BEST participates in Innovation by Design program

The BEST team recently took part in the 2025 iteration of the Innovation by Design program at the University of Melbourne.

About the program

Innovation by Design is an intensive, impact focused major bid accelerator program to support development of leadership of major translational research initiatives. The program ran over four months with a series of seven in person workshops and bid development meetings.

BEST Team Participants (Cohort six)

• Professor David Berlowitz, Chair of Physiotherapy (Clinical)
• Dr Marnie Graco, Implementation Scientist
• Dr Nicole Sheers, Senior Research Fellow
• Dr Kate Carey, Lab Manager
• Dr Yasmin Ahamed, Trial Manager

The team was generously supported throughout the program by:

• Leo Lui, Business Development Manager
• Martyn Kreider, Senior Partnership and Project Officer, Health and Medicine
• Catherine Nobes, Major Bids Coordinator

The program

Over a series of workshops and homework activities, the BEST team members refined mission for their research, developed stakeholder engagement and funding strategies, and strengthened their scientific communication skills. Through this accelerator, the team are working towards establishing a centre for research and clinical innovation to scale their research impact. The program culminated in Dr Marnie Graco presenting the BEST research vision in a final showcase with facilitator Dr Shane Huntington OAM.

_{Dr Shane Huntington OAM (left) and Dr Marnie Graco (right) at the final showcase.}