The future of healthcare: highlights from MSHS Innovation Workshop
On Wednesday 26 February, Melbourne School of Health Sciences hosted a full day Innovation Workshop at University House.
This inaugural, bespoke event sought to provide an opportunity for a select group of MSHS innovation-aligned projects to present to, and receive feedback from, highly regarded entrepreneurs, investors, business leaders and commercialisation experts. Attendees included leaders from across Faculty, Research Innovation & Commercialisation, Genesis and Tin Alley, as well as other partners, stakeholders, start-ups, and supporters of the University.
The day began with a morning address from MSHS Head of School Prof Bruce Thompson, as well as a meet and greet with Andrew Nash, Operating Partner at the University, who both spearheaded the event in collaboration with Prof Laura Downie from the Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences. This opening session was followed by presentations delivered by MSHS researchers presenting their innovative projects, followed by question and answer sessions.
Presentations comprised:
- Retinal Thermofusion: Rapid Retinal Detachment Repair – A/Prof Wilson Heriot, A/Prof Andrew Metha, Prof Bang Bui
- Baby Moves VIEW – Prof Alicia Spittle, Dr Amanda Kwong, Dr Elise Passmore
- ADMiER – Prof Laura Downie
- Avatar – Prof Bruce Thompson
- AirHealth: The Future of Environmental Health Intelligence – Dr Ed Lampugnani
- Melbourne Digital Therapeutics: biofeedback speech treatment for progressive diseases – Prof Adam Vogel
After lunch, attendees heard from entrepreneurs about their innovation journeys:
- Innovation | The Future of Preventative Health – Dr Steven Lu (Co-Founder and CMO, Everlab) and Sam Kothari (Co-Founder, Everlab)
- Innovation | The Journey – Dr Loong Wang (Co-Founder and CEO, QDX; Former CEO, Talo Labs)
The day was wrapped up by afternoon tea, followed by a Fireside Chat discussion panel led by Andrew Nash, with speakers Dr Alex Newton (Navi Medical Technologies), Dr Sam Cobb (Currus Biologics) and Dr Leonore Ryan (Burent Institute).
Informal feedback received from attendees was that this was an inspiring and thought-provoking event, which has already facilitated new connections and potential collaborative links with the project team members and both internal and external partners.
