Perth Biodesign and Biodesign Australia, the training grounds for the next generation of biomedical innovators, are excited to announce significant changes in their leadership teams.
Professor Kevin Pfleger, Chair of Perth Biodesign and Biodesign Australia, has announced the appointment of Oliver Bazzani and Chloe Goodred as the new Directors of Perth Biodesign, with Oliver, Chloe and Biodesign Melbourne’s Professor David Grayden becoming the new Directors of Biodesign Australia.
Dr Intan Oldakowska and Dr Matt Oldakowski, co-founders of Perth Biodesign, have transitioned to advisory roles. Their pioneering efforts have established Perth Biodesign as a leading force in healthcare innovation, and their continued guidance will be invaluable. Matt and Intan are now focusing on the growth of their two revolutionary medtech companies: RexOrtho, a portfolio of innovative orthopaedic products; and EarFlo, a device to treat chronic ear infections non-invasively. Both companies were incubated through the Biodesign process and are an inspiration to the WA medtech community.
Oliver Bazzani brings over eight years of experience in the Australian startup ecosystem. As a director, advisor, and investor, Oliver has led/designed various programs, including the Perth Biodesign flagship program and the Australian Clinical Entrepreneur Program, and has provided mentoring and advice across numerous accelerators and companies. His diverse background spans startups, investment, and government. Oliver's journey with Perth Biodesign began in the 2020 cohort, where his team created a mental health solution that won the Perth Biodesign for Digital Health program. Previously, Oliver built businesses in creative industries and mental health, led the innovation function at the Child and Adolescent Health Service, and was the manager of WA’s largest Angel investor network.
Chloe Goodred began her career as a physiotherapist and worked across a range of clinical settings before pivoting into clinical service design and project management. Her curiosity and passion for problem-solving, diverse collaborations and systems thinking led her to co-found a digital health startup and lead initiatives to bring together public and private sector innovators and enablers. Before joining the Perth Biodesign team in 2023 Chloe led the Kaartdijin Innovation Centre at South Metropolitan Health Service, including its establishment in 2019 – the first innovation hub for WA public health services.
Professor David Grayden joined the Biodesign Australia Steering Committee in 2022, with his extensive academic and industry experience as the Clifford Chair of Neural Engineering at Melbourne University, Director of Biodesign Melbourne, and co-Director of the Victorian Medtech Skills and Devices Hub. Biodesign Melbourne is an innovative program at the University of Melbourne offered jointly by the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology (FEIT) and Melbourne Business School (MBS). It was launched in 2016 with the support of Biodesign Israel, with the initial Melbourne cohort consisting of 22 students in five teams. Since then, between four and seven teams have taken part annually, with some notable alumni progressing their innovations beyond the end of the course.
Perth Biodesign continues to bridge the gap between health, tech, and business, building capability and fostering digital health and medical technology innovations. Their programs, based on Stanford University's Biodesign innovation process, have trained nearly 500 graduates who have created 26 medical technologies and raised over $40 million in funding. Alumni include founders of companies like VitalTrace, Veintech, Pretect Devices, and Matilda Health, while other alumni have progressed into medtech and innovation leadership roles across industry, academia and the public sector.
Perth Biodesign and Biodesign Australia are globally recognised, recently announcing partnerships with renowned institutions the Texas Medical Center, New England Medical Innovation Center and the University of California San Francisco.
Administered by The University of Western Australia (UWA), Perth Biodesign and Biodesign Australia also benefit from UWA’s partnership with MTPConnect and the WA Government as the WA Life Sciences Innovation Hub, as well as with the: Springboard Medical Manufacturing Alliance; Bridgewest Perth Pharma; AstraZeneca A.Catalyst Network; and Bridge and BridgeTech Programs. Perth Biodesign is also a Founding Partner of the Health and Medical Innovators Community of Interest within the Meshpoints collaborative network.
In October, Biodesign Australia will host the BME IDEA APAC 2024 (Biodesign APAC 2024) conference in Melbourne, highlighting the vibrant Australian medtech ecosystem and continuing to promote international collaboration, with delegates expected from Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, India, and the USA.
Professor Kevin Pfleger stated, "The leadership changes mark an exciting new chapter for Perth Biodesign and Biodesign Australia. We are confident that Oliver and Chloe, in collaboration with David in Melbourne, will drive Biodesign initiatives to new heights. Having delivered the highly successful 2023 Perth Biodesign flagship program as Course Directors, Chloe and Oliver are building on the solid foundation laid by Intan, Matt and all the other mentors and contributors over the past several years."
For more information, please visit www.perthbiodesign.au and www.biodesign.au.