Bright futures ahead for our early career researchers
We have a number of PhD students who have gone on to become research leaders at the Bionics Institute.
Learn more about some of these early career researchers who are developing new solutions for challenging conditions, including hearing loss, rheumatoid arthritis and Parkinson’s disease
Dr Tomoko Hyakumura
Dr Tomoko Hyakumura completed her PhD in 2018 and is now working as a Research Fellow developing a vagus nerve stimulation treatment for Crohn’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis.
She says: “Working at the Bionics Institute is inspiring. I am excited about the research projects I work on, and grateful to be working with the teams of talented and dedicated people.”
Dr Darren Mao
Dr Darren Mao completed his PhD in 2020 and is now working as a Development Engineer in the Translational Hearing team.
He says: “As a former PhD student at the Bionics Institute, I learnt to be an effective researcher and had an opportunity to be very hands-on with my work. Now I am continuing to use these skills at the Bionics Institute to develop EarGenie®, aiming to optimise treatments for infants with hearing loss.”
Dr San San Xu
Dr San San Xu completed her PhD in 2020 and is now undertaking a Fellowship
in the UK.
She says: “It gave me the opportunity to work on projects that were highly relevant and translatable to clinical practice in a supportive and collaborative environment. I am now working in a postdoctoral role as a Research Fellow and neurologist in the deep brain stimulation unit at the UCL Institute for Neurology at Queen Square, London.”
