Speakers

Allamanda Faatoese is a Research Fellow and Lecturer at the University of Otago, Christchurch. Her research focuses on biomarkers of cardiovascular health among Pacific Peoples. She also convenes the Pacific Health teaching for year medical students in Christchurch. Allamanda is involved in STEM outreach activities with Māori and Pasifika students.

Andrea is a Founder and Head of People + Culture at VAKA. She has a passion for helping Māori and Moana people get started on their own journeys in STEAM and business by tapping into the potential of 3D Printing. Andrea is a proud daughter of Samoa and Manurewa.

Andrew is Callaghan Innovation’s Head of Health Technology. He leads the team that supports the scale-up of R&D intensive healthtech businesses and delivery of the HealthTech Activator initiative. He represents Callaghan Innovation on the steering committee of the CMDT and on the Science and Industry Advisory Group of Te Tītoki Mataora. 

A University of Auckland alumni, Andrew’s career has focused on the commercialisation of new technology. He has held global leadership roles in major corporates, and IPO-focused growth companies working extensively in the US, Japan, Korea, China and India.

Andrew is also an independent director of Auckland based Comprehensive Care. 

Professor Bev Lawton (ONZM) (Ngāti Porou) (she/her) is the founder/director of Te Tātai Hauora o Hine (the National Centre for Women’s Health Research Aotearoa) at Victoria University of Wellington. Bev’s research on women’s and children’s health has led to changes in policy and practice in Aotearoa and internationally. She has made a significant contribution to advancing cervical cancer prevention in Aotearoa through her advocacy and research in HPV self-testing. This supports the change in the cervical screening programme to ensure it is safe and equitable for wāhine Māori.

Brian is a technology strategist and entrepreneur with a passion for medical technology applied to human machine teaming. He founded and served as CEO of Zephyr Technology Corp, a MedTech company deployed into US military and Hospitals. During that time he worked with organizations such as Under Armour, Motorola, 3M and NASA. Brian's technical expertise includes optics, silicon chip design, FDA medical product development, and AI modelling. He has advised Return on Science investment committees, SfTi, Dept of Homeland Security and held research positions with NASA's Human Research Program. Brian runs a technology consulting company, an AI product company, and is a research associate at AUT SPRINZ and Honoree Academic at the Auckland Biomedical Institute.

Chloe Wright as an anthropologist, humanitarian, philanthropist, has a focus on supporting initiatives that address the issues of maternal mental health, childhood development, intergenerational cohesion, environmental sustainability, and literacy. Chloe shares in the excitement of groundbreaking medical technology, an advocate for professional/humanitarian care of patient/client relationships. She is committed to projects that have a long-term view of making a difference now and in the future. Funding is directed to initiatives that will benefit generations to come.

Chris Heinrich is a PhD candidate at the University of Otago whose experience includes developing and testing augmented reality/virtual reality system prototypes. He has developed an immersive virtual reality stroke rehabilitation system which allows people with stroke to carry out mirror therapy rehabilitation exercises while wearing a head-mounted display. He has run a clinical feasibility study using the system which showed that it can be used to carry out an established mirror therapy protocol in a clinical setting. He has also adapted this system for home (autonomous) rehabilitation which allows people with stroke to carry out those same clinical rehabilitation exercises in their home environment.

A/Prof Christiane Theda is Co-Founder, Director, and Chief Medical Officer of Navi Medical Technologies. Educated in Germany (Cologne) and the USA (Johns Hopkins), Christiane is a specialist in Newborn Medicine and Medical Genetics. In addition to her medical degree, Christiane holds a doctorate in Physiological Chemistry (Cologne) and an MBA from Johns Hopkins. After years on faculty at John Hopkins, she relocated to Melbourne in 2009 where she is a neonatal specialist at the Royal Women’s Hospital and a neonatal transport specialist at the Royal Children’s Hospital. She holds honorary appointments at the University of Melbourne and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. Associated with several start-up companies, Christiane is involved in projects to develop new medical devices for neonatal and paediatric care.

Dr Corina Grey is a Samoan public health physician, epidemiologist and health researcher. She is the Chief Clinical Advisor, Pacific Health at Manatū Hauora and co-principal investigator of Manawataki Fatu Fatu, a 3-year programme of research funded by the Heart Foundation and Healthier Lives focused on heart health equity for Māori and Pacific people in Aotearoa.

