Christopher Turner B. Tech (Hons.) Ph. D is an academic researcher into skin inflammation, chronic disease, wound healing, drug development and drug delivery at Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. Concurrently, he holds an adjunct position at the Future Industries Institute, University of South Australia. Chris returned to Australia in 2021 after 5 years at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, Canada, after completing a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Fellowship. He received his Ph.D in Health Sciences at the University of Adelaide. 

Dr. Turner's research interests encompass inflammation, aging and chronic disease, with an emphasis on skin. There is a focus on investigating mechanisms of inflammaging (progressive increase in generalized inflammation as we age), tissue repair, fibrosis, itch, angiogenesis and the role of proteases in chronic inflammatory disease. Chris has a track record in the development and pre-clinical testing of novel therapeutic agents. Diseases of research interest include pressure ulcers, diabetes, aging, dermatitis, skin blisters, ischemia-reperfusion injury and burns. Current projects are investigating granzymes, a family of serine proteases involved in inflammatory responses, angiogenesis, fibrosis and tissue organization. Also investigating Flightless I, a cytoskeletal actin-remodeling protein and negative regulator of wound repair.

Chris has received a number of awards and recognitions for his contributions to the research field; including Australasian Wound & Tissue Repair Society Young Investigator of the Year, twice awarded USA Wound Healing Society Young Investigator, Calgary Firefighters Award from the Skin Research Group of Canada, Dr. Robert Cowan Award from the University of British Columbia Plastics, Department of Surgery, and Bob Fraser New Investigator Award from The Matrix Biology Society of Australia and New Zealand. He was a finalist in the health category of The Australian Innovation Challenge. Training awards include a NHMRC Dora Lush Ph.D Scholarship, CIHR Research Fellowship, CIHR Institute of Aging Award, and CIHR IMPACT Strategic Training Program Award. 

Awards

• Skin Research Group of Canada, Annual Conference, Best Oral Presentation, Canada
• Australasian Wound & Tissue Repair Society (AWTRS) Travel Award, Australia
• BCRegMed Trainee Travel Award, Canada
• Wound Healing Society (WHS) Young Investigator, USA: Identified as a top young investigator in the wound healing field
• WHS Travel Award, USA
• Skin Research Group of Canada Travel Award, Canada
• WHS Travel Award, USA
• WHS Young Investigator, USA: Identified as a top young investigator in the wound healing field
• ICORD Trainee Travel Award, Canada
• AWTRS Travel Award, Australia
• AWTRS Young Investigator of the Year, Australia: In recognition of outstanding achievement by an early career researcher
• Winner, ICORD Trainee Symposium, Best Senior Trainee Overall Presentation, UBC, Canada
• AWTRS Travel Award, Australia
• BCRegMed Trainee Travel Award, Canada
• Dr. Robert Cowan Award for Best Scientific Paper, UBC Plastics Research Day, Vancouver, Canada
• Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) - Institute of Aging Travel Award, UBC, Canada: CIHR equivalent to the NH&MRC and success rate < 7% across Canada. Funded research performed on granzymes role in pressure injury
• WHS Travel Award, USA
• American Society of Matrix Biology (ASMB) Travel Award, USA
• ICORD Trainee Travel Award, UBC, Canada
• Bob Fraser New Investigator Award, Australia: The Matrix Biology Society of Australia and New Zealand (MBSANZ) established this award to recognize and support early career development in the field of matrix biology
• The Australian Innovation Challenge, Finalist, Health Category, Australia: The challenge highlights innovation and helps to create an opportunity to make a difference… shine a spotlight on the incredible ideas and creativity which drive this country and encourage collaboration between industry, government and community
• AWTRS Travel Award, Australia

Research Grants

• 2022, Turner and Cowin, DEBRA Australia ($40,000): Role of granzymes in epidermolysis bullosa
• 2021, Turner, STEM Equipment Grant, University of South Australia ($13,500)
• 2021, Granville and Turner, Mitacs Accelerate, UBC, Canada ($95,894): Funded to investigate the role of granzymes in radiation dermatitis
• 2021, Voelcker, Cowin, Turner and Fitridge, US Department of Defense (DoD) CDMRP, Monash and UniSA, Australia ($2,246,277): Therapeutic antibody delivery to chronic wounds with nanoparticles
• 2021, Granville and Turner, International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD) Seed Grant, UBC, Canada ($16,346): Formulating novel antibiotic into a novel therapy for pressure injuries
• 2020, Granville and Turner, Eczema Society of Canada Research Grant Program, UBC, Canada ($27,243): A Novel Therapeutic Approach for Atopic Dermatitis
• 2020, Granville and Turner, ICORD Seed Grant, UBC, Canada ($21,794): Repurposing an antibiotic into a novel therapy for pressure injuries
• 2018, Granville and Turner, ICORD Seed Grant, Co-investigator, UBC, Canada ($21,794): Pressure injuries in SCI patients: a new therapy from an old drug
• 2018, Granville, Hiroyasu and Turner, In Vivo Preclinical Transgenic Model Development Pilot Program competition, UBC, Canada ($2,724)