Reimagining Cancer Research: Professor Justin Gooding’s Breakthrough in 3D Bioprinting
In 2022, Scientia Professor Justin Gooding received the Frontiers Research Award sponsored by ANU, recognising his leadership in developing transformative technologies at the cutting edge of biomedical research.
Professor Gooding’s work focuses on enabling new ways to study disease, particularly cancer, by improving how researchers model human biology in the laboratory.
Through a collaborative partnership between academia, industry and medical research organisations, Professor Gooding helped develop Rastrum, a breakthrough 3D bioprinting platform that allows scientists to rapidly create complex, realistic models of human tissue.
Traditional laboratory models often struggle to replicate the complexity of the human body. Rastrum addressed this challenge by enabling researchers to produce three-dimensional cell cultures that more closely mimic real biological environments, including the structure and behaviour of tumours.
This represented a significant step forward in understanding how cancer develops, spreads and responds to treatment.
Accelerating Discovery and Drug Development
A key advantage of the Rastrum platform was its ability to dramatically increase the speed and scale of research.
What previously took days could be completed in hours, allowing researchers to rapidly generate large numbers of complex 3D cell models for experimentation.
The technology also provided unprecedented control over how cells were arranged and how their surrounding environment was engineered, enabling scientists to explore critical questions about cancer biology, including how tumours grow, migrate and respond to therapies.
Importantly, the platform could be used with patient-derived cells, opening new possibilities for personalised medicine. By testing how an individual’s cells respond to different treatments, the technology had the potential to help guide more tailored and effective clinical decisions.
From Innovation to Global Impact
The development of Rastrum has since translated into significant real-world impact.
The technology has been commercialised through Inventia Life Science, an Australian company that has attracted substantial investment and is now supplying bioprinting systems to research institutions and pharmaceutical companies globally.
The innovation has supported the creation of high-skilled jobs, strengthened Australia’s position in biomedical technology and contributed to the growth of an emerging export industry.
Continuing to Push the Frontiers
Professor Gooding is currently an ARC Industry Laureate Fellow and Scientia Professor at UNSW Sydney.
Since receiving the Research Australia Award, Professor Gooding and his collaborators have continued to build on this innovation.
“Since the award, Inventia Life Sciences has developed a second-generation 3D bioprinter that is being sold globally, while my team has developed a range of bioinks now incorporated into over 50 products,” he said.
These advances are further expanding the capabilities of the platform and its applications across research and drug development.
“We feel this is changing the face of how 3D cell cultures are prepared, which facilitates both drug development and biomedical discovery.”
For Professor Gooding, recognition plays an important role in supporting innovation and showcasing Australia’s strengths in research.
“Awards like this are so important as they raise the profile of Australia’s outstanding biomedical research and provide a massive boost to researchers and entrepreneurs working to improve healthcare locally and globally.”
2026 Research Australia Awards
Professor Gooding’s work highlights how collaboration between research, industry and innovation can drive breakthroughs with global impact.