Meet The Teams
Perth Biodesign for Medtech 2020/21
We are very excited to kick off the 2020/21 Perth Biodesign for Medtech program this month with 20 new participants and 4 teams. The course will see 4 teams of 5 spend time observing care in hospitals and clinics to find unmet clinical needs. They will then spend time applying the Biodesign methodology to choose the best need, develop medtech solutions and begin to plan their implementation pathway including intellectual property, regulatory and reimbursement pathways and business models.
The Perth Biodesign for Medtech 2020/21 course is made possible thanks to support from an XTEND WA grant from the New Industries Fund as well as program partners: University of Western Australia, The Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, Edith Cowan University, Curtin University, Murdoch University, Telethon Kids Institute, the Australian Medical Association (WA) and the Perron Institute.
Team 1
Anesthesia + Hyperbaric Medicine
Amanda Cleaver
Dr Amanda Cleaver is Director of the Raine Medical Research Foundation, a not-for-profit funding organisation that distributes funding towards medical research in WA. She is responsible for the development and implementation of the Foundations’ strategic priorities in consultation with the Raine Board. This includes stakeholder engagement and management across government, university, not-for-profit and corporate sectors. She manages the end-to-end processes of funding programs that promote research collaboration, research impact, and career development for researchers (particularly ECRs). She has a PhD in cancer biology and has worked for a biotech company and in several postdoctoral positions. She has a Master of Business Administration (Distinction), Australasian Research Management Society Advanced-level accreditation, and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Bernadette Wong
Bernadette is an honours student in biomedical science who is interested in being a part of the challenge to improve the standard and delivery of healthcare in low-resource settings. She believes that while medical technology innovation is a truss bridge between scientific research and clinical care, this advancement should also be designed with reliability, sophistication, and flexibility in mind, thus becoming accessible technology for all settings. However, this is all new territory for her and frankly, she finds it quite amusing how daunting this programme can be for her. Nonetheless, Bernadette loves learning new things and almost never gives up learning anything (except learning how to ride a bicycle). As always, she believes that teamwork makes the dream work.
Ryan White
Combining software, electronics, and biomedical science, Ryan White is focussed on developing innovative technologies that can not only empower those with disabilities, but further technologies in the medical field. After graduating with a degree in Engineering and Biomedical Science at the University of Western Australia, he is currently completing a Masters degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. Ryan currently works part-time on subsea robotics research and development as a Remote Systems Engineer, as well as the Operations Manager for the National Australia-China Youth Association and is an experienced software developer for web-based applications.
Team 2
Burns and Vascular Surgery
Team 3
Neurology and Orthopedic Surgery
Team 4
Intensive Care and Acute Surgery
Evan Savigni
Evan is a hardworking biomedical engineering student, passionate about improving outcomes for patients engaging with the medical industry. With prior experience at OBELL and a current role interning with Perth Biodesign's previous winner, Veintech, he is excited about the growing opportunities in medtech field. In his current role at VeinTech, Evan assists in prototyping and investigation of regulatory pathways for their start-up. This experience has broadened his view of what medical innovations can achieve, and how there are clinical needs at every level of clinical practice. In the future, Evan is interested in pursuing opportunities in 3D/bio printing. The endless possibilities for improvement in this area has driven his desire to contribute to the medtech industry.
Chris Hill
Christopher is an Emergency Physician with 20 years’ experience in healthcare. Originally pursuing a surgical career in the UK, he came to Perth with the intention of staying for a year, and is still here 16 years later. It was during this time that he chose a career in emergency medicine, enjoying the specialties’ many challenges, fast pace and variety. He has a particular interest in the use of point of care ultrasound.
He has been involved with innovative endeavours in the past including ShoeSecure (a protective device used in equestrian sport to prevent horses from losing shoes and his personal project, the Bougie Loader - a medical airway device to improve efficiency of emergency intubation for which Christopher was a WA Innovator of the Year semi-finalist.
Christopher enjoys a range of sports and pastimes and likes to stay active. He’s also a keen guitarist and has performed on stage in the UK and the US. Christopher has worked in a number of specialities and countries during his training and as a Consultant and brings a broad range of experience to the Biodesign Team.
