MCN New User Inductions
2025-08-04 09:30 - 15:30, 2025-08-18 09:30 - 15:30, 2025-09-01 09:30 - 15:30, 2025-09-15 09:30 - 15:30, 2025-10-06 09:30 - 15:30, 2025-10-20 09:30 - 15:30, 2025-11-17 09:30 - 15:30, 2025-12-01 09:30 - 15:30 (Australia/Melbourne) and 10 more dates | MCN Board Room, 151 Wellington Rd, Clayton, VIC, 3168, Australia

Nanofabulous Seminar: Mainstreaming Lab Sustainability – MCN’s Actions, Global Relevance, Shared Responsibility
2025-09-02 10:00 - 11:00 | MCN Board Room, 151 Wellington Rd, Clayton, VIC, 3168, Australia
Dr. Tatiana Pinedo Rivera
Senior Process Engineer & Team Lead
Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication (MCN)

MCN Refresher Induction
2025-10-13 10:00 - 11:00 | MCN Board Room, 151 Wellington Rd, Clayton, VIC, 3168, Australia

ANFF-C Manufacturing for Startups series 2025
2025-10-29 17:00 - 18:00 | Webex (online seminar)
ANFF-C is pleased to announce that Dr Catherine Lopes will present this upcoming webinar. Dr Catherine Lopes is a renowned leader in Data & AI, with over 25 years of experience driving innovation, governance, and transformation across banking, energy, consulting, and government sectors…. see here for full event details

MSE-MCN Distinguished Seminar – Body-Interfaced Biosensors - Professor Wei Gao
2025-11-06 10:00 - 11:00 | G30–New Horizons Building, 20 Research Way, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia
The rise of personalized medicine is reshaping traditional healthcare, enabling predictive analytics and tailored treatment strategies. In this talk, I will discuss our progress in developing wearable, implantable, and ingestible electrochemical biosensors for real-time molecular analysis. These bioelectronic systems autonomously access and sample diverse body fluids—including sweat, interstitial fluid, gastrointestinal fluid, wound exudate, and exhaled breath condensate—enabling continuous monitoring of key biomarkers such as metabolites, nutrients, hormones, proteins, and drugs during various activities. To facilitate scalable, cost-effective manufacturing of these high-performance, nanomaterial-based sensors, we employ laser engraving, inkjet printing, and 3D printing techniques. The clinical utility of our biosensors is being evaluated in human and animal studies, focusing on applications such as stress and mental health assessment, precision nutrition, chronic disease management, and personalized drug monitoring.
Additionally, I will highlight our efforts in energy harvesting from both the body and the environment, opening the door to battery-free, wireless biosensing technologies. By integrating electrochemical biosensing with advanced bioelectronics, we aim to revolutionize personalized healthcare, offering new possibilities for diagnostics, continuous monitoring, and therapeutic interventions.
This is an in-person-only seminar, jointly organised by Monash School of Engineering and Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication
10:00am, 06/11/2025
G29/G30, Ground Floor, New Horizons – 20 Research Way, Clayton

Labs Who Care: Towards Sustainable Laboratories Workshop
2025-11-10 09:30 - 15:00 | University of Melbourne, 700 Swanston Street, Carlton, Victoria, 3053, Australia
This free, hybrid event is proudly organised by the ANFF Sustainability Expert Working Group. As you may remember, last year we launched Labs Who Care, a movement and community focused on integrating sustainability into all aspects of lab life. This year, we’re building on that momentum with new collaborations, including with Australasian Campuses Towards Sustainability (ACTS), who have recently launched a Lab Sustainability Group.

MCN's Nanofabulous Seminar Series - Dr Gerald Lopez
2026-01-28 11:00 - 12:00 | MCN Board Room, 151 Wellington Rd, Clayton, VIC, 3168, Australia
Title: Analytics for Shared Research Infrastructure: A Decade of Lessons at the University of Pennsylvania Singh Center for Nanotechnology
Dr Gerald G. Lopez
Director of Operations and Business Development & Center Associate Director
University of Pennsylvania | Singh Center for Nanotechnology, Philadelphia, USA.
Bio:
Dr. Gerald Lopez is Director of Operations and Business Development and is the inaugural Associate Director of the Singh Center for Nanotechnology at the University of Pennsylvania. He leads the Center’s operations and strategy, supporting 100+ tools and 400+ users through sustainable access, governance, and continuous improvement. Externally, Dr. Lopez co-founded MAEBL and is the Operations Trustee for the International Conference on Electron, Ion and Photon Beam Technology and Nanofabrication (EIPBN), where he served as Conference Chair in 2021. His professional experience spans academia and industry in engineering, product development, sales, and consulting. He is passionate about education, mentorship, connectivity, and operational excellence. Dr. Lopez received his Ph.D. and M.S. in Electrical & Computer Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and his B.S. in Computer Engineering cum laude from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
Zoom link: click here
Meeting ID: 850 6101 0181 and Passcode: [REDACTED]
Flyer: click here

