The Passe & Williams Foundation have continued their longstanding support of Bionics Institute hearing researchers with the two prestigious Fellowships.
Dr Anu Sabu
The research will explore the range of physiological changes that enhance the speech comprehension and sound quality, especially in noisy environments. An understanding of how information is processed in the auditory brain of these patients will enable clinicians to make informed decisions on optimising the combined stimulation provided by the cochlear implants and hearing aids for people living with partial deafness.
The results from the research will shed light on the benefits of using a combination of cochlear implants and hearing aids for people with partial hearing loss. Dr Anu Sabu
I’m thrilled to have received this prestigious fellowship to establish and expand my research program. Dr Demi Gao
Congratulations Demi and Anu on this amazing achievement which allows further investigation into how a combination of cochlear implants and hearing aids might give a more unified perception of sound for improved speech understanding.
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Cynthia McLarty recently hosted a garden party fundraiser and raised an incredible $10K to help speed us groundbreaking Bionics Institute reaseach.
“What an incredible day it was, made possible by all the people that came and supported the event and the donors that were so generous.
I have been forever grateful to the Bionics institute from that miracle day, 24 years ago, when my son Sam heard sound for the first time. A moment I will never forget.” – Cynthia
Hosting the Garden party was a small way of giving back to an organisation that has changed so many lives around the world, and will continue to do so. Cynthia McLarty
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Dr Mehrnaz Shoushtarian, Senior Research and Development Engineer, was invited to speak on Einstein A Go-Go radio show on 3RRR to discuss her work into developing an objective measure of tinnitus.
The general understanding is that it usually starts with some sort of damage to the ear. But then it becomes more of a brain problem. It’s difficult to know exactly how it starts. Dr Mehrnaz Soushtarian
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Support Us
Join Australia’s national goalkeeper and support our Giving Day on 5 March.
Donate nowMackenzie knows what it’s like to live with hearing loss
She didn’t want to believe she needed hearing aids, but looking back she wishes that she got her hearing checked earlier.
“Its changed my life for the better, you know, socially as well. I feel more comfortable in social settings”
Mackenzie has decided to join us in support of the innovative hearing research being done at the Bionics Institute. She hopes to encourage those with hearing impairment, especially young people, and to reduce the stigma surrounding hearing loss.
Mackenzie shares her hearing loss journey
Why support our hearing research?
Hearing loss can be a result of a range of conditions and diseases that affects about 1.5 billion people worldwide. It can give rise to stigma, limited employment options, distress over communication issues, lower social and emotional wellbeing, and problems with speech, cognition and auditory processing.
The Bionics Institute was founded to develop the cochlear implant, a treatment for profound hearing impairment and has an excellent reputation for a wide range of hearing research.
Your gift will help our researchers develop diagnostic tools and revolutionary treatments for infants, adults and the older generation facing the challenge of hearing impairment.
If you or someone you love suffers with hearing impairment, wouldn’t you want to give them the gift of hearing?
Help fund pioneering research
Early-stage research for life-changing devices & treatments like this is made possible by donations from our supporters.
Your support today could turn the seed of an idea into a new treatment in the future.
Give the gift of hearing today.
Investing in innovation to build Australia
The 2024 Bionics Institute Innovation Lecture provides opportunity for the innovation ecosystem to build a shared understanding of the intersection between philanthropy and investment to leverage our nation’s wealth.
Date: Wednesday 29 May
Time: 5.15pm arrival for a 5.45 start (lecture) followed by networking drinks from 7.30pm
Venue: RACV City Club, Melbourne
Cost: Free (by invitation only)
Following the incredible success of the 2022 and 2023 Innovation Lectures, the Bionics Institute 2024 Lecture will focus on bringing med tech leaders together to explore how to catalyse innovation for the benefit of all Australians.
Networking drinks followed the lecture which provided guests with the opportunity to forge partnerships and develop links with like-minded people.
Due to the overwhelming interest in our Innovation Lectures, attendance is by invitation only. You must express your interest in receiving an invitation using the button below.
