“I love that the Bionics Institute is a different to most other research institutes in Australia in that it deals in development of medical devices to solve challenging medical conditions and alleviate patient suffering.”
– A/Prof Stella Clark AM GAICD, Board Director 2012-2024
Following 12 years as a Director of the Bionics Institute, A/Prof Stella Clark AM GAICD has stepped down from the role and her position as Chair of the People and Culture Committee.
We thank Stella for championing our innovative research and for her influence across a number of key strategic initiatives.
With a distinguished career in diabetes research, research management and executive leadership, Stella was invited to join the Board in 2012 by then Director Professor Rob Shepherd AM and Chair Gerry Moriarty.
Stella held a Board position alongside Prof Shepherd and Mr Moriarty for 5 years until 2017, and then current CEO Mr Robert Klupacs and Chair Mr John Stanhope for the following 7 years.
She is grateful for the support and encouragement received from both pairs of CEOs and Chairs during her tenure and has enjoyed seeing the evolution of governance that has resulted.
“Prof Rob Shepherd was an outstanding researcher who spent his whole career (more or less) at the Institute. He was involved with the research that led to development of the cochlear implant and oversaw the transformation of the Bionic Ear Institute to the Bionics Institute – with its expanded research profile,” Stella said.
“Robert Klupacs’ appointment brought a different focus to the Bionics Institute. With his broad experiences in industry and tech transfer he has moved the Institute more in the direction of commercialisation. He and the Board hope the formation of start-up companies, when they come to fruition, will provide a government-independent income source to support the further research that is needed.”
Whilst there have been many research developments at the Institute during her time on the Board, Stella noted the work on the Bionic Eye and recent advances in our vagus nerve and brain stimulation research as just some of the highlights.
“Being able to interact with one of the Bionic Eye clinical trial patients, and hear how it enabled her to have some sense of ‘vision’ was extraordinary,” she reflected.
“The tremendous work being done currently on vagal nerve stimulation and how this might be applied to a variety of debilitating conditions; the groundbreaking project investigating transcranial magnetic stimulation as a treatment for memory loss in Alzheimer’s; and epilepsy monitoring research that has led to the formation of the spinout company Epiminder are just a small selection of the exciting ways Bionics Institute is working to improve lives.”
As Chair of the Bionics Institute’s People and Culture Committee, Stella focused on increasing diversity of members and ensuring perspectives of staff from all areas of the Institute’s operations were included.
Reflecting this was the Institute’s all staff workshops in 2022 titled, Better Together. This initiative explored all facets of culture within the Institute and how it could be improved, plus included staff in the roll out of post-event actions.
The subsequent staff survey showed a significant improvement in staff satisfaction.
“The Board are very proud to say the Institute maintains this high level of satisfaction with an 82% participation rate and an engagement score of 78% in the 2023 survey. An outstanding achievement of which I’m proud to have played a part,” she said.
Stella is excited about the future of the Institute and the opportunities that lay ahead.
As one of 8 partners in the Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discoveries (ACMD), the Bionics Institute will move into the highly anticipated ACMD building on the St Vincent’s Hospital campus (expected to be late 2025).
“The co-location of the great minds at the Bionics Institute with other Victorian researchers and engineers at ACMD will foster collaboration and increase the potential for new and exciting ideas,” Stella said.