As Principal Consultant Daymon is a member of the executive team at Whānau Tahi, and leads the design and implementation of systems for Iwi, Urban Māori, and other indigenous groups internationally. He brings culturally involved design thinking for technology, people, and practices, as well as expertise in Maori Data Sovereignty and Governance practice. He has advised organisations and indigenous groups in Australia, USA, South-East Asia, Africa, and the UK. Daymon’s background has also included scaled ERP system implementations, solution architecture, outcome measurement, and organization change. Daymon has also been recognised for his work in the advancement of Māori Enterprise.

Cofounder of the Consortium of Medical Device Technologies (CMDT) and Co-lead of Te Titoki Mataora MedTech Research Translator (TTM), Diana is a medtech innovation sector specialist in research translation and early stage startups. An architect of national initiatives, Diana helps connect New Zealand's medtech sector through collaborative partnerships in country and internationally, and grow a pipeline of opportunities addressing health, social well-being and economic growth.

Dr Edgar Rodríguez is an Associate Professor and Leader of Interaction Design and the Tangible IX Lab at VUW’s School of Design. He designs physical devices and digital interactions to improve healthcare experiences. He has worked as a designer for Samsung Electronics (Seoul), Sismo Design (Paris), Studio Santachiara (Milan). 

Edgar investigates how to increase therapy engagement through smart physical medical devices, game design, and apps, including Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, for conditions that include stroke rehabilitation, cerebral palsy, and pelvic floor disorders. His academic and design work has won international awards and been published internationally, including in the Design Studies Journal, Dutch Design Week, Salone del Mobile in Milan, Core77 and Designboom, among others.

Ehsan's academic and then entrepreneurial career has been focused on developing and commercializing the AI-based technologies that is being used clinically to screen for early signs of disease in optometric and ophthalmic settings. In 2019, Ehsan started Toku Eyes (www.tokueyes.com). Since then and as the CEO of Toku Eyes, Ehsan has raised $17M in venture capital funds, more than $4M in non-diluting funds, led the FDA submissions for their AI technologies and grown the company to a team of 20, with sales in Australia, New Zealand and India. Toku is now moving its HQ to the United States and starting a branch in UAE.

Dr Eryn Kwon is a biomechanical engineer with a diverse, multi-disciplinary background, which enables her to bridge both computational simulation (subject-specific, biofidelic modelling) and real-world validation. Her research focuses on cranial impact simulation, ranging from ballistic impacts to mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI). Currently, Eryn is leading a cutting-edge mTBI data collection project, utilizing multiple imaging modalities as well as other biometrics such as instrumented mouthguards to advance our understanding and diagnosis of mTBI. Eryn’s impact models leverage machine learning (cluster computing) with feature extraction to identify the best biomarker of the ‘most complex injury of the most complex organ’

Gonzalo Daniel Maso Talou is the leader of the Animus Laboratory at Auckland Bioengineering Institute. The research group focuses on advanced image processing and integrated modelling of the cardiovascular/nervous system with clinical applications such as hypertension, idiopathic intracranial hypertension and neurodegenerative diseases. Recently, he started a multiscale modelling of the nervous system, aiming to integrate the vascular effects in the development and sustain of brain activity.

Dr. Grace Walker is a data scientist with a background in psychology. She has a passion for using data to represent communities realistically. Grace is also the director of a research consultancy, and is the Māori research lead in the RAP funded project LEAPS - an ultra low-cost insulin pump, a non-invasive glucose sensor, and digital twin software control, enabling closed loop automated insulin delivery. Grace connects the research team with the community to ensure we are meeting community needs.

Professor Grant D Searchfield has been an audiologist since 1994 and obtained his Doctorate in Audiology in 2004. Grant is deputy director of the Eisdell Moore Centre for hearing and balance research based in Auckland, New Zealand. He is a founder and scientific director of Tinnitus Tunes an online tinnitus resource and TrueSilence Therapeutics a tinnitus digital therapeutic company. He is the tinnitus section editor for Frontiers in Audiology and Otology, an associate editor, Scientific Reports and Frontiers in Neuroscience and Psychology. Grant is well known internationally for his research investigating the use of sound and hearing aids for tinnitus management.

