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MedTech Actuator 2021 Menzies Scholar: Marta Orlowska

MedTech Actuator 2021 Menzies Scholar: Marta Orlowska

MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholar Marta Orlowska is transforming her impact by investigating the molecular and metabolic basis behind time-of-day dependent heart attacks.

Marta Orlowska is a PhD Candidate in Biomedical Engineering at the Queensland University of Technology and QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute. She holds a First class Degree diploma in BSc (Hons) Microbiology and Biotechnology from Edinburgh Napier University with experience in biomedical engineering, as well as microfluidics and microfabrication.

Analysing  metabolic fluctuations caused by the circadian rhythm to eliminate heart attacks

Marta is looking at time-of-day dependent factors that affect circadian rhythms and cause metabolic disorders and cardiovascular diseases. Circadian rhythm is a near 24-hour oscillation of all the natural processes happening within our body.

The primary function of circadian rhythm is to maintain bodily homeostasis. Therefore, disturbances lead to diseases whose severity and occurrence can be time-of-day dependent. The reasons behind this correlation are unknown and current models cannot address it, as they are unable to eliminate any of the two aforementioned factors.

Marta analysing cell cultures as part of her PhD research

“My project is looking to address this knowledge gap. Through the individual exclusion of the circadian rhythm factors, we are trying to find causes behind time-of-day dependent cardiovascular pathologies and how preventative methodologies and treatments against this correlation would help”.

Marta has been passionate and deeply interested in the cardiovascular system since her childhood. Having people close to her impacted by chronic fatigue and circadian rhythm dysfunction has given her a deep sense of purpose to create preventative methods and treatments against ischemia, one of the biggest causes of mortality globally.

“This project gives me the chance to undertake a number of my passions, including performing innovative research in my field using cutting edge technology, commercialising new discoveries and giving back to the community. It gives me a deep sense of purpose as I can be a part of innovative preventative methods and solutions,” says Marta.

Marta performing experiments in the lab as part of her PhD research.
Marta performing experiments in the lab as part of her PhD research.

Science, research commercialisation and entrepreneurship with the MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholarship

The MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholarship recipients embark on a four-month scholarship, where they gain knowledge from leading industry experts, work alongside Australia’s emerging healthcare entrepreneurs and receive mentorship from MedTech Actuator. 

“I am excited about becoming an entrepreneur and commercialising technology to change the world. I’m eager to build on the skills and knowledge gained from my time in the MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholarship and continue to network and expose myself to more opportunities in the ecosystem,” says Marta.

The scholarship encourages the next generation of emerging health leaders to build strong foundations in commercialisation. In doing so, this program supports the scientific community’s capacity to bring innovation to the market by facilitating knowledge transfer from industry to scientists and researchers.

Marta was able to overcome project design challenges with guidance from the program, leverage product design sessions and her network to forge an improved final design. After completing multiple prototype designs, Marta strengthened her design vision and built a bioreactor with multiple application options.   

“I had no previous experience with commercialisation processes, so learning about the whole journey and different options to finance a project was essential. The most beneficial aspect of this program is the network of like-minded individuals who are at different stages of a similar journey. Everyone is really keen to help out and be there for you, which transforms this program into a life-changing experience,” adds Marta.

The scholarship program exposes awardees to the ecosystem through intensive learning, networking, mentorship and coaching so that you learn about the journey behind translating research into a healthcare startup before embarking on it. 

”Every person along my research journey has contributed to my life, career and successes. I have been lucky to get a great mentor through the IMNIS program as well as hands-on supervisors throughout my academic career,” says Marta.

Are you a future MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholar?

Apply now- MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholarship
Apply now- MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholarship 2022

The MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholarship is an opportunity for scientists, researchers and innovators to explore the world of entrepreneurship, research commercialisation and MedTech, BioTech and HealthTech startups. 

“Learn as much as you can about your product and the end goal. Be ready for anything that can come your way, as this pathway is not linear and there may be lots of hurdles, but it is worth it,” advises Marta for those starting this journey.  

Applications are now open for the 2022 MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholarships. Find out more about the program and apply now.

You can also join MedTech Actuator Program and Community Coordinator, Makenzie Thomas for an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session on July 6. Register here.

Hear from previous Scholars:

To stay in the loop sign up for news and updates below, and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholarship is supported by the Menzies Foundation as part of their Entrepreneurship in Science mission.






