Embracing a 'Boutiq' opportunity
Victoria chemistry graduate Dr Anna Henning has been named an Emerging Innovator finalist at the annual KiwiNet Research Commercialisation Awards.
Victoria chemistry graduate Dr Anna Henning has been named an Emerging Innovator finalist at the annual KiwiNet Research Commercialisation Awards.
Dr Henning is a finalist for the award in recognition of her outstanding contribution to Victoria start-up company Boutiq Science Ltd, where she has helped commercialise the company’s unique magnetic nanoparticle technology.
Boutiq offers high quality materials, in the form of nanoparticles, customisable to different sizes, shapes and surface functionality, for use in a variety of applications and new products.
Dr Henning says the nanoparticles have the ability to impact healthcare. “Our magnetic materials are being developed for clinical applications in the biomedical markets, and in particular, cancer diagnostics and cancer research.
“We make unique materials that can’t be produced anywhere else. Because some of them have particularly interesting properties, we can apply them in ways that enable other technologies and unlock new advantages.”
After graduating with a PhD from Victoria in 2013, Dr Henning was appointed head of sales and product development at Boutiq. It was her enthusiasm and excellence in this role that earned Dr Henning her KiwiNet nomination.
“Anna has taken what was a research project and converted into a commercial manufacturing operation,” says Geoff Todd, Managing Director of Viclink. “The company has figured out how to make nanoparticles with consistent surface characteristics, which is an impressive achievement at this tiny scale.”
The Norman F. Barry Trust Emerging Innovator Award recognises an upcoming entrepreneurial researcher who is making outstanding contributions to business innovation or is creating innovative businesses in New Zealand through technology licencing, start-up creation or by providing expertise to support business innovation.
KiwiNet is a consortium of fifteen universities, crown research institutes and a crown entity established to boost commercial outcomes from publicly-funded research. The winners will be announced on Thursday 30 June in Auckland.