Round 2
Round 1
Round 2 Projects
VitalTrace
Data Science and Chemistry Applied In-Vivo
About
VitalTrace is a high growth medical device company founded and based in Perth, and currently developing a world-first biosensor aiming at detecting fetal distress during labour. VitalTrace were recently granted Breakthrough Device Designation by the FDA and have a growing team based in Perth and Melbourne.
VitalTrace was founded in 2017 after the founders met during a Stanford Spark Co-Lab and has been driven by raised Seed, Series A and grant funding. Vitaltrace is seeking to usher in a new age of childbirth monitoring, both minimalist in its application and much safer and reliable than current practice.
The team is a thriving, purpose driven MedTech company, striving to improve the way babies are born. Our mission is to develop cutting edge technology to empower all obstetricians and midwives to deliver the greatest outcomes for mothers and babies during labour.
Project
The project spans two business units; Data Science and Chemistry which will work in parallel to explore the application of science in research & development.
For data science, key project outcomes will be the development of BI Dashboards, after conducting relevant in-vivo trials, exploratory data analysis of the in-vivo trial data, assessing ML models and Data Versioning using baseline algorithms for all in-vivo data in parquet format.
Chemistry will cover enzyme assay development, R&D into new formulations and subsequent analysis of the aforementioned activities.
Benefits
Learn More
Claire Li
The University of Western Australia
Biomedical Sciences
Skills: Technical skills in molecular biology, bone biology, cell biology, infectious diseases & biochemistry (qPCR, WB, cell culture, IF, etc), image & data analysis (ImageJ, GraphPad Prism), organisational skills, ability to priorities, attention to detail, communication & interpersonal skills, and teamwork.
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Hassan Mahmood
Edith Cowan University
Science, Computing and Security
Skills: Machine/ Deep Learning, computer vision & embedded systems, programming with Python, Pytorch, Tensorflow etc, multidisciplinary and team work.
Data driven mental health and wellbeing support
Oqea
About
Oqea is the first person-centric mental health and wellbeing digital platform and consumer app to connect consumers, health providers, businesses, family and friends all in one private, safe and secure online place. Oqea is designed to be preventative in nature and empowers people of all walks of life to make healthy connections with helpful people, information, and tools anytime, anywhere, when they need them.
Sadly, there is a growing need for mental health services, with demand far-exceeding supply. The use of technology to support traditional models is growing and with that, the collection of data. Oqea is a digital platform that augments traditional mental health and wellbeing models by providing a person-centred space for care. As a two-sided marketplace, Oqea has a member side that provides a comprehensive place for self-managed or clinician supported care, and a provider side that offers collaborative multidisciplinary care and communication, as well as practice management.
Working on this project students will:
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Examine and evaluate current data types, sources, and structures within the Oqea platform
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Identify ways to utilise data driven insights to provide support recommendations to members
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Identify optimal ways to evaluate and report wellbeing over time
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Evaluate/identify the cost benefits of digitally supported care
Anticipated outcomes will be in the form of reports and the analysis of a small subset of data from the platform.
Students will get to utilise their skills and work in multi-disciplinary teams to problem solve and gain experience in the digital health industry.
As a company, we will benefit by having research and domain expertise review aspects of the company and provide valuable insights and data to support our mission to enhance the wellbeing of everyone, everywhere.
Belinda Neo
Curtin University
Population Health
Skills: Qualitative & quantitative data analysis, project & time management, teamwork & collaboration, communication with stakeholders, adaptable and flexible.
Emma/Asma Emamrezaei
Curtin University
Public Health
Skills: Design & implementation of economic evaluations (such as cost studies, cost-effectiveness modelling), review of the literature, evaluation and synthesis of the finding for systematic and scoping review, manuscript preparation and publishing, time management, decision-making and goal setting.
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Tej Bahadur Shahi
CQUniversity
Engineering and Technology
Skills: Machine/Deep Learning (Scikit-learn, Keras, Tensorflow, Weka), programming with Python & R, data visualisation & dashboard (PowerBI, Tableau, Matplotlib, Seaborn, ggplot2), drone-based remote sensing and computer vision.
Learn More
Benefits
Project
Integrating multiple Loop-mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) assays with multiplexed optical detection systems for ultra-high throughput detection of emerging biosecurity threats
Avicena Systems
Avicena is an award-winning Australian MedTech biosecurity company with a ground-breaking, rapid, pandemic-scale surveillance screening instrument to facilitate the detection of pathogens, including COVID-19. Saliva sampling and anonymous ID tracking takes less than 30 seconds. Each Sentinel instrument can process more than 90,000 samples daily with data available in under 30 minutes.
Project
This project required a combined engineering and molecular biologist team.
Engineering aspect of the project entailed developing optical system solutions involving industrial cameras for the detection and analysis of biochemistry assays using fluorometry in innovative ways for scalable commercial application. Whilst first commercial solution has already been developed for against different targets in customised plates, the new research explored techniques for multiplexing using different wavelengths, different optical techniques and different vision processing algorithms to allow multiple pathogen assays to run in parallel. The engineering involved optical design, electronic application, image processing and software processing, typically within a Python development environment.