MedTech Actuator 2021 Menzies Scholar: April Van Der Kamp

MedTech Actuator 2021 Menzies Scholar: April Van Der Kamp

2021 MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholar April Van Der Kamp is successfully fusing science, research commercialisation and entrepreneurship. 

When it comes to scientists doing their life’s work, April comes to mind. As a founder of DFU Solutions and a PhD Candidate at Flinders University, April is building a scientific career founded in impact, commercialisation and innovation.


Phage therapy to treat diabetic foot ulcer infections

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are a serious and common complication of diabetes which are frequently infected by Staphylococcus aureus. Coupled with the rise of antibiotic resistance, diabetic foot ulcer infections are increasingly difficult to treat. This commonly leads to foot amputations which are correlated with a 5-year mortality of up to 70%. 

After losing a family member and looking at inefficiencies in the treatment of infected DFUs, April chose to pursue a PhD at Flinders University and founded DFU Solutions with her PhD supervisor, Associate Professor Peter Speck, to bring innovative treatments that harness bacteriophage therapy to market. 

“The passing away of loved ones due to complications associated with DFUs that are a preventable disease is a sad story. After experiencing first-hand how traumatic this can be, Peter and I are passionate about developing treatment options to improve patient outcomes and putting an end to this common story,” says April.

“We strive to improve patient outcomes with effective treatments targeted towards infection clearance.”

April Van Der Kamp in lab
April Van Der Kamp carrying out research as part of her PhD.

Science, research commercialisation and entrepreneurship with the MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholarship

April was selected as a 2021 MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholar, leveraging the program to dive into research translation and commercialisation. With the opportunity to network with a cohort of Scholars, see entrepreneurs grow in MedTech Actuator Origin, and receive mentorship from industry leaders, April engaged with the industry and channelled her focus into her research. 

“I am so grateful for being a recipient of the scholarship and becoming a part of the MedTech Actuator family.”

As a part of the scholarship, across an industry-led intensive sprint and mentorship, scholarship recipients gain an extensive overview of entrepreneurship, the startup ecosystem and the commercialisation process as well as a one-off, $1,000 stipend to aid the commercialisation journey. Topics covered include pathways to market, business models, navigating Australia’s healthcare ecosystem, idea validation, intellectual property, pitching, professional development, and funding for early-stage ventures.

Through the program and its benefits, April was able to understand what it takes to successfully launch a startup and get a product to market. As a result of mentoring and leadership development, April overcame her biggest challenge, that is, doubting her capabilities to succeed. 

“I applied for the scholarship using the mantra “when in doubt, apply”. I thought the worst thing they can say is no and the best thing that could happen is I learned from experience. And I’m still learning. You don’t need to have all the answers and all the confidence to get started,” says April.

Aid your commercialisation journey with the MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholarship 2022

Through this scholarship and the MedTech Actuator community, April launched DFU Solutions. Prior to the program, becoming a founder was not a reality.

“I feel accomplished presenting DFU Solution’s one-minute pitch and to have expanded my network. By moving outside of my comfort zone and gaining new experiences beyond academia, I’ve gained a refreshing perspective of entrepreneurship and the landscape that startup founders must navigate throughout their journey.”

The Scholarship experience aims to support the scientific community’s capacity to bring innovation to the market by facilitating knowledge transfer from industry to scientists and researchers. For April, the support from her supervisor and MedTech Actuator helped her take the jump into becoming a founder and following her passion.

“Other members from MedTech Actuator startups, such as Hatisens and the like, are such great support network in that they provide advice and guidance. This made a really big difference in my journey,” says April.

The MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholarship is an opportunity for scientists, researchers and innovators to explore the world of entrepreneurship, research commercialisation and MedTech, BioTech and HealthTech startups.  

Applications are now open for the 2022 MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholarships. Find out more about the Scholarship here and apply now.

You can also join MedTech Actuator Program and Community Coordinator, Makenzie Thomas for an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session on July 6. Register here.

To stay in the loop sign up for news and updates below, and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholarship is supported by the Menzies Foundation as part of their Entrepreneurship in Science mission.

MedTech Actuator 2021 Menzies Scholar: Dr Rowan Page

MedTech Actuator 2021 Menzies Scholar: Dr Rowan Page

MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholar Dr Rowan Page is transforming his impact by developing a wearable light sensing device to guide people toward healthier light exposure patterns together with the team at Circadian Health Innovations.

