Professor Damien Harkin
Faculty of Health,
School of Biomedical Sciences
Biography
Professor Harkin is an experienced teacher and medical researcher. He has taught the principles of human structure, function and disease to undergraduate students across multiple fields including nursing, paramedical studies, optometry, podiatry, biomedical science and medical laboratory science. His main area of teaching focus for the last 15 years has been techniques for the analysis of tissue structure for diagnostic and research applications. His main area of research focus for the last 20 years has been the development of cell and tissue therapies for the treatment of common and severe eye diseases. This research has been supported by over $3M dollars in research funding and has led to over 80 publications in peer-reviewed journals and book chapters.Professor Harkin received his BSc and PhD (Pathology) from the University of Adelaide (1993) before completing postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School (1994-1996) and the University of Melbourne (1997). He commenced working at QUT as a lecturer in 2001 and was promoted to Professor in 2016. Professor Harkin also holds honorary positions at the Queensland Eye Institute (since 2005) and Australian Red Cross LifeBlood (since 2020). Professor Harkin has also been awarded a Masters degree in Tertiary Education (2019) from the University of Melbourne.
Personal details
Positions
- Professor
Faculty of Health,
School of Biomedical Sciences- Kelvin Grove Q Block Membership
Institute of Health Biomedical Innovation (IHBI),
IHBI Health Projects - Kelvin Grove Q Block Membership
Keywords
Diseases of the eye and eyelids, Stem cell therapies, Innovative biomaterials, Regenerative medicine, Tissue engineering, Histological techniques
Research field
Medical Biotechnology, Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Ophthalmology and Optometry
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2008
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy (University of Adelaide)
- Master of Tertiary Education (Management) (The University of Melbourne)
- Graduate Certificate in Reserach Management and Policy (The University of Melbourne)
Professional memberships and associations
Australia and New Zealand Cornea Society and Association for Research in Vision and Opthalmology
Teaching
Professor Harkin has over 20 years experience in the provision of lectures, tutorials and practical demonstrations within the fields of human anatomy, physiology and pathology. He has trained over 2000 students at the undergraduate level and has guided to completion 7 PhD students and 2 Masters students in the role of principal supervisor. He has also made a significant contribution to the training and mentorship of more junior academics in his role as Head of Medical Sciences at QUT (2009-2011) and numerous in-house professional education workshops. Professor Harkin has been a leading advocate for the digital transformation of teaching including the production of over 20 specialist videos covering the essentials of histological techniques.
Selected publications
- Alexander N, Walshe J, Richardson N, Futrega K, Doran M, Harkin D, Shadforth A, (2020) Stromal cells cultivated from the choroid of human eyes display a mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) phenotype and inhibit the proliferation of choroidal vascular endothelial cells in vitro, Experimental Eye Research, 200.
- Nili Ahmadabadi E, Li F, Dawson R, Lau C, McEwan B, Barnett N, Weier S, Walshe J, Richardson N, Harkin D, (2019) The impact of limbal mesenchymal stromal cells on healing of acute ocular surface wounds is improved by pre-cultivation and implantation in the presence of limbal epithelial cells, Cell Transplantation, 28 (9-10), pp. 1257-1270.
- Galloway C, Dalvi S, Shadforth A, Suzuki S, Wilson M, Kuai D, Hashim A, MacDonald L, Gamm D, Harkin D, Singh R, (2018) Characterization of human iPSC-RPE on a prosthetic Bruch's membrane manufactured from silk fibroin, Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, 59 (7), pp. 2792-2800.
- Bobba S, Di Girolamo N, Munsie M, Chen F, Pebay A, Harkin D, Hewitt A, O'Connor M, McLenachan S, Shadforth A, Watson S, (2018) The current state of stem cell therapy for ocular disease, Experimental Eye Research, 177, pp. 65-75.
- Harkin D, Foyn L, Bray L, Sutherland A, Li F, Cronin B, (2015) Concise Reviews: Can mesenchymal stromal cells differentiate into corneal cells? A systematic review of published data, Stem Cells, 33 (3), pp. 785-791.
- Bray L, Heazlewood C, Munster D, Hutmacher D, Atkinson M, Harkin D, (2014) Immunosuppressive properties of mesenchymal stromal cell cultures derived from the limbus of human and rabbit corneas, Cytotherapy, 16 (1), pp. 64-73.
- Griffith M, Harkin D, (2014) Recent advances in the design of artificial corneas, Current Opinion in Ophthalmology, 25 (3), pp. 240-247.
- Shadforth A, George K, Kwan A, Chirila T, Harkin D, (2012) The cultivation of human retinal pigment epithelial cells on Bombyx mori silk fibroin, Biomaterials, 33 (16), pp. 4110-4117.
- Bray L, George K, Ainscough L, Hutmacher D, Chirila T, Harkin D, (2011) Human corneal epithelial equivalents constructed on Bombyx mori silk fibroin membranes, Biomaterials, 32 (22), pp. 5086-5091.
- Harkin D, George K, Madden P, Schwab I, Hutmacher D, Chirila T, (2011) Silk fibroin in ocular tissue reconstruction, Biomaterials, 32 (10), pp. 2445-2458.
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Damien, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).
Selected research projects
- Title
- Cultivated corneal endothelial cell implants for restoring vision
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- 1099922
- Start year
- 2016
- Keywords
- Corneal Transplantation; Regenerative Medicine; Biomaterials; Cornea; Stem Cell Therapy
- Title
- A fibroin-based prosthetic Bruch's membrane for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- 1080302
- Start year
- 2015
- Keywords
- macular degeneration; extracellular matrix; biomaterials; retinal function; regenerative medicine
- Title
- A novel mesenchymal stromal cell and biomaterial for corneal reconstruction
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- 1049050
- Start year
- 2013
- Keywords
- cornea replacement; stem cells; biomaterials; corneal wound healing; corneal transplantation
- Title
- Growing Cells on Silk Film to Replace Corneal Grafting
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- Start year
- 2013
- Keywords
- Title
- Development of a novel bioengineered tissue construct for repairing the eye.
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- 553038
- Start year
- 2009
- Keywords
- Eye; Cornea; Limbus; Silk Protein; Electrospinning
Projects listed above are funded by Australian Competitive Grants. Projects funded from other sources are not listed due to confidentiality agreements.
Supervision
Current supervisions
- Extracellular Traps and Transfusion-Related Acute Lung Injury (TRALI)
PhD, Associate Supervisor - Characterisation of novel immune cell subsets in the central nervous system and its supporting tissues
PhD, Mentoring Supervisor
Other supervisors: Dr Samantha Dando - Characterisation of extracellular vesicles in blood components and their potential impact on blood coagulation
PhD, Mentoring Supervisor
Other supervisors: Dr Natalie Pecheniuk - Developing a New Cell Therapy to Advance Burns Treatment
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Leila Cuttle, Professor Mia Woodruff - A Biomaterials Approach Towards the Expansion of Melt Electrowriting
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Tim Dargaville, Adjunct Associate Professor Elena Juan Pardo
Completed supervisions (Doctorate)
- Development of a Novel Mesenchymal Stromal cell (MSC) Therapy for Repairing the Cornea (2018)
- Evaluation of Silk Fibroin as a Scaffold for Cultured Corneal Endothelial Cell Implants (2018)
- Development of a Cultured Tissue Substitute to Repair the Ageing Retina (2015)
- Evaluation of Fibroin-Based Scaffolds for Ocular Tissue Reconstruction (2012)
- Improved Strategies for the Cultivation of Human Limbal Epithelial (HLE) Grafts (2008)