Bionics Institute
Niamh Hennessy is currently a PhD candidate at the Bionics Institute, focusing on Peripheral Sensory Stimulation for Parkinson's Disease Gait since August 2023. Previously, Niamh worked as an R&D Engineer 1 at Boston Scientific from November 2018 to May 2021 and pursued an MSc at Trinity College Dublin, where the research involved investigating perimysium collagen in skeletal muscle. Niamh gained earlier experience as an R&D Intern at Neuravi and an intern at Denis Wood Associates. Niamh holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Melbourne, expected to be completed in September 2026, and has a prior educational background from Trinity College Dublin.
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Bionics Institute
The Bionics Institute is an internationally recognised, independent medical research institute that solves medical challenges with technology. We lead the world in the research and development of innovative medical devices and therapies to improve human health. Our multidisciplinary team is comprised of world-class scientists, engineers and researchers, and our laboratories are located in St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, close to our clinical collaborators. Together we transform the lives of people with a range of conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, hearing impairment, vision loss, Crohnʼs disease, Parkinsonʼs disease, stroke, arthritis, incontinence and diabetes. The Bionics Institute has an impressive track record of translating medical device concepts into clinical reality dating back to 1986 when it was founded by Professor Graeme Clark, leader of the team that created Australiaʼs cochlear implant. Since then, Bionics Institute researchers have developed: • Australiaʼs first-generation bionic eye prototype implanted in clinical trials in 2018. - The epilepsy seizure monitoring device Minder™, commercialised through Epi-Minder Pty Ltd. - An adaptive deep brain stimulation system for Parkinsonʼs disease, commercialised through Deep Brain Stimulation Technologies Pty Ltd. - An innovative vagus nerve stimulation device to treat inflammatory bowel disease, which is moving into clinical trials and also being adapted to treat rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes. - Novel drug delivery methods for hearing loss; new diagnostic tools for improved diagnosis of infant hearing. Growth into new areas will build on our expertise in medical device development and a recent expansion of our world-class facilities to include the end-to-end medical device prototype manufacturing facility, Neo-Bionica.