Hanie has over 23 years of international experience working in the commercialization biotech, pharmaceutical, and medical device industries. Hanie is the current COO at Alimetry and also chairs the Medtech and Surgery Investment committee for Return on Science. She is also the Executive in Residence at Matu (a deeptech investment fund). Hanie’s passion in helping grow the NZ medtech ecosystem and support Kiwi companies access and thrive on the global stage. Hanie mentors young entrepreneurs and next generation leaders through kiwinet, SheEO and wahine connect.

Hanie has a BSc in Molecular Biology, MSc in Medical Science from the University of Auckland and a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management from Darden Business School, University of Virginia. She has also served on multiple boards as a non-executive director.

Dr Jake Campbell (Te Rarawa) is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Canterbury. His PhD in Mechanical engineering included the development of non-invasive optical sensing methods, including venous oxygen, arterial pulse wave velocity and glucose sensing. Jake is the technical lead for LEAPS, taking the research designed in the UC bioengineering lab to commercial development. LEAPS is funded through TTM and SfTI to develop affordable diabetes technology to improve health equity. This technology includes an ultra low-cost insulin pump, a non-invasive glucose sensor, and digital twin software control, enabling closed loop automated insulin delivery.

One focus of Joanna’s lab is early detection of people at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. To achieve this, the lab is exploring panels of microRNA within plasma as biomarkers of disease progression. Joanna is a molecular biologist. Her lab is based within the Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, and she is Co-Director of the Dementia Prevention Research Clinic’s Blood biobank.

JJon and his team are focused on bringing technology to the health sector faster, ensuring that technology provides impact, and establishing a network of interested and expert people and organisations who are working on new technology solutions in health. Previously Jon established the Alliance Leadership Team and programme for CCDHB and was involved in project management, technology development and analytics in a number of clinical areas. He originally trained and practiced as a Physiotherapist and also completed a post-graduate diploma in Health Management.

Josh has over 20 years’ experience leading teams and building software products in Australasia, Europe and the USA. He has built products in verticals including eLearning, advertising, human resources, FinTech and now HealthTech. Josh led the growth of Pushpay’s product design and development for 6 years from 4 to over 100 people and $200m of annual revenue. He co-founded Tend Health in 2019 with Cecilia and James Robinson and Dr Mataroria Lyndon where he's working on completely reimagining the traditional doctors visit.

Lance is currently Director, Investment and Innovation at the Liverpool Innovation Precinct, in South Western Sydney. His career began as a Clinical Biochemist, spending >23 years in diagnostic pathology including 6 years with NYSE-listed multinational Abbott Laboratories. He is a former National President of the Australian Institute of Medical Scientists. As Head of Global Marketing at dual-listed Australian medtech company ResMed Ltd (2002-2008), he led the development of new medical devices and launched them globally. He was Marketing Director for APAC, MENA and eventually also Europe up to 2016, departing ResMed to join a leading consulting firm as partner. 

Lance mentors for a number of start-up accelerator programs, including CSIRO ON, D.Start, Remarkable Tech, UNSW Health 10x and Cruxes Ascend. He has Masters Degrees in Clinical Biochemistry, Business Administration and Commercial Law, is a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, is a Non-Executive Director for a NFP and Chairs the board of successful medtech start-up, Navi Medical Technologies. Lance also currently serves on an Expert Advisory Group for the NSW Innovation and Productivity Council, is an Advisory Board Member for Ti Titoki Mataora MedTech Research Translator in New Zealand and is a grant assessor for the Federal Government’s Clinical Translation and Commercialisation MedTech (CTCM) grant program.

Dr Marc Gutenstein is a specialist Emergency physician with Te Whatu Ora, and Senior Lecturer with University of Otago. He has a background in cognitive psychology, digital health and clinical co-design. His work focuses on how human factors, teams and technology interact in complex healthcare settings. Marc is a founder of Wayfind.health, a decision support tool for acute healthcare teams, and a component part of a learning health system. Wayfind is currently deployed in Christchurch hospital for the assessment of traumatic brain injury, and cardiac chest pain.

Dr Lyndon is a Senior Lecturer in Medical Education at the University of Auckland, and co-founder and Director of Health Equity at Tend Health - a digitally led health care provider. He also co-hosts the TVNZ medical series The Check Up, and was previously Equity Lead at Mahitahi Hauora Primary Health Organisation and a medical lead for Māori health at Counties Manukau District Health Board.

