Speakers

Kev coordinates research projects and management, literature generation, development of materials and applications, and presents workshops. His love of languages provides a unique view into many indigenous cultures allowing him to translate world views and map frameworks across the myriad of research topics , particularly into relevant Te Tiriti partnerships.

Dr Jennifer Kruger is the Principal Investigator, and senior researcher for the Pelvic Floor Research group, at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute, University of Auckland. The focus of her research is pelvic floor muscle function and dysfunction in women, with more recent emphasis on device development to manage urinary incontinence in women. She is a founding member, and current CEO of a spin-out company, JUNOFEM (Ltd) which is in the process of commercialisation of the device (femfit®). She has over fifteen years of clinical experience in nursing and midwifery and brings both a clinical and bioinstrumentation development understanding to the problem, having held a Rutherford Foundation and Aoteoroa Postdoctoral Fellowship at the ABI since 2010.  

Dr Brian Robinson has a background in physiology and established the first patient simulation centre in New Zealand. At VUW, he lectures in pathophysiology and patient safety, and his research collaborations include clinical human factors, medical device design and usability, machine learning, and virtual reality applications, in health.

Dr Sharon Olsen is a Lecturer in the Physiotherapy Department within the School of Clinical Sciences at AUT. Her research explores the use of novel technologies to enhance physiotherapy assessment and rehabilitation. A key focus of her work is the use of neuromodulatory techniques to enhance neural plasticity following stroke. Sharon teaches on the undergraduate physiotherapy programme and supervises Masters and PhD students. Her clinical background has spanned acute, rehabilitation, and community settings, with a focus on neurological conditions.

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

Professor Anthony Butler is a radiologist with an interest in developing new imaging technologies. In 2007 he was one of the founder of MARS Bioimaging Ltd, a company formed to commercialise spectral imaging technology. He remains on the board and is the Chief Medical Officer. Anthony has more than 150 scientific publication. He has won more than 10 awards for his research including awards from the Royal Society of NZ and the Royal Australian College of Radiologists. He is the lead investigator on over $12m of NZ government research grants, and co-investigator on more than $30m of other grants.

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.

Amio (Niue | Te Whānau-ā-Apanui) is a registered nurse, the Innovations Lead for Moana Research, and PhD candidate with the University of Auckland.  Her current research aims to explore the intergenerational views of health, wellbeing and cardiovascular disease among Niue women living in New Zealand.  She is also the project lead for DIGIFALE at Moana Research which aims to strengthen the digital health literacy and digital health equity among Pacific communities.

Dr Nada Signal is an Associate Professor and Associate Head of Research for the School of Clinical Sciences. Nada is a Principal Investigator with the Medical Technologies Centre for Research Excellence and recipient of a New Zealand Health Research Council Emerging Researcher Award (2019) and the AUT Vice-Chancellor's Award for Research Excellence-Emerging Researcher (2019). Her research focuses on innovation in rehabilitation clinical practice and the development of novel technologies to augment rehabilitation.

Simon is Professor of Industrial Design with over 35 years’ experience in design research through a variety of roles; as Assistant Design Director at the Porsche Design Studio, Head of School, Associate Dean of Research & Innovation at the VUW School of Design Innovation and collaborations with the MedTech CoRE, NZ Product Accelerator and NSC SfTI.

Dr Samantha Holdsworth is a medical physicist with expertise in MRI, with a special focus on imaging of the human brain. Samantha is a senior lecturer at the Department of Anatomy and Medical Imaging at the University of Auckland and a principal investigator at the Centre for Brain Research. She established and directs Mātai, a medical imaging research and innovation centre in Gisborne-Tairāwhiti. Samantha is a pioneer of fast, high resolution MRI methods. She has worked on ways of improving the resolution, speed, and motion-robustness of various MRI methodologies, including structural, physiological, functional, and amplified MRI. Dr Holdsworth is helping to draw together multi-disciplinary teams around mild traumatic brain injury, among other health-related areas. 

Robyn is a public health physician and Clinical Director Innovation at Waitemata DHB’s Institute for Innovation and Improvement. She is also Assoc Prof at the National Institute for Health Innovation (NIHI) at the University of Auckland. Her research interests are in developing mHealth interventions to be delivered to people directly using their mobile phones. 

As Director of the Auckland Bioengineering Institute and Professor of Engineering Science at the University of Auckland, Peter Hunter is helping to develop standards based physiological models and the use of computational methods for understanding the integrated physiological function of the body in terms of the structure and function of tissues, cells and proteins.

Marcus King has worked for Callaghan Innovation as an innovation engineer for 35 years and in the medical sector for 20, particularly in development of rehabilitation technologies. He has created technologies for companies such as AbleX Healthcare, MTech Games, Inclusys, and Exsurgo Rehabilitation. He is particularly interested in the user centered design process around developing devices that enable people with disabilities to live independently.

