MIME News

If you would like a story added to next month's blog please contact Susan Newland at mime-enquiries@monash.edu

Director Jeffrey Rosenfeld welcomes readers to MIME News

Welcome to the first MIME newsletter. MIME was formed nearly a year ago to foster and grow interdisciplinary research in engineering, medicine and science at Monash University. Our goal is to develop or improve new medical technologies for clinical application. We are a ‘virtual institute’ with our offices in the New Horizon’s building at the Clayton Campus, but we have staff engaged in MIME affiliated projects across Monash University. We aim to increase collaborations between clinicians at the Monash Affiliated Hospitals and Clinical Schools and engineers and scientists across the themes of cardiovascular, pulmonary, bone and joint, neural and regenerative medicine and therapeutics. We are also stimulating strong industry engagement with Monash researchers.

The primary focus of the MIME newsletter is to inform our researchers of key events at MIME, new opportunities for research funding and awards, the recent achievements of our affiliated researchers and items of general interest. The MIME Seed Funding grants for interdisciplinary research projects are announced here and these provide a fantastic opportunity for new collaborative research at Monash University and beyond. But note the timeline is short but at least we are not expecting an ARC or NHMRC application! Our PhD Scholarship program is being launched and we are now organizing focused seminars, workshops, and further affinity meetings to explore new collaborative research ideas.

Please let us know if you have any suggestions how MIME can serve you in the future. We are also open to your ideas about fundraising for MIME and your research.

A Message from Heather St John - MIME COO

The first half of 2015 has been busy for MIME. We have welcomed new staff to the team, facilitated several multidisciplinary workshops, hosted a number of industry showcase meetings, and coordinated a number of major grant and proposal submissions. 

We now have our full 'core' team, including Deputy Director, Professor Laurence Meagher, who will be leading the development of MIME's research strategy and PhD program, MIME Executive Officer Ms Susan Newland, who is assisting with coordination of MIME events, communications, and proposals and MIME lab manager, Ms Karla Contreras, who will be providing training for MIME PhD students.

Our efforts in the second half of 2015 will continue to focus on fostering and strengthening  collaborative multidisciplinary research aimed at developing new medical technologies. Many great ideas have emerged in our prior Affinity meetings and workshops, and the MIME seed fund is now available to 'kick-start' these collaborative programs.

In the second half of 2015 we will expand our range of opportunities for MIME members to connect and exchange ideas, with the MIME seminar series soon to commence, as well as targeted workshops, in areas such as surgical training, 3D printing, regenerative medicine and robotics. 

Heather St John is the Chief Operating Officer of Monash Institute of Medical Engineering, MIME, and is responsible for the management and coordination of MIME’s activities including workshops, seed-