Students studying STEM subjects at universities across Oceania were selected to join this year’s prestigious AMGEN Scholarship Program at the University of Melbourne and seven chose to undertake a summer internship at the Bionics Institute.
Here’s a round-up of the projects they worked on during their eight weeks with our researchers, where they gained an insight into a potential career path to become our future superstars.
Ethan and Associate Professor Andrew Wise
Ethan was supervised by Associate Professor Andrew Wise, leader of our Hearing Therapeutics team, to assist with research into nanotechnology to develop a world-first drug treatment for hearing loss.
Arjuna is pictured with hearing researcher Dr Darren Mao
Arjuna was supervised by Senior Data Scientist Dr Gautam Balasubramanian, supporting our researchers in developing a new hearing test for babies, EarGenie®, that aims to give babies the best chance to hear and speak clearly.
Eyla is pictured with hearing reseacher Dr Julia Wunderlich
Eyla was supervised by Dr Tommy Peng to assist with research into why some cochlear implant recipients are unable to understand speech as well as others.
Harjas and Dr David Hill.
Harjas was supervised by Dr Dave Hill and Dr Oscar Murphy to gain a unique insight into the use of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to fight memory loss in people with Alzheimer’s disease.
Helen is pictured with team member Jerico Matarazzo.
Helen was supervised by Research Fellow Dr Tomoko Hyakumura to work on a project to investigate the potential to use abdominal vagus nerve stimulation to treat neurological conditions.
Melanie and Associate Professor Rachael Richardson
Melanie was supervised by Associate Professor Rachael Richardson, leader of the Optogenetics team, to assist with research into using a combination of electricity and light stimulation to alleviate chronic pain.
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Tom and Dr Mehrnaz Shoushtarian.
Tom was supervised by Dr Mehrnaz Shoushtarian to investigate the use of hardware to apply non-invasive electrical stimulation to the feet, a mode of therapy being researched to treat walking difficulties for patients with Parkinson’s disease.
Why study at the Bionics Institute?
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We lead the world in the research and development of innovative medical devices and therapies.
Our multidisciplinary team comprises world-class scientists, engineers and researchers. Together we transform the lives of people with a range of conditions, including hearing impairment, Crohnʼs disease, Parkinsonʼs disease, epilepsy, stroke, arthritis and diabetes.