Lecture speakers and panellists
Keynote speaker
Mr David Williams – Founder, Kidder Williams
Panellists
Dr Megan Baldwin – Founder, CIO and Executive Director, Opthea Limited
Mr Alon Greenspan – Managing Partner, Mind Ventures
Ms Bronwyn Le Grice – CEO and Managing Director, ANDHealth
Mr Stephen Tomisich – Co-Founder and CEO, Trajan Scientific and Medical
Mr David Williams – Founder, Kidder Williams
Partnership opportunities
A partnership with the Bionics Institute 2024 Innovation Lecture will anchor your brand at the heart of innovation in Australia.
Forge wide-reaching connections and drive positive brand sentiment with leaders in the med tech ecosystem through established digital and print channels, as well exclusive on-the-night post-event opportunities.
In 2023, Innovation Lecture content reached more than 7000 people via eDMs and was seen more than 20,000 times on social media, including 4600 impressions of the event post on LinkedIn.
Learn more about the fantastic opportunities provided by the 2024 event in our sponsorship brochure or contact our Marketing Manager Bree Smith for further details.
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To kick off the New Year, AFL player Jordan Ridley is encouraging everyone to get fit in February and help people at the same time with the Couch to Your KM Fitness Challenge.
The challenge is to hit 45km in February in any exercise and raise vital funds for research at the Bionics Institute to help people with hearing loss. Participants who raise significant funds could also go into a draw to win two tickets to the Matildas’ Olympic Qualifier match in Melbourne on 28 February.
Jordan is an Ambassador for the Bionics Institute, which was founded to develop the cochlear implant that has given hearing to nearly a million people. However, one in six Australians still struggle with hearing loss. Read more about Jordan’s story here.
Researchers at the Bionics Institute aim to change that reality with life-changing treatments for people with hearing loss, like Matildas’ goalkeeper, Mackenzie Arnold, our newest ambassador. Mackenzie wears hearing aids and wants to support hearing research and remove the stigma around hearing loss. Read more about Mackenzie’s story here.
About the Couch to Your KM Fitness Challenge
Anyone can register for a solo or team challenge, pick their preferred exercise and hit 45km in the month of February.
That could be running, rowing, cycling or anything active! For more static exercises such as yoga or weights 1 hour of activity equals 5km.
Achieving fitness goals will make you healthier and fundraising for the Bionics Institute will keep you motivated and help people with hearing loss.
To find out more, Google Bionics Institute Couch to Your KM, or go to: https://fundraise.bionicsinstitute.org/event/couch2yourkm/home
About the Bionics Institute
It’s 45 years since the first cochlear implant was first implanted into a patient by Professor Grame Clark, an invention that has given hearing to nearly a million people worldwide.
He founded the Bionics Institute, which is now a world leader in the development of medical devices to test and treat hearing loss, Alzheimer’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic pain and much more.
Our scientists are doing some amazing work to help people with hearing loss.
This includes developing a new hearing test for babies, a drug that could restore hearing nerve cells for people with age-related hearing loss, and a new test to help develop treatments for tinnitus.
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The Bionics Institute is delighted to announce that Jordan Ridley has joined us as an ambassador for the Couch to Your KM Fitness Challenge, which will raise vital funds for our hearing research.
Jordan has played 85 games since being drafted in 2016, and was the winner of the Crichton Medal, Essendon FC men’s best and fairest medal in 2016.
ordan said: “Getting fit is good for your heart and your mental health.
“I would love to see people getting behind the Bionics Institute by taking on a February fitness challenge and raising vital funds to give people the joy of hearing.”
This February, you can choose an exercise and complete 45km throughout February to raise funds and give the joy of hearing.
This can be done solo or part of a team – a win for your health and for hearing research.
Jordan Ridley is the latest ambassador for the Bionics Institute, following the announcement of Australian goalkeeping superstar, Mackenzie Arnold.
Mackenzie wears hearing aids and is keen to get behind our researchers to help the 1.5 billion people around the world living with hearing loss.
Learn more about how you can participate in the Couch to Your KM Fitness Challenge this February.
I would love to see people getting behind the Bionics Institute by taking on a February fitness challenge and raising vital funds to give people the joy of hearing Jordan Ridley, Essendon star and Bionics Institute ambassador
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The Bionics Institute is delighted to announce that Mackenzie Arnold has joined us as a hearing research ambassador.
Mackenzie Arnold has 44 caps for the national team since her debut in 2012 and is the Captain of English heavyweights, West Ham United FC.
After a stellar 2023 World Cup in Australia, where she was integral to Austalia’s on-field success, Mackenzie has been kicking goals in her promotion of something close to her heart – hearing loss.