Molecular biology aspect of the project involved molecular assay design and development, bioinformatics analysis, data collation and analysis, and critical thinking in experimentation to generate compatible assays for multiplex detection with a high sensitivity and specificity.
Close collaboration with the Avicena's Molecular Diagnostics team and Engineering team supported the project throughout whilst building upon established techniques in place today. It was a great opportunity to apply knowledge in the areas of physics, biochemistry and engineering to solve problems with a true commercial application resulting in high impact on health and biosafety.
Skills
Ideal candidates had the following skillsets.
Engineering team member:
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Graduate/ completing postgraduate degree in physics or electronics with skills in scientific research and programming
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Experience in optics will be advantageous
Molecular Diagnostics team member:
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Completing a PhD in molecular biology or biochemistry with extensive laboratory experience in molecular assays, including PCR and working within a PC2 environment (eg. RNA purification in biosafety cabinet)
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Bioinformatics and molecular pathology experience are desirable but not essential
Mode
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3 months placement
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In-person engagement
Lidia Medhin
Edith Cowan University
Medical and Health Sciences
Skills: Molecular analysis (DNA/RNA extraction, PCR, DNA/RNA purification, gene sequencing), data analysis (SPSS and R) & bioinformatics, project management, laboratory quality control, leadership & teamwork.
Alicia Brunet
The University of Western Australia
Ophthalmology and Visual Science
Skills: Project management (research design, data collection including excel skills, systematic organisation and scheduling), critical thinking & problem solving, lab-based skills (dissection, microscopy, RNA extraction and qRT-PCR, flow cytometry, histology, animal handling and animal behavioural testing & cell/tissue culture).
About
Current and projected market and requirements for wheelchairs in Australia to 2026
Glide
About
Glide is one of Australia's leading manufacturers of high-quality powered and manual wheelchairs. Since the 1970s, our customers have trusted our expertly tailored and solidly constructed chairs for mobility, functionality and comfort. As Australia's largest manufacturer of powered and manual wheelchairs, we continue to collaborate and partner with research organisations to fill the gap to bring an innovative and advanced medical project to commercialisation.
Glide manufactures a range of powered and manual wheelchairs according to Australian Standards, AS3695 – Wheelchairs - Products Requirements and AS3696 – Wheelchairs - Mobility devices for use as seats in motor vehicles, including crash testing certification.
Wheelchairs manufactured by Glide are registered with the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) as a Class One medical device. Glide operations are certified by Compass Assurance to ISO 9001. Glide is currently implementing systems to achieve ISO13485 Medical Device. This standard involves designing, producing, installing, and servicing medical devices and related services. Additionally, Glide is in the process of achieving a net-zero certification of "Climate Active Carbon Neutral" by the Australian Government, including ISO 14001 Environmental Management.
Project
The project will focus on commercial and technical aspects of the Assisted Technology market in Australia.
The project should identify wheelchair users requiring manual, power assist and electric wheelchairs over the coming years. It will involve analysis of the market into users with a disability and users in the aged market. The market for aged users requiring the use of a wheelchair should be segmented based on those requiring a wheelchair in an aged care facility and those requiring use of a wheelchair in an "aging at home" environment. This information can be used by Glide to shape its product offering, enabling the company to play a critical role in helping those in the Australian community needing assistance to maintain mobility and independence.
Benefits
Analyse the desired requirements, both functional and accessories, of a wheelchair to meet the various market segments, which enables manufacture of wheelchairs that are “fit for purpose” to suit the various segments within the aged market. This includes determining the optimal desired weight of a wheelchair to suit the aged market.
Student benefits include an enhanced understand of Australians requiring wheelchairs in Australia. Assisting in design features for a manual wheelchair for elderly Australians to age at home will improve the quality of life for many in need of mobility assistance.
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Ritangi Narang
CQUniversity
Business & Law
Skills: Qualitative & quantitative research, data collection & analysis, proficient in MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, NVivo, critical thinking, goal setting & decision making, planning, scheduling, and time management.
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Siyuan Zhuang
Macquarie University
Biomedical Engineering
Skills: Cell culture (bacteria), flow cytometric or FACS assays, fluorescence microscopy, microfluidics, statistical analysis and data interpretation.
Nathan Smith
Murdoch University
Exercise Science
Skills: Fitness & performance testing, research communication & public engagement, data management, problem solving, and teamwork.
Medical Education Unit
Unpacking the (true) cost of medical assessments (entry to exit)
About
Established as the State’s first university in 1911 and founded with a mission to ‘advance the prosperity and welfare of our communities’, the University opened in 1913 to just 184 students. Today, more than 25,000 students are enrolled from 100 countries.
UWA’s Medical School brings together the brightest students, experienced clinicians and committed researchers to unlock the greatest health challenges of our day. Celebrating 60 years in 2017, the Medical School is an infinite source of teaching and learning for individuals who share our goal of delivering better health outcomes today and into the future.
