Rate My Professor Zee Upton

Professor Zee Upton is an Honorary Professor in the School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, Faculty of Health and Medicine, at the University of Newcastle. She holds a PhD from the University of Adelaide and is a biochemist by training. Her career includes serving as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) at the University of Newcastle. Previously, she was Executive Director of the Skin Research Institute of Singapore, a partnership between Nanyang Technological University, the National Health Group, and A*STAR, and held positions as Research Director, Deputy Executive Director (Industry), Covering Executive Director, and Executive Director at A*STAR's Institute of Medical Biology from 2015. At Queensland University of Technology, she spent 15 years in senior research leadership and management roles, including Assistant Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Health, where she established the Tissue Repair and Regeneration Program and the CRC for Wound Management Innovation. She also initiated the pan-Singapore Wound Care Innovation for the Tropics Programme.

Professor Upton is renowned for research on the molecular, biochemical, and cellular mechanisms of growth factors, extracellular matrix proteins, and tissue repair, particularly in wound healing and skin repair. Her innovations include vitronectin:growth factor complexes for chronic wound treatment and three-dimensional human skin equivalent wound models for novel therapies. Key publications encompass 'The humanistic and economic burden of chronic wounds: A systematic review' (Olsson et al., 2019), 'Prevalence of chronic wounds in the general population: systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies' (Martinengo et al., 2019), 'Sensors and imaging for wound healing: a review' (Dargaville et al., 2013), 'Wound healing and the use of medicinal plants' (Shedoeva et al., 2019), 'Vitronectin: Growth Factor Complexes Hold Potential as a Wound Therapy Approach' (Upton et al., 2008), and 'Development of a three-dimensional human skin equivalent wound model for investigating novel wound healing therapies' (Xie et al., 2010). She was awarded the inaugural Smart State Senior Fellowship in 2006 by the Queensland State Government for interdisciplinary research on smart wound healing solutions. Professor Upton champions interdisciplinary innovation at the intersection of disciplines.