With governance roles spanning health, academia, and sport, Dr Lyndon is a Board member of Te Aka Whai Ora Māori Health Authority and the Data and Digital Innovation Committee for Te Whatu Ora Health NZ, Pūtahi Manawa Centre of Research Excellence, and was previously Deputy Chair of Te Hiringa Hauora Health Promotion Agency NZ, and member of the Northland District Health Board. 

He completed his Master of Public Health at Harvard University as a Fulbright Scholar and Frank Knox Fellow, and his PhD is focused on medical education. He was also awarded the Deloitte IPANZ Public Sector Young Professional of the Year 2016.

Natalia’s career started off in the heavily regulated automotive industry as a systems engineer. This complemented her shift into the life science and medical device industry 10 years ago where she designed and implemented quality management systems. She has worked with multiple medical device spinouts to develop their quality systems and to ensure regulatory compliant product development. She was previously the Chief Operating Officer for Kaha Sciences, a wireless telemetry solutions company. She now focuses on market entry strategy for the Kitea System. Natalia holds a Bachelor of Science Electrical Engineering from Louisiana Tech University and a Postgraduate Diploma in Quality Systems Design from Massey University.

Dr Nicole Bassett is a former research scientist who completed her PhD under the supervision of Distinguished Prof Sir Peter Gluckman, and then spent 10 years as part of his research team. She has spent the last 20 years working in the philanthropic space generating support for health-related research. She is currently the Development Manager for the University of Auckland’s flagship research institutes the Auckland Bioengineering Institute, the Liggins Institute, and Koi Tū : The Centre for Informed Futures. She has raised in excess of $30million for the Institutes over the past 5 years and is highly skilled at developing deep meaningful relationships with major donors to help them find projects where they will have the greatest impact. Donors are inspired by great research that has potential impact to change lives for generations to come. Understanding your donors and their motivation is vital. Taking the time to build these relationships will lead long-term significant support that can be transformational for your organisation.

Professor Peter Thorne is an expert in diseases of the inner ear, the effects of noise, and consequences of ageing on the auditory system. Peter has a joint appointment in the Section of Audiology and Department of Physiology at the University of Auckland. He is a Director of the Eisdell Moore Centre and Co-Director of Brain Research New Zealand.

Ralph Highnam has successfully built & exited medical device software start-ups in the UK and NZ. The most recent is ASX-listed, Wellington-based, Volpara Health, a leader in personalized breast care with 40% market coverage in the US. Ralph has been Founder, CEO, and Chief Scientist, as well as dealing directly with the FDA and other regulatory bodies and has raised over $130M with Volpara Health.

Dr Samuela Ofanoa (Tonga, Felemea Ha’apai, Vaimalo Vava’u) completed a PhD in Population Health at the University of Auckland investigating the risk and protective factors among mid and older community-dwelling adults in New Zealand. Samuela is currently working alongside other Pacific researchers, health professionals, and members of the community to co-design an intervention to improve the uptake of urate-lowering therapy for gout among Pacific people in South Auckland. He is also a Senior Researcher at Moana Connect, working alongside Pacific researchers to elevate the stories of Pacific families and communities to produce transformative change.

Dr McPhee recently co-founded MQB Partners, an investment group based in NZ. After completing post-doctoral studies in translational neuroscience, Dr McPhee was involved in the founding of various startups, working in Hematology (Chatham Therapeutics, acq Baxter), Neurology (Bamboo Therapeutics, acq, Pfizer), RNA therapeutics (Torque Bio), and various other fields (Asklepios/AskBio BioPharmaceutical, acq, Bayer). Dr McPhee has also been a startup investor for over a decade (Allbirds, BIRD, Obvious Engineering, acq Snapchat).

Sean Gray is a successful leader with a passion for life and helping others. He has held various senior positions in different industries, including CEO of Peke Waihanga/Artificial Limb Service and Managing Director of the Peer Support Service and Orthotic Service. Sean also has experience in community service and governance, including serving as Board and National Council Chair of Scouts Aotearoa, Director of Ginan Biomedic, Expert Advisor on the Major Trauma panel for the Health Quality and Safety Commission and a member of the Serious Injury Panel at the ACC. 