MSE-MCN Distinguished Seminar – 3D biofabricated cellular disease models to study brain tumors - Prof. Carmen Villmann
2026-01-29 11:00 - 12:00 | VIC
Abstract:
Three dimensional (3D) neuronal cell culture models are complex in vitro systems that enable earlier neurite outgrowth and functional network formation compared with 2 D neuronal cultures These 3 D models provide an advanced platform for molecular and cellular analyses of neurological and neurodegenerative diseases relative to healthy conditions Native brain tissue exhibits a low elastic modulus ranging from 30 to 500 Pa depending on brain region and developmental stage, and we and others have shown that neuronal network formation is highest in ultrasoft hydrogels.
Here, thiolated hyaluronic acid (HA SH) was crosslinked with two PEG linkers Hyaluronic acid, a major component of the brain extracellular matrix, was reinforced with triangular pore frames composed of poly(ɛ caprolactone)caprolactone)( fibres fabricated by melt electro–writing (Laminin, fibronectin, and collagen IV were added for ECM supplementation The 3D brain disease model comprises neurons, astrocytes, and glioma cells Astrocytes support neuronal growth and maturation by secreting growth factors into the extracellular matrix Neuron tumor cell interactions involving glioblastoma U 87 and breast tumor cells MDA MB 231 and MDA MB 361 were confirmed by expression of glutamate receptors (GluA 2 and vesicular glutamate transporter 1 (vGLUT 1 Electron microscopy indicated that these interactions closely resemble functional synapses, while astrocyte glioma interactions were positive for connexin 43.
Cell–cell communication is essential for functional network formation Calcium imaging revealed significantly increased and synchronized neuronal activity when neurons
were cultured in the presence of tumor cells Thus, the 3D MEW frame HA SH composite containing neurons, astrocytes, and tumor cells represents a ready to use model to study brain tumor resistance to therapies through combined drug application.
Bio:
Since 2012 Carmen Villmann is a full Professor of Molecular Neurobiology at the University Hospital Würzburg, Germany She is a biologist by training and studied at
Universities in Berlin, Hannover, both Germany and Boston, US During her PhD and Postdoc career, she submerged into neurobiology working on balances in neurotransmission between excitation and inhibition and their disturbances associated with various kinds of neurological disorders Recently, she also started to use 3D cellular models to better simulate diseases of the brain such as tumors which represent a suitable tool to better translate molecular findings towards clinical applications
VENUE: G29/30, New Horizons Building, 20 Research Way
or, Zoom
ID: 89035404584
Passcode: [REDACTED]

4th DWL Workshop
2026-02-02 08:00 - 17:00 | Webex (online seminar)
Registration open for: DWL Workshop and Webinar Series
The 4th DWL Workshop, proudly sponsored by ANFF, will be held on Monday February 2, 2026, at the University of Sydney. Join researchers, scientists, and micro/nanofabrication experts for this one-day event exploring the latest in direct write lithography (DWL) including electron, photon, ion beam and more! Educational webinars will also begin in November 2025.
Click here to register and for more information
Want to present at the workshop?
We’re calling on researchers, scientists, and experts in micro and nanofabrication to share their insights at the “Innovative Research in Direct Write Lithography Workshop.” If you’re working on new techniques, applications, or advancements in direct write lithography, we want to hear from you. For details on how to submit your abstract, click here.
* Please be aware that the webinar you’ll be watching is a pre-recorded session. After the presentation, there will be a live Q&A segment.
Keynote speaker at the 4th DWL Workshop:

Gerald G. Lopez, Ph.D. Director of Operations and Business & Center Associate Director Singh Center for Nanotechnology
University of Pennsylvania | MAEBL Co-Founder and Board Chair | EIPBN Operations Trustee

MCN's Nanofabulous Seminar Series - Prof Shery Huang (University of Cambridge)
2026-02-06 11:00 - 12:00 | MCN Board Room, 151 Wellington Rd, Clayton, VIC, 3168, Australia
Title: Multiscale biofabrication for sustainability and ‘engineering’ biology
Prof Shery Huang
Professor of Bioengineering, Department of Engineering co-Director of EPSRC CDT Sensor Technology, University of Cambridge.
Bio:
Shery Huang is Professor of Bioengineering, at Department of Engineering, and co-Director of EPSRC CDT Sensor Technology, University of Cambridge. She is a recipient of BioMedEng Innovation Award, and a fellow of the Institute of Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining. She holds editorial roles at ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, Bioactive Materials, and Biodesign and Manufacturing.
Zoom link: Click here
Meeting ID: 852 6793 0566 and Passcode: [REDACTED]
Flyer: Click here

MCN Nanofabulous Seminar Series - Palladium Based Microactuators for Next-Generation Microrobotics
2026-02-25 11:00 - 12:00 | MCN Board Room, 151 Wellington Rd, Clayton, VIC, 3168, Australia
Dr Hanyu Alice Zhang
Department of Applied Physics
Cornell University, USA.
Zoomlink: click here
Meeting ID: 882 7655 2058 and Passcode: [REDACTED]
Flyer: click here

MCN Refresher Induction
2026-04-14 10:00 - 11:00 | VIC
Zoom link: https://monash.zoom.us/join
Meeting ID: 819 3425 3169 & password: [REDACTED]