Paul Tonz
My name is Paul Tonz, I am a 30 year old pharmacist and part owner of Amcal Community Pharmacy in Como. I have been a partner since 2015 and my role is dispensary management and to seek out new markets and opportunities for the business. I am passionate about figuring out clever ways to improve efficiency and about identifying and then solving peoples problems. I enjoy working with a diverse range of professionals to accomplish my goals and think that collaboration between people of multiple skillsets is essential. Outside of my career I am outgoing and adventurous and enjoy catching up with my friends, scuba and free diving, travelling and writing my book.
Simon Li
Simon Li is a psychologist specialised in healthcare human factors. He joined UWA (School of Psychological Science) as a Senior Lecturer in August 2020. Simon completed his PhD at University College London, and joined the Centre for Health Informatics at UNSW, Sydney for a postdoc examining the effect of interruptions on doctors’ prescribing behaviour on computerised physician order entry (CPOE). He became Assistant Professor at Lingnan University in Hong Kong, from 2011 to 2020. Simon’s main research area is auditory displays, which are displays that use sounds to convey data information. He is currently investigating the effectiveness of speech-based sounds and how they might help clinicians monitor their patient’s vital signs while engaging in multiple tasks.
Emmett Morris
Emmett is a postgraduate student studying a Master of Professional Engineering (in Biomedical Engineering) at The University of Western Australia. He completed his bachelor’s degree at UWA, and during this time, spent his final year studying abroad in the United States. Emmett wishes to conduct research in the near future and eventually complete a Doctor of Philosophy focussed within the biomedical sciences. In addition to this, he is also deeply interested in dynamics of medical technology markets, both domestic and international, and the opportunities they present for a career as an entrepreneur.
Gerry Maguire
Dr Gerry is a GP based in the South West of Western Australia. He has treated a wide range of health problems across a variation of age groups. This includes the joy of the newborn in the pram, to the grief and celebration of life during the final act of cremation. On a typical, unpredictable day the spectrum of medicine can range from preventive-screening, acute life threatening emergency and today, the increasing chronic illness in our aging population. Over the recent months, the "doctor- patient" face to face relationship has now evolved into a mobile digital telehealth consult. There is time for a telehealth consult but there is also time for a face to face consult .This interaction remains the fundamental corner stone of General Practice.
Lewis Singleton
Lewis Singleton is a researcher engaged in the field of neurodegeneration. Lewis has recently completed a masters at the University of Melbourne and Florey Institute researching the gastrointestinal complications of a combined genetic and environmental Parkinson’s disease model. Following this she moved back to Perth to work as a research coordinator on a genetic and quality of life clinical study on motor neuron disease, which will soon be expanding to investigate multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease. Lewis is fascinated by the neuronal death and inflammatory processes that result in the symptoms we typically associate with neurodegeneration and cognitive decline. She looks forward to expanding her skillset beyond research and into innovation for translational medical advances in the field.
Cade Trigg
Cade is a qualified Physiotherapist who now works in the medical device industry providing support to Orthopaedic surgeons in the operating theatre & managing a shoulder arthroplasty & sports medicine product portfolio. Cade has experience in the development of medical devices having pursued the development of an Orthopaedic rehabilitation tool that detected limb loading following trauma. He has experience with various levels of patient care including primary, inpatient, outpatient & rehabilitation settings. Cade understands the importance of having a robust understanding of each step in the development of new medical devices to successfully commercialise the technology & ultimately improve patient care. He hopes to gain a deep understanding of this process in the Perth Biodesign course.
Deepika Gupta
Deepika is an Orthotist with WA Health, working on the rehabilitation of spinal and orthopaedic patients in Royal Perth and Fiona Stanley hospital. Deepika is always approachable and maintains the highest standards of professionalism and precision, making her a delight to work with and an outstanding advocate for the delivery of high-quality health care. Deepika is also currently pursuing a Master of Public Health at UWA.