We have a renowned research program carried out in laboratories, hospitals and in the community at a patient level, and we offer a range of scientific and clinical research opportunities across 10 divisions.
Project
Assessment plays a key role in a medical degree. The true cost from entry through to exit is not always transparent to the relevant stakeholders to make informed decisions about assessment decisions throughout the medical degree. The project aims to look at the four-year postgraduate UWA Medical Program and map assessments against costs (human & financial). Progression of students and the cost of failing students will also be reviewed.
Benefits
For this project students will utilise their skills to generate a map of assessments, with human resource, time, financial and estimates of effort in each assessment task across the medical degree. This will greatly benefit us, as assessments can be improved over time to provide greater authentic, work-based learning tasks. Progression of students via various pathways will also be examined and provide greater insight.
Learn More
Nazma Akter Tithi
Macquarie University
Natural Sciences
Skills: Product development & testing,
chemical analyses & syntheses, cell culture & bio-molecular assays, data analyses, technical writing & presentation, critical thinking, problem solving, project & time management.
Miyuki Taniguchi
Murdoch University
Environmental and Conservation Science
Skills: Field sampling (trapping) & observation, chemical analysis (GC-MS, EAD, FID), bio-molecular analysis (DNA barcoding), insect identification, and data analysis.
Sylvester A Obeng-Darko
The University of Western Australia
Biological Science
Skills: Molecular skills (DNA, eDNA, RNA, protein extraction), PCR, ELISA, Microscopy (optical and SEM), physiological assessment, HPLC, RNA-seq analysis, microbial biochemical analysis, statistical analysis & data visualization, report writing and critical review.
Biodegradable materials for plant pots
Veratin
About
Veratin Limited is a publicly listed company (NSX:VTN) developing high value, innovative products from raw waste wool.
In Australia there are over three times as many sheep as people. Australia is a leading grower of wool world-wide, accounting for approximately 25% of the market. However, not all this wool is suitable for the textile industry leaving an abundance of low grade wool with little value.
Veratin works with local farms to purchase low grade wool that appears to have little value. We use green processing to transform this wool into sustainable high value products.
We manufacture and sell our flagship product Verigrow, an amino-acid-rich liquid fertiliser and soil improver, to nurseries, hardware stores, and farms across the country. We are also actively developing products in the cosmetics and nutraceutical space.
Project
Plant pots are overwhelmingly made from non-biodegradable plastic, which contributes to landfill. This project will advance our ambitions of producing a fully biodegradable plant pot that can be planted directly in the ground - providing nutrients to plants and enriching the soil.
Benefits
The project will advance the student’s knowledge of polymer and material chemistry, and contribute to the development and release of environmentally friendly product(s) to the market.
Learn More
Veratin:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/veratin/
https://www.facebook.com/verigrow
Verigrow:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/verigrow/
https://www.facebook.com/verigrow.au
Story on ABC Landline (from 5:21):
Usman Javed
Curtin University
Civil and Mechanical Engineering
Skills: Polymer (geopolymers, ceramics, plastics) chemistry & experimentation, interdisciplinary research & analytical skills, technical writing & presentation skills, interpersonal communication & leadership, problem-solution focus.
Fiona Stanley Fremantle Hospitals Group
PATHFINDER: Improving the path to better health outcomes for people with heart failure
About
Fiona Stanley Hospital is the major tertiary hospital in the south metropolitan area of Perth, and offers a high standard of patient care to communities south of Perth and across the State. A leader in clinical care, research and education, Fiona Stanley Hospital is supported by an innovative design that uses the latest scientific, technological and medical developments to help provide the best possible care for patients. The Advanced Heart Failure and Cardiac Transplant Service at Fiona Stanley Hospital is the specialist state service for the management of patients with heart failure.
Project
Heart failure is a common condition affecting half a million Australians. People with heart failure often get admitted to hospital during periods of ill health. However, many of these hospitalisations are preventable with clinical management that is consistent with evidence-based guidelines.
This project will involve developing a health care solution designed to improve the coordination of care between hospitals and general practice, support GPs in providing care that aligns with guidelines, especially medication prescription, and educate patients about self-management. The solution will also monitor patients remotely based on their weight, because rapid weight increases suggest fluid retention, an early sign that the person is becoming unwell. The intervention will be delivered through a digital health platform accessible to clinicians and patients through separate portals. We anticipate that the provision of best-practice care, and closer patient monitoring, will help keep people out of hospital and enable them to lead healthier, happier and more productive lives.
Skills
Due to the varying components of the project we are seeking researchers from a wide range of backgrounds including, but not limited to;
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computer science,
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computer programming,
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mathematics,
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website designs,
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information technology,
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medicine,
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nursing,
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biomedical science and
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marketing.
Mode
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3 months placement
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Combination of remote and in-person engagement
Elisabetta De Simone
Macquarie University
Psychological Sciences
Skills: Data analysis & visualisation (through R, advanced Excel tools & Photoshop), technical writing, editing & word processing (LaTex, SM Word), customer service & support (patients, students, clients), time & project management and team leadership.