A wearer of hearing aids, Mackenzie knows first-hand how important the joy of sound is.
“I’m such a proud ambassador of the Bionics Institute and hopefully I can put the awareness out there and get behind the researchers for the 1.5 billion people with hearing loss.”
During Covid, Mackenzie discovered the extent of her hearing loss and began to seek answers.
“When Covid hit, I realised [I was] probably lip reading a lot more than I may have thought.
“I went and got my hearing checked, straight away she was like, you need hearing aids and it sort of hit me quite hard at the time.”
Like a lot of people who receive a diagnosis of hearing loss for them or a loved one, it can come as a shock.
“At the time you think it’s just, the worst thing. I remember calling my best friends at the time, Alanna and Kate, and I was bawling. Knowing what I know now, I wish I could go back [and get] them earlier, because it changed my life for the better.”
We are very proud to have Mackenzie Arnold on board as an ambassador of our hearing research, which includes restoring hearing to people with age-related hearing impairment, developing diagnostic tools for infant hearing and tinnitus, and seeking new ways to improve the cochlear implant, originally developed by the Bionics Institute’s founder Professor Graeme Clark.
I’m such a proud ambassador of the Bionics Institute and hopefully I can put the awareness out there and get behind the researchers for the 1.5 billion people with hearing loss. Mackenzie Arnold, Australia and West Ham goalkeeper and Bionics Institute ambassador
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We were delighted to welcome Professor Field Rickards, Professor Dexter Irvine, Professor Peter Seligman and Associate Professor Graeme Rathbone to our final staff meeting of 2023.
All three researchers have made a substantial contribution to the Bionics Institute wider med tech sector during their careers and have held a number of prestigious roles, including academia.
In recognition of their long service, we were delighted to offer the inaugural Graeme Rathbone Award, Dexter Irvine Award and Graeme Rathbone Award, alongside our Field Rickards Annual Awards for Leadership and Impact.
This year our recipients were:
Field Rickards Award for Best Researcher
Professor Kate Hoy
Field Rickards Award for Best Team
Finance Team
Field Rickards Award for Best Student
Ajmal Azees
Dexter Irvine Award for Best Auditory Scientist/Engineer
Dr Gautam Balasubramanian
Peter Seligman Award for Best Engineer
Jerico Matarazzo
Graeme Rathbone Award for Best Early Career Researcher
Dr Oscar Murphy
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In a world first, our electrical stimulation device to treat Crohn’s disease has been implanted in a patient at the Austin Hospital, with the aim of preventing inflammation of the gut recurring after surgery.
This breakthrough is a significant step forward for Crohn’s treatments and could help transform the lives of people suffering from the disease.
With no current cure available and limited treatment options, most patients with Crohn’s require ongoing surgeries to remove damaged sections of their gut as well as life-long drug therapies to manage symptoms.
Our device, the size of a thumbnail, attaches to the vagus nerve in the abdomen to kick start the body’s natural anti-inflammatory mechanisms, explains Professor James Fallon, CTO and Head of Research at the Bionics Institute, who leads this research.
“The vagus nerve controls many functions in the body, such as digestion, heart rate and the immune system,” Professor Fallon said.
“Our device is made up of tiny electrodes that stimulate the vagus nerve to trigger the body’s natural defences and prevent inflammation from damaging the gut – with the hope of allowing patients to continue their lives without the fear of further surgery.”
Read more about our vagus nerve research here.
Potentially life-changing research
This breakthrough is a significant step forward for Crohn’s treatments and could help transform the lives of people suffering from the disease.
With no current cure available and limited treatment options, most patients with Crohn’s require ongoing surgeries to remove damaged sections of their gut as well as life-long drug therapies to manage symptoms.
Our device, the size of a thumbnail, attaches to the vagus nerve in the abdomen to kick start the body’s natural anti-inflammatory mechanisms, explains Professor James Fallon, CTO and Head of Research at the Bionics Institute, who leads this research.
“The vagus nerve controls many functions in the body, such as digestion, heart rate and the immune system,” Professor Fallon said.
“Our device is made up of tiny electrodes that stimulate the vagus nerve to trigger the body’s natural defences and prevent inflammation from damaging the gut – with the hope of allowing patients to continue their lives without the fear of further surgery.”