Nipanjana Patra
Nipanjana is a radio astronomer specialized in design and building radio telescopes to observe extremely faint sky signals and trace the evolution of the Universe since the Big Bang. She develops extremely sophisticated engineering solutions for radio telescopes, devices extraordinary signal processing techniques using the latest developments in the numerical and statistical methods. She thinks that space technology is underused and wishes to translate her research outcome beyond space observations to improve human wellbeing on earth.
Katie Wang
Katie is a final year medical student from UWA and will be working at Royal Perth Hospital in 2021. She is passionate about disruptive data-driven innovations that yield positive change. Katie has undertaken a diverse range of research projects ranging from steroidomics during her undergraduate degree majoring in biochemistry and molecular biology. And teleophthalmology and intra-articular device use in surgery during her post-graduate studies. She has been involved with 180 Degrees Consulting WA, a student led consultancy for not-for-profits (NFPs), and has worked with prominent NFPs to come up with innovative solutions to optimise their impact. Katie has an interest in global surgery and believes technology, innovation and entrepreneurship will be pivotal in this area.
Matthew Smith
Matthew is an enthusiastic and driven Masters of Mechanical Engineering student at UWA. He is passionate about the biomedical engineering space, currently working on his final year thesis on a surgery planning method to identify the location of the seizure onset zone for removal in epilepsy patients, using warped MRI images from CT scans. Matthew has experience in the entrepreneurial space, previously working for a Western Australian start-up manufacturing a tool intended to revolutionise roof carpentry, as well as industry experience working at a major refinery, as well as a well data acquisition company. Matthew is passionate about taking innovation ideas global, having previously studied Mandarin as a second major and in Taiwan, as well as currently studying French
Natasha Dale
Natasha is a PhD student at the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research currently working towards the completion of her thesis investigating the molecular pharmacology of central nervous system receptors. Natasha is passionate about innovation in the medical technology field with a particular interest in the regulatory process. From this course, Natasha hopes to gain hands-on experience in the early stages of the development pipeline to gain invaluable insights that will inform her research and career moving forward.
Samuel Bolland
Sam is a PhD candidate at the University of Western Australia and taking part in the interdisciplinary BioZone program. Sam's current research bridges neuroscience and biomedical engineering to solve clinical problems with the ultimate goal of developing a new product for treatment of depression. Graduating from Murdoch University with a double degree in Biomedical Science and Engineering (hon) he then completed an honours in Molecular Biology (first class). He is outcome focussed and driven to produce results that make a real difference. His vision is to help create a wave of medtech innovation in Perth that addresses clinical needs and he is excited to learn the skills necessary for his new entrepreneurial journey through the Perth Biodesign course.
Sheetal Rajan
A graduate with strong scientific and management background holding a Bachelor & Master of Biotechnology degree. Passionate about developing healthcare products and making it affordable and accessible to the community. Core values include leadership, teamwork, integrity & growth; paired with exquisite interpersonal & communicative skills and great analytical & critical thinking.
Oscar Beilin
Hi, I'm Oscar and I am currently in my penultimate year studying a Master’s in Professional Engineering. My long-term ambition is to combine the analytical and problem-solving skills I have learnt throughout my study, to work with innovative and cross-functional professionals at the forefront of medical technological innovation. I have long been interested in healthcare and I am excited to bring the skills I have learnt (both hard and soft skills) to an entrepreneurial workplace that has high ambitions and is dedicated to improving lives.
Karen Pedersen
After successful completing her PhD qualification in Pharmacology at UWA, followed by post-doctoral research fellowship at Johns Hopkins University in the US Karen Pedersen has worked as a researcher and lecturer at the UWA medical school. Subsequent positions have been held at the National Cancer Control Initiative in Melbourne, Monash University medical school In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and until now at the WA Department of Health in diverse roles. Dr Pedersen has a reputation to deliver complex health projects with a clear focus on achieving targets that meet organisational objectives and evidence-based requirements. Her expertise in the health sector has been continually developed through strategic initiatives in biomedical science, public health, research and teaching at governmental, academic and commercial levels.