A message from the Associate Dean Innovation and Enterprise
Advancing Health 2030 sets out a vision for the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences to deepen the excellence and impact of our research from discovery to translation. This vision requires us to think beyond citations and publications, and towards how we can translate our research into innovative processes, products and policies that transform how healthcare is delivered. The breadth and depth of our research and our place within one of the world’s leading biomedical precincts position us well to achieve this vision, while developments in digital health and artificial intelligence create new opportunities for us to accelerate our impact.
Our team is here to support you to commercialise or translate your innovative ideas into sustained social impact, and to make sure your discoveries reach the clinicians and patients who need them. I encourage you to explore the many development programs and grant opportunities available that will connect you with the skills, industry expertise and funding you need to get underway or move forward on your research translation journey. These initiatives complement and connect into the many professional support services, accelerators, mentorship programs and funding schemes that operate across the University of Melbourne.
Have a question about the programs and services available across the university to support you on your research translation journey, or a suggestion on how we can improve? Please feel welcome to contact us.
All the best with your translation journey!
Professor Lauren Ayton AM
Associate Dean Innovation and Enterprise
Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences
Meet the Innovation and Enterprise Directorate
Professor Buzz Palmer
Professor Buzz Palmer is one of Australia’s most prominent voices in health entrepreneurship and medical technology innovation. He co-founded the MedTech Actuator in 2018, and is strongly involved in a number of venture capital and technology or product development initiatives.
Associate Professor Mark Merolli
Associate Professor Mark Merolli is a leading figure in digital allied health. A physiotherapist by trade, Mark is an experienced and well-credentialed digital health expert. He is a Founding Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Digital Health, and is a Certified Health Informatician Australasia. He has an active innovation and enterprise teaching program, and his own commercial portfolio.
Meet the Innovation and Enterprise Steering Committee
Including members from faculty and school leadership, the Steering Committee is responsible for implementation of the faculty's innovation and enterprise agenda.
Professor Buzz Palmer
Professor Buzz Palmer is one of Australia’s most prominent voices in health entrepreneurship and medical technology innovation. He co-founded the MedTech Actuator in 2018, and is strongly involved in a number of venture capital and technology or product development initiatives.
Associate Professor Mark Merolli
Associate Professor Mark Merolli is a leading figure in digital allied health. A physiotherapist by trade, Mark is an experienced and well-credentialed digital health expert. He is a Founding Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Digital Health, and is a Certified Health Informatician Australasia. He has an active innovation and enterprise teaching program, and his own commercial portfolio.
Dr Ruth Park-Jones
Dr Ruth Park-Jones is the Business Development Director and Cluster Lead for MDHS working with an experienced and dedicated team of research translation specialists in the MDHS BD team to support academics as they translate their research discoveries to achieve impact.
Kiara Bechta-Metti
Kiara has over 25 years' experience in technology commercialisation, finance and new business development through working with a number of small entrepreneurial companies, universities, large research intensive organisations and investment banks.
Professor Nicola Reavley
Nicola is Deputy Director in the Centre for Mental Health, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health at the University of Melbourne. Her research focuses on the population monitoring and interventions to improve population mental health, mental health literacy and reduce stigma and discrimination. She is also the Research Director of SANE Australia’s Anne Deveson Research Collaborative.
Dr Tami Yap
Tami has been involved in teaching at Melbourne Dental School since 2008. Tami completed a Bachelor of Dental Science with Honours at Melbourne University in 2006 and became a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons by examination in 2013.
Professor Alice Pébay
Professor Alice Pébay AM is a Principal Research Fellow and Head of the Stem Cell Disease Modelling Laboratory at the University of Melbourne. She is a co-founder and COO of CellTellus Laboratory, a company aiming to leverage expertise in stem cells, genomics, and computational biology to develop medical applications. She is a former Chief Scientific Officer for CCRM Australia.
Dr George Taiaroa
Dr George Taiaroa is a Research Fellow at the Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Melbourne. George's research focuses on communicable diseases. He has previously completed a Doctor of Philosophy and Biochemistry at the University of Otago in New Zealand.
Professor Simon Dennis
Professor Simon Dennis is the Director of the Complex Human Data Hub (CHDH) in the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences. The primary aim of the CHDH is to develop Computational Behavioural Science – bringing computational methods to bear on big data to better understand psychological processes.
Professor Laura Downie
Laura Downie is a clinician scientist who has gained international recognition for research excellence in ocular disease, with awards, highly cited papers, patents, international speaking engagements and appointments to key professional bodies. She is a Professor and an inaugural Dame Kate Campbell Fellow in the Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences.
Professor Tony Blakely
Tony is an epidemiologist and public health medicine specialist. He is committed to answering questions about which public health interventions will achieve the greatest improvements in health and social outcomes, reduce inequalities in health, and do so cost-effectively. His research covers a range of topic areas, intersected with methodological advancements. Whilst principally an epidemiologist, he uses and combines methods from multiple disciplines: biostatistics, economics, econometrics, and computer and data science.
Dr Belinda Lawford
Belinda is a musculoskeletal researcher, Dame Kate Campbell Fellow, and CR Roper Fellow at the Centre for Health, Exercise & Sports Medicine at the University of Melbourne. Her research focuses on clinical trials and qualitative studies of treatment strategies for people with osteoarthritis, in particular telehealth-delivered care, exercise, and weight loss. Her research aims to develop and evaluate strategies to improve the management of osteoarthritis in Australia and worldwide.
Dr Kevin Lee
Kevin Lee is a research fellow at the Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne in the Royal Melbourne Hospital. He obtained his PhD in 2015 from the University of Melbourne.
