Scholarship for life sciences students promotes innovation

The Bionics Institute’s ‘Innovate for Life Scholarship Program’ provides up to $35,000 per year for up to four years so that high-achieving engineering, biomedical science and neuroscience students can undertake postgraduate studies.

Bionics Institute CEO Robert Klupacs said students are the lifeblood of medical breakthroughs, but many are deterred by financial hardship to continue studying.

“At the Bionics Institute, students work side by side with our world-leading researchers, scientists and engineers on technologies to improve the lives of people with challenging conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, hearing impairment, Crohn’s disease, epilepsy and rheumatoid arthritis,” he said.

“Students bring new perspectives and novel ideas, and they work incredibly hard. It’s vital they get financial support to pursue a medical research career, and we’re hoping to encourage people to make tax-deductible donations towards these scholarships before 30 June this year.”

From 2007–2011, Dr Dean Freestone completed his PhD at the Bionics Institute, developing bionic devices for abating seizures in epilepsy patients and exploring computational tools to analyse electrophysiological data.

A scholarship provided a critical means of support for Freestone to pursue his studies.

“As a student, you’re living well below the poverty line. For me, a scholarship was the difference between working on these really important medical issues or taking another career path.

“I’ve never heard of anyone being able to do PhD research without getting a scholarship — it’s practically impossible to survive and do the work required without it.”

After completing his PhD at the Bionics Institute, Freestone attended Columbia University in New York as a Fulbright Scholar and later went on to co-found Seer Medical — an Australian med tech company creating revolutionary technology that improves the diagnosis and management of epilepsy.

Freestone said, “Seer has helped over 13,500 families in Australia get faster, more accurate diagnosis for their epilepsy. Without our technology, these people may not have obtained the critical answers needed to manage their condition, ultimately impacting their quality of life.”

The Bionics Institute relies on the generosity of the community to offer PhD scholarships and reduce the barriers to further education.

Image credit: iStock.com/NicoElNino