Dr Rowan Page is an early-career researcher and the Director of the Industrial Design program in Monash University’s Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture. Rowan’s research and practice are focused on the design of smart wearable devices for health and medical applications. Through design practice, his research helps to translate fundamental medical and technology research into commercially viable outcomes.

Melding industrial design and research

Constantly blown away by technologies being developed at Monash University, Rowan knows how innovations can have a real impact on people’s lives but can see how difficult the development processes at universities can be. He has seen several projects where the quality of early-prototype research devices makes it difficult to collect data, from real people, in real-world contexts.

“The existing devices are fragile, too big, uncomfortable, hard to use, or people are embarrassed to wear them. Bringing industrial design into research early enables us to also bring consideration of human factors and end-user needs into projects early, enabling researchers to collect better and more reliable data.”

A wearable light sensing device

Rowan is carrying out the light pin device project as an Industrial Designer working in close collaboration with Circadian Health Innovations, sleep scientists, mathematical modellers, and creative technologists.

“The light pin device we are working on is the perfect embodiment of pairing world-leading research expertise, incredible electronics and technology development, and early design involvement.”

Light pin device
The light pin device: An embodiment of early design involvement & research expertise

The device enables our partners to amplify their research in circadian and sleep science and has also revealed numerous consumer applications from supporting shift work, to jet-lag management. To complement the wide application of this device, the team has also been approached by NASA and elite sports teams interested in performance optimisation.

 

Science, Research Commercialisation and Entrepreneurship with the MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholarship

The MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholarship recipients embark on a four-month journey, where recipients gain knowledge from leading industry experts, work alongside Australia’s emerging healthcare entrepreneurs and receive mentorship from MedTech Actuator.

Light pin device app
The light pin device also comes with an application to track the light score.

“The biggest challenge to overcome at the moment is the worldwide shortage of electronics components. As a small start-up, it is difficult to operate in these complex global supply chains. The scholarship program provided us with a great product development mentor who was able to connect us with excellent local manufacturers. Additionally, navigating the transition from the university to the industry had us thinking carefully about IP, funding, and how we scale up in a very different environment.”

The MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholarship encourages the next generation of health leaders to build strong foundations in commercialisation. In doing so, this program supports the scientific community’s capacity to bring innovation to the market by facilitating knowledge transfer from industry to scientists and researchers.

Mentoring during the program enabled Rowan to start producing devices for sale.
Mentoring during the program enabled Rowan to start producing devices for sale.

“The program connected us with great manufacturers by pairing us with a product development mentor. This was a key milestone in enabling us to organize our first small run batch of manufactured devices. Allowing us to move beyond prototypes and start producing devices for sale. We also had great exposure to investors and the wider ecosystem outside of the university.”

For Rowan, mentorship with Procept was incredibly valuable, as was the advice received from MedTech Actuator CEO, Dr Buzz Palmer and the team. Alongside the 2021 Scholarship, Rowan and team members from SensiLab at Monash University, A/Prof Sean Cain, Dr Andrew Phillips, and Elliott Wilson, took part in MedTech Actuator Origin, taking their innovation through to the semi-finals.

 

Are you a future MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholar?

Apply now- MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholarship
Apply now- MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholarship 2022

The MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholarship is an opportunity for scientists, researchers and innovators to explore the world of entrepreneurship, research commercialisation and MedTech, BioTech and HealthTech startups.

“My advice to future Scholars is to make the most out of the experience and the learning opportunities that it provides. Even if your current project is not at the right stage for this journey yet, you never know when the knowledge that this program gives you will be useful in the future.”

Applications are now open for the 2022 MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholarships. Find out more about the program and apply now.

You can also join MedTech Actuator Program and Community Coordinator, Makenzie Thomas for an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session on July 6. Register here.

To stay in the loop sign up for news and updates below, and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholarship is supported by the Menzies Foundation as part of their Entrepreneurship in Science mission

MedTech Actuator 2021 Menzies Scholar: Dr Anushi Rajapaksa

MedTech Actuator 2021 Menzies Scholar: Dr Anushi Rajapaksa

MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholar Dr Anush Rajapaksa is fusing science, research commercialisation and entrepreneurship by developing rapid, life-saving drug delivery for children with infectious respiratory disease.

Dr Anushi Rajapaksa is a Senior Research Officer, at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Melbourne and more recently a graduate researcher within GSK, Melbourne. Anushi leads large, international, interdisciplinary research projects as the inventor of several newborn technologies. She is also the Founder of a not-for-profit organization, Think Projectthat helps to facilitate the transfer of STEM solutions to low resource settings. She has recently founded “Vitality by Dr Anushi” to cultivate her love of nutrition inspired by nature.

