancer removal. The surgery takes healthy skin from elsewhere on the body to replace the damaged skin. Over 60,000 such interventions are completed in Australia every year.

Kate says that even when a skin flap transfer is successful, the patient loses feeling in that area because the healthy skin flap has had its nerve connections severed.

“And sadly it’s not always successful – complications commonly occur and the surgery also creates a second injury site,” Kate says.

With no alternate treatment for skin flap replacement currently available, lab-grown human skin could provide coverage and wound healing for severe wounds requiring surgery, reducing the need to take healthy skin from elsewhere on the patient.

Supported by Alison’s generosity, Kate is developing an alternative to surgical skin harvest, by growing skin grafts in the lab. This skin is derived from blood cells that have been turned into stem cells, which can then be coaxed in the petri dish to produce a number of different cell types.

“We aim to provide skin that can feel and interact with the world, while delivering a significant economic benefit and reducing strain on the busy healthcare system, resulting in shorter surgeries and better patient outcomes.”

“I’m excited and grateful to receive a Rising Star Fellowship and look forward to keeping Alison updated about my progress,” said Kate.

Alison, who has a background in nursing and community service, said: “Thanks to my late father, Dr Bruce Hyams, I’m in the fortunate position to be able to help researchers improve health outcomes for people. On meeting Kate at an SVI event, I was quickly captivated by her passion, determination and clarity of purpose.”

SVI’s Rising Star Program is shaping the future of medical research by empowering Australia’s brightest young scientists. Through Fellowships worth $125,000 per year for 3-5 years, and Awards valued at $40,000, exceptional early career researchers are given the opportunity to focus on groundbreaking work in critical areas like cancer, diabetes, and dementia. The Rising Star Program helps pave the way for medical breakthroughs.

For more information on how you can support the next generation of researchers, please contact Kathleen Lambrick, Head of Fundraising, at [email protected] or 0425 462 934.