Gold Coast Businesses Ride Wave of AI Innovation in Race to Cure Genetic Disease

Gold Coast, Queensland (28 November, 2025) – Ground-breaking Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology combined with the support of the Gold Coast business community is bringing more than 3,000 Australians living with a devastating muscle-wasting disease within reach of life-changing treatments.

Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy (FSHD) is a complex and progressive genetic disease that causes muscle degeneration and, over time, slowly robs people of the ability to walk, talk and smile, then eat or blink. For a child, it can mean losing the chance to run on the beach with friends; for an adult, the heartbreak of no longer being able to smile at their family. While it has no known cure or treatment, two drug trials are currently underway in Australia and another two will begin next year.

FSHD Global Research Foundation is leading efforts to develop treatments and a cure and has launched an innovative patient-led disease registry and recently developed the world’s first disease progression model, using revolutionary AI to analyse patient samples. This model is highly accurate and has proven to be a gamechanger in determining the effect of the drugs being tested.

The foundation has never received government funding, achieving these advancements entirely through the generosity of individual donors – and the business community, through annual events like the Club Wyndham Corporate Surf Challenge on the Gold Coast.

Bruce Harkness, Senior Vice President Human Resources, Brand Communications and Customer Experience, of Travel + Leisure Co. – developer of brand sponsor, Club Wyndham – said the Gold Coast business community has shown up in force for the cause over 12 events, and did so again this year.

“Many of our teams come back year after year and are now invested in the progress being made by FSHD Global against this debilitating condition. We created this event with the purpose of supporting the foundation and are proud to have helped increase awareness about FSHD through the business community and across the region,” Mr Harkness said.

“There is now real hope of seeing meaningful improvements in the lives of those with FSHD within our lifetimes. It shows the scale of impact we can have when we unite and think creatively about supporting worthy causes as a community,” he added.

This year’s event raised tens of thousands of dollars for the foundation, with Gold Coast-based professional surfer, Isabella Nichols, agreeing to be auctioned for one business team. Nicols is currently rated number six on the World Surfing League tour and, earlier in the year, won the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach.

Businesses including Club Wyndham, Coastal Real Estate, Bebek Constructions, SJS Customs, Ecolab, Frazer Financial, Higgins, Ray White Surfers Paradise, Harvey Norman, Bond Uni, Our Vacation Centre and Bunzl offered their support. What began as a local surf event has grown into a flagship Gold Coast fundraiser, showing how business leaders can directly accelerate medical breakthroughs.

“Every wave surfed and every dollar raised takes us closer to the day no family has to hear that FSHD has no cure. We are not waiting for government funding – we are driving this forward with the support of the business community and the public,” said Emma Weatherley, Managing Director of FSHD Global Research Foundation.

“While we cannot yet put a date on a cure, we are confident that therapies to stop or slow disease progression could emerge from clinical trials within the next five years. Fundraising has enabled us to access the latest AI advances and, as the technology evolves, we expect even greater breakthroughs,” she added.

The Club Wyndham Corporate Surf Challenge was held at The Spit, Main Beach, on 28 November. Teams will compete in elimination rounds, with winners progressing to the semifinals and others battling for a second chance in the repechage to reach the final.

Members of the public can help accelerate this critical research by donating at fshdglobal.org