Lionel’s MDI project focussed on 3D printing and upcycling plastic waste in the Pacific. From this emerged his ‘Creative Pathways’ programme which integrates 3D printing into STEM education. He is an award-winning social entrepreneur, Awhina facilitator and Pasifika Engagement Advisor for the VUW Pasifika Student Success Team.

Lance is Manager of the Liverpool Innovation Precinct, in South West Sydney. He is a former National President of the Australian Institute of Medical Scientists and spent 13+ years in leadership roles at ResMed. Lance mentors for a number of startup accelerator programs, is a NED for a NFP and Chairs the board of startup, Navi Medical Technologies

As NZTE’s sector navigator for HealthTech, Karen works with NZTE’s global team located in 41 international offices. NZTE’s network of advisors and business development managers deliver a range of services for NZ HealthTech companies. These include market research into target consumers, procurement processes, reimbursement, and importing rules and regulations. Karen will focus on activities in North America, Mexico and Brazil. 

Ju is the founder and CEO of Formus Labs and a passionate believer in the power of computational biomechanics to improve orthopedic practice. Ju has a PhD in Bioengineering from the Auckland Bioengineering Institute and conducted post-doctoral research at the ABI, Imperial College London, and Stanford University on the way to building Formus Labs.

Jo Nunnerley is the Academy Director at the Burwood Academy, where she leads a team of clinical and lived experience researchers. She is also a researcher in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Musculoskeletal Medicine, University of Otago Christchurch. Her research combines her clinical experience as a physiotherapist in spinal cord injury rehabilitation, and interests in lived experience research, and knowledge translation.

Greg O’Grady is a gastrointestinal surgeon at Auckland City Hospital, and a Professor of Surgery at the University of Auckland.  He has co-founded 2 spin-out medical device companies - the Insides Company and Alimetry Ltd, and is currently the CEO of Alimetry. 

Professor Frank Bloomfield is the Director of the Liggins Institute.  He is a Professor in Neonatology, and until recently a Consultant Neonatologist at Auckland City Hospital, and past President of the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand.
Frank took a BSc (first class honours) in Experimental Immunology and Oncology at the University of Manchester and then MBChB, also at Manchester. He trained in paediatrics in the north-west of England, obtaining MRCP before moving to New Zealand where he specialised in neonatal paediatrics, obtaining FRACP. He took a PhD in paediatrics at The University of Auckland and spent two years in Toronto as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Toronto and a neonatal transport fellow at the Hospital for Sick Children. He was appointed as a Senior Lecturer in Neonatology at The University of Auckland and a specialist neonatologist at Auckland City Hospital in 2002.  In 2013 he was promoted to Professor and in 2015 was appointed Director of the Liggins Institute at the University of Auckland.

Justin is the Director of Ara Manawa at Auckland City Hospital. Having left Kiwibank in 2009 with a Lean Six Sigma skill set, Justin has held a range of portfolios at the hospital, including the set-up of a production planning team, supporting lean and design in ward refurbishments, to co-directing the Design for Health and Wellbeing Lab venture with AUT. 

Ara Manawa is a small interdisciplinary design team employed by the hospital. The team have a research and innovation focus, re-imagining how care is delivered. The goal of Ara Manawa is to improve the experience of patients, whānau, and clinicians through re-imagining the spaces, systems, stuff and activity of staff involved in the delivery of health care.
 
In addition to offering in-house design capability, Ara Manawa connects to the local research and innovation eco-system outside the hospital. Ara Manawa offer meaningful problems for students, researchers and industry to solve. Ara Manawa work with a range of capabilities outside design, including bio-engineering, Architecture, Business, and Creative Writing.

Sam Martin is a Partner at Icehouse Ventures, New Zealand’s most active early stage venture investor. He recently led rounds of capital raising for ABI companies Toku Eyes and HeartLab, and is actively investing in medtech. Prior to joining Icehouse Ventures, Sam held investment management and strategy roles in Europe. He has invested in early stage businesses in Europe, India, Brazil, and Australasia since 2011.

Glen is a software engineer with experience in the medical and consumer electronics industries.  He has a number of issued US patents to his credit, and has a detailed understanding of what is required to take a technology company from inception to profitability (and exit).  He is an active angel investor and is involved in volunteer mentoring of early stage technology startups.

Glen has Bachelor of Engineering & Master of Engineering degrees from the University of Auckland (1st class honors, distinction), specialising in Biomedical Engineering.  Glen co-founded Intrigue Technologies, makers of the Harmony Remote, which was acquired by Logitech in 2004.