Sean has a strong background in health, medical devices and services to vulnerable patient groups, with a particular focus on innovation and disruptive technologies in this field. For example, Sean has chaired several sessions at the Australian Orthotics & Prosthetic Association (AOPA) Congress, as well as presented and published scientific research in the area of prosthetic and orthotic service delivery, user satisfaction, and the experiences of amputees using microprocessor knees.
Additionally, Sean has also presented at various international conferences, authored or co-authored several scientific publications and posters on the topic of diabetes.

Simon’s career as an industrial designer ranges from professional practice through to research and teaching in academia. Industry experience incorporates Fisher and Paykel Appliances, including their early medical devices, followed by more than 20 years at the internationally renowned Porsche Design studio as Assistant Design Director. Simon joined Victoria University of Wellington/Te Herenga Waka as the founding Programme Director of Industrial Design and subsequently as Head of the School of Design Innovation and Associate Dean, Research & Innovation. Current activities include facilitating translational research by bringing together science, design and industry via active affiliations with Te Tītoki Mataora, the NZ Product Accelerator and SfTI.

Dr Siobhan Tu'akoi (Tonga, Holonga Tongatapu, Pākehā) is a research fellow in the Pacific Health section, School of Population Health at the University of Auckland. She completed a PhD focused on adolescent wellbeing and intergenerational health in the Cook Islands. She has also been involved in research across both New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, including projects on maternal wellbeing, health literacy in schools and COVID-19 vaccination awareness. Her current research involves working alongside Pacific researchers, health professionals, and community members to co-design an intervention targeting rheumatic fever prevention within South Auckland Pasifika communities.

Tara is a passionate advocate for women’s health, female representation in STEM, and women in leadership positions. A MedTech expert with 20 years industry experience, Tara is the CEO of Baymatob, a female-founded, female-led, early-stage business aiming to improve and save the lives of mothers and their babies, by developing an AI-enabled monitoring and early-warning system to transform health outcomes.
Tara has worked across various technical, business and leadership roles in innovative health technology companies. Academically, Tara developed and lectures the Biomedical Industry Frameworks subject at UTS. Tara has a B. Engineering, B. Medical Science, and an MBA.

Tāria Tane (Te Roroa, Ngāpuhi) is a doctoral student at the School of Population Health at the University of Auckland. Tāria is also a seasoned project manager, working on diverse projects spanning Māori health, primary care, mental health, child health, digital health, and long-term conditions. Tāria currently resides in her hometown in rural Te Tai Tokerau and is passionate about digital health solutions that support rural communities to thrive.

Dr. Usman is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Centre of Chiropractic research at New Zealand College of Chiropractic. A major focus of his research at CCR is to use electroencephalograms (EEGs) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to identify how chiropractic care alters brain dynamics. The areas of research he is interested in including rehabilitation technologies are motor control and neuroplasticity. While pursuing his PhD in health sciences at Auckland University of Technology, he studied brain signals, mainly EEGs and ERPs, and how they are associated with cognitive workload variations.

Prof Valery Feigin is Professor of Neurology and Epidemiology and the Director of the National Institute for Stroke and Applied Neurosciences, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand. Valery has published over 450 journal articles, and according to Web of Science, is one of the 1% most cited scientists worldwide across all field of science in 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2022; Google Scholar h-index = 130, Scopus h-index = 114; Web of Science h-index = 106). Professor Feigin is Editor-in-Chief of the journal Neuroepidemiology (IF=5.4), Co-Chair of the Global Policy Committee of the World Stroke Organization, and member of WHO TAG on NCD-related Research and Innovation.

Dr Dieriks is currently a Sir Charles Hercus Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Synuclein lab at the Centre for Brain Research. As an emerging leader in Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy research, he focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration to find a therapy that will delay or stop the onset of these chronic conditions.

A/Prof. Yusuf O. Cakmak (MD, PhD) is a leading expert in non-invasive wearable neuromodulation and remote health monitoring using nearable devices. He holds over ten international patents and has founded two spinoff companies specializing in wearable neuromodulation and mobile phone-based diagnostics in the US. He leads point-of-care technologies theme for Centre for Bioengineering at the University of Otago where he holds an Associate professor position at the Department of Anatomy. He is also a member of Interventional Technologies theme at NZ Consortium for Medical Device Technologies. Cakmak’s research is supported by HRC, Medtech Core grants. A/Prof. Cakmak provides invited expert opinions to numerous governmental grants for Medtech including NIH(US) and ERC(EU) and MRFF(AU).