Turning needle phobia into an idea

Anushi says that she was on a personal mission to design ways to deliver vaccines and other therapeutics to the lungs non-invasively due to her phobia of needles. Anushi discovered and developed a new technology in the form of a nebulizer that enables a liquid vaccine to be inhaled, rather than injected.

“Growing up, I had a significant needle phobia. You could almost say that I was on a personal mission to invest in a career to explore alternative ways of medication delivery – vaccines in particular. Delivering medications to the body through the lungs seemed like a no brainer to me”, says Anushi

Anushi working in the lab developing novel, non-invasive solutions for drug delivery.
Anushi working in the lab developing novel, non-invasive solutions for drug delivery.

A new frontier in pain-free therapies

Anushi’s research has focused on RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus), the most common cause of acute, lower respiratory infection in young children under 5 years of age. Preterm infants are at significantly increased risk of severe RSV disease. There is no RSV vaccine and the only preventive treatment is passive protection with Palivizumab, an RSV-specific monoclonal antibody (mAb). However, this is costly (A$7,500 per course) and requires repeated injections throughout the RSV transmission season. In Australia, its use is restricted to only preterm infants with complications such as severe pulmonary hypertension and chronic lung disease.

“The aim is to develop a novel, non-invasive solution and solve the problem by delivering a first-in-class, low-cost device that is effective in protecting our children.”

Science, research commercialisation, and entrepreneurship with the MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholarship

The MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholarship encourages the next generation of health leaders to build strong foundations in commercialisation. In doing so, this program supports the scientific community’s capacity to bring innovation to the market by facilitating knowledge transfer from industry to scientists and researchers.

As a 2021 MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholar, Anushi was exposed to the ecosystem, built strong foundations in commercialisation and took home the MedTech Actuator People’s Choice Award in MedTech Actuator Origin.

The MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholarship Experience

As a part of the Scholarship experience, recipients overcome their knowledge gaps with the support provided during intensive sprints and 1:1 coaching.

“The biggest struggle I have overcome is facing my own doubts and the unknowns regarding advancing my area of scientific passion and working through them one by one. It is a unique journey worth taking as it has certainly been transformative and personally rewarding to me. I may not have all the answers yet, but realising some fundamental questions that need head-on attention is a very good start,” says Anushi.

“I felt right at home with the friendly and resourceful team at the MedTech Actuator. It was the right amount of challenge and inspiration to take action on a vision I had been working on for over a decade. I am confident that the skills and experiences I gained through this unique program will help me make advances.”

Scholars receive access to the MedTech Actuator Origin intensive sprint and see, first-hand, what it takes to launch a healthcare venture. Anushi’s vision is to position her research to best serve a community that needs it the most through commercialisation. Whilst undertaking the Scholarship, Anushi also took The Think Project through MedTech Actuator Origin.

Dr Anushi Rajapaksa, The Think Project, with Georgia Downing and Charles Aitken, Gild, and Tim Tyndale, Quitta.
Dr Anushi Rajapaksa, The Think Project, with Georgia Downing and Charles Aitken, Gild, and Tim Tyndale, Quitta.

When embarking on a four-month scholarship, recipients gain knowledge from leading industry experts, work alongside Australia’s emerging healthcare entrepreneurs and receive mentorship from MedTech Actuator.

“I would like to thank my team, Mr. Sanjeeva Rajapaksa, Prof. James Friend, Ashica Sood, Mayomi Samarawickrama  Mallawaarachchi, Shamal Wijeweera and Ashleigh Allan, for their support in realising our vision. I also want to recognise the support provided by Dr Buzz Palmer and my mentor Richard Sokolov and the MedTech Actuator Team for numerous discussions and advice throughout the program and beyond,” says Anushi.

Are you a future MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholar?

Apply now- MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholarship
Apply now- MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholarship 2022

The MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholarship is an opportunity for scientists, researchers and innovators to explore the world of entrepreneurship, research commercialisation and MedTech, BioTech and HealthTech startups. 

Applications are now open for the 2022 program. Find out more about the MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholarship and apply today.

You can also join MedTech Actuator Program and Community Coordinator, Makenzie Thomas for the Ask Me Anything session for any questions related to the scholarship. Register here.

The MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholarship is supported by the Menzies Foundation as part of their Entrepreneurship in Science mission.