Graeme Clark Institute Cross-Faculty Seed Funding Pitch 

Step into the future of biomedical innovation at the Graeme Clark Institute Cross-Faculty Seed Funding Pitch. 

In collaboration with The University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, and Faculty of Science, this event showcases the most promising early to mid-career researchers as they pitch their collaborative biomedical engineering and medtech projects.

Teams progressing to Round 2 will deliver concise, compelling pitches, each competing for seed funding to advance their ideas. An expert panel of University judges will assess the projects, with audience votes contributing to the final outcomes. Winners will be announced at the close of the event, recognising research with the greatest potential for real-world impact.

Following the pitches, attendees will have the chance to connect with researchers across diverse fields, exchange ideas, and explore opportunities for future collaboration during the networking session.

This event will feature the following eight project pitches, with pitch presenters noted in bold:

1. Rescuing the Failing Placenta: Nanomedicine to Prevent Stillbirth and Rescue Fetal Growth 
   Dr Natasha de Alwis, Dr Christina Cortez-Jugo, Dr Jingqu Chen
2. Restoring Gait Control in Hemiparetic Patients via Synergy-based Spinal Electrical Stimulation 
   Dr Tomislav Bacek, Dr Maya Panisset, Dr Liuhua Peng
3. Tailored Degradation, Targeted Growth: A Novel Approach to Bone Implant Fatigue Protection 
   Dr Reza Sanaei, Dr Paul Gurr
4. Imaging Tissue Reperfusion after Thrombectomy 
   Dr Chengchuan Wu, Dr Catherine Davey, Dr Felix Ng
5. From Code to Cure: Artificial Intelligence in Biocatalytic Hydrogel Development 
   Dr Lilith Caballero Aguilar, Dr Ellie Hajizadeh, Dr Sara Hadjigol
6. Chromatin in Focus: Bridging Super-Resolution Imaging with Sequencing for Real-Time Genome Insights 
   Dr Michael Mlodzianoski, Dr Christine Keenan
7. Assessing real-world mobility and environmental triggers in Parkinson’s disease using a portable home-based system 
   Dr Kelly Bower, Dr Justin Fong, Dr Tomislav Bacek
8. Miniaturized Low-Cost Optical Platform Stimulation and Recording in Cultured Neural Networks 
   Dr Dechuan Sun, Dr Ekaterina Levichkina

By registering for this event, you acknowledge and consent to having photographs taken during the event. These images may be used for promotional or marketing purposes. If you do not wish to be photographed, please notify event staff upon arrival on the day.