The Bionics Institute provides world-class opportunities for both short-term student research projects and internships, as well as major, graduate research projects for PhD and MSc degrees.

All of our projects are multi-disciplinary, so whether you come from a life sciences, physical sciences, engineering or clinical background, we have projects that will suit your interest.

Scroll down to see the PhD projects currently available and more information on scholarships, internships and research projects.

We are not restricted to the specific projects detailed and welcome project ideas from students provided they are compatible with our overall research themes.

Download our student brochure

Internships

Students seeking a placement for research or professional experience should email [email protected], providing a cover letter, CV, and university subjects with results so far. We will then match you with potential projects and supervisors.

Please note that students doing an internship at the Bionics Institute work on a voluntary basis and must fully cover their own expenses.

Short research projects that are undertaken as part of coursework degrees

Examples of these degrees are BSc (hons), Masters in Audiology, Masters in Biomedical Science, Capstone projects (Engineering), and MD research projects.

If you are interested in completing a short research project at the Bionics Institute, please look on your course website and/or internal communications to see what projects are available. Then contact the supervisor listed for the project you are interested in, providing a cover letter, CV and a copy of your university subjects with results to date.

For general enquiries about these courses, please email [email protected]

PhD RMIT University Scholarships

RMIT University offers two scholarships each year to highly motivated individuals to complete a PhD in the field of medical bionics at the Bionics Institute. Calls for applications for these scholarships will be advertised on the RMIT and Bionics Institute websites each year.

• RMIT PhD Scholarship in developing miniaturised peripheral nerve interface technology

       Electric Medicine - PhD Project - Supervisors: Dr Sophie Payne (Bionics Institute, Owen         Burns (Bionics Institute), A/Prof Elisa Hill (RMIT)

• RMIT PhD Scholarship in multi-sensor, multimodal machine learning for hearing assessment

Hearing Impairment - PhD Project Supervisors: Flora Salim (RMIT), Beth Jelfs (RMIT), Dr Darren Mao (Bionics Institute), Prof Colette McKay (Bionics Institute)

Other PhD students are supported by scholarships awarded by the enrolling university, and the proposed supervisor will assist in the application procedure for these scholarships.

PhDs

If you don’t see a project that suits you in our list of PhD projects, we are also open to project suggestions from students

If you are interested in a specific project or working with a particular supervisor, please email the supervisor directly and cc. the student coordinator [email protected].

Further information about each supervisor including contact details can be found by clicking on their name from the list below or within the individual project descriptions below.

Hearing Impairment

• Central Representation of Electroacoustic Stimuli

Hearing Impairment - PhD Project Supervisor: A/Prof James Fallon

• RMIT PhD Scholarship in multi-sensor, multimodal machine learning for hearing assessment

Hearing Impairment - PhD Project Supervisors: Flora Salim (RMIT), Beth Jelfs (RMIT), Dr Darren Mao (Bionics Institute), Prof Colette McKay (Bionics Institute)

• Brain connectivity in cochlear implant users

Hearing impairment - PhD project. Supervisors: Dr Maureen Shader, Prof Colette McKay

• Developing a drug therapy for hearing loss

Hearing impairment - PhD project. Supervisor: A/Prof Andrew Wise

• Drug delivery to treat hearing loss

Hearing impairment - PhD project. Supervisor: A/Prof Andrew Wise

• Ear simulator and optimised neural network to accelerate translational hearing research

Hearing Impairment - PhD Project Supervisor: Prof. Gérard Loquet

• Exploring the effect of neural dead regions in the cochlea on hearing with a cochlear implant

Hearing impairment - PhD project. Supervisors: Prof Colette McKay, Dr Maureen Shader

• Hearing but not listening: Using behavioural training in preclinical studies to test the ability to listen to complex sounds

Hearing impairment - PhD Project. Supervisors: A/Prof James Fallon, Dr Alex Thompson

• Improving speech understanding of cochlear implant users with neural dead regions in the cochlea

Hearing impairment - PhD project. Supervisors: Prof Colette McKay, Dr Maureen Shader

• Multisensory processes in patients with hearing loss and/or dementia

Hearing Impairment - PhD Project Supervisor: Professor Gérard Loquet

• Optogenetics for precise neural stimulation

Hearing impairment - PhD project. Supervisors: A/Prof Rachael Richardson, A/Prof James Fallon, A/Prof Andrew Wise, Dr Alex Thompson

• Reversible silencing of the cochlear

Hearing impairment - PhD project. Supervisors: A/Prof Rachael Richardson, A/Prof James Fallon, Dr Alex Thompson

• Signal processing applied to neuroimaging techniques in hearing impaired patients

Hearing impairment - PhD project Supervisor: Professor Gérard Loquet

• Testing nano-engineered drug delivery systems to treat hearing loss

Hearing impairment - PhD project. Primary Supervisor: A/Prof Andrew Wise

• Understanding changes in auditory processing from noise-induced hearing loss

Hearing impairment - PhD project. Supervisors: A/Prof Andrew Wise, A/Prof James Fallon, Dr Alex Thompson

• Understanding differences in outcome of cochlear implants

Hearing impairment - PhD project. Supervisors: Prof Colette McKay, Dr Robert Luke

• Understanding how the brain processes combined electrical and acoustic stimulation

Hearing impairment - PhD project. Supervisors: A/Prof James Fallon, Dr Alex Thompson

• Using brain imaging to explore language development in infants

Hearing impairment - PhD project. Supervisors: Prof Colette McKay, Dr Julia Wunderlich

Electric Medicine

• RMIT PhD Scholarship in developing miniaturised peripheral nerve interface technology

      Electric Medicine - PhD Project - Supervisors: Dr Sophie Payne (Bionics Institute, Owen         Burns (Bionics Institute), A/Prof Elisa Hill (RMIT)

• Investigating the body’s response, including inflammation and fouling, to implanted materials and devices and its effect on their efficacy

Electric Medicine - PhD Project - Supervisors: A/Prof Rachael Richardson (Bionics Institute), Distinguished Prof Magdalena Plebanski (RMIT)

• Nanostructured conformal multi-electrode arrays with antifouling properties for next-generation bionic devices

Electric Medicine - PhD Project Supervisors: Prof Vipul Bansal (RMIT) , A/Prof James Fallon (Bionics Institute), Prof Elena Pirogova (RMIT), Prof Ivan Cole (RMIT)

• Optimised closed-loop bioelectrical control over bladder function

Electric medicine - PhD project. Supervisors: A/Professor James Fallon, Dr Sophie Payne

Neurological Conditions

• Long-Term Bio-Data Collection and Processing for Diagnosis and Management of Neurological Conditions such as Epilepsy

Neurological Conditions - PhD project Supervisor: Dr Yuri Benovitski

Bionics Institute Supervisors

Prof Hugh McDermott Prof Colette McKay A/Prof James Fallon 

A/Prof Rachael Richardson A/Prof Andrew Wise Dr Thushara Perera

Dr Matt Petoe Dr Sophie Payne Dr Alex Thompson

Dr Darren Mao Dr Yuri Benovitski