ABNN Symposium 2026

Next Generation Neural Interfaces​

Polymer-based Microfabricated Implants for Neural Applications

Ellis Meng is the Shelly and Ofer Nemirovsky Chair of Convergent Biosciences and Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Viterbi School of Engineering at the University of Southern California. She is also the Vice Dean of Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Her research interests include biomedical microelectromechanical systems (bioMEMS), implantable biomedical microdevices, microfluidics, integrated microsystems, microsensors and actuators, biocompatible polymer microfabrication, and packaging. She is a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), and American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE). She is the co-founder of Senseer Health Inc. and Fluid Synchrony LLC, both spin-off companies from her research.

Realising and Commercialising Electronic Skin and Biosensors

Biomedical Sensors and Wearable Systems, Micro/Nano-Bioengineering, Cellular/Tissue Engineering & Biomaterials

Madhu Bhaskaran is a multi-award winning electronics engineer and innovator – she has won the 2018 Batterham Medal from the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering and the 2020 Frederick White Medal from the Australian Academy of Science. She co-leads the Functional Materials and Microsystems Research Group at RMIT University which she established in 2010. She also has leadership roles with the ARC Hub for Connected Sensors for Health and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems. Her work on electronic skin and wearable sensors has been patented and her group works collaboratively with multiple industry and design partners to commercialise the technology for healthcare and aged care.

The Journey of Developing Optosleep – a Novel Optogenetic Device for Obstructive Sleep Apnoea

Optogenetic Device, Biomechanics, Respiratory diseases 

Lynne Bilston is the Professor and Paul Trainor Chair with School of Biomedical Engineering, UNSW. She bridges the gap between biomechanical engineering and medicine, undertaking fundamental research in how soft tissues respond to mechanical loading and applying this across public health and clinical medicine. She has made fundamental advances in soft tissue biomechanics, developing novel imaging and rheological techniques. She has applied this expertise to (i) understanding biomechanics of paediatric injury (mechanisms and prevention), culminating in major changes to child restraint standards and legislation, (ii) developing new theories of pathogenesis for hydrocephalus and syringomyelia and methods to study them; and (iii) developing novel imaging methods for basic science and clinical studies of sleep apnoea.

The when and where of Neurosensing: Tracking slow changes in brain excitability from central and peripheral nervous systems​

Neurosensing, Wearable device, Physiological rhythms

Philippa (Pip) Karoly is focused on developing translational clinical software and digital health tools to understand and manage neurological diseases. Pip was awarded the 2022 Prime Minister's Prize for New Innovators for her breakthrough scientific research into seizure cycles and the development of a mobile app for people with epilepsy to track their likelihood of having a seizure across hourly, daily or monthly timescales. Pip's research group, the Rhythms in Physiology Lab (RiPL) are unravelling mechanisms of multiday cycles in the brain, heart and body, to inform personalised disease management and optimise health, wellbeing, and performance. Using circular statistics and accessible (mobile/wearable) software, long-term data from brain recordings, physiological and genetic samples, environmental, and behavioural factors can be combined to understand these slow rhythms. Pip collaborates with industry partners to develop innovative, personalised approaches to monitor cycles of disease risk.

Development of an implant for chronic monitoring of brain pressure; from Uni lab bench to clinical trial

Cardiovascular control, Medical device, Research commercialisation

Simon Malpas is a distinguished New Zealand scientist and entrepreneur. Simon has previously co-founded three successful medical device/life science companies from his research. He has also worked as Chief Scientist for a US based medical device manufacturer. Simon has a PhD in Physiology and is Professor of Physiology and Bioengineering at the University of Auckland. In 2018 he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand. He has obtained in excess of $23M in grant funding for his research and produced over 150 scientific articles. His work has been internationally recognised by awards from the American Physiological Society and within NZ by the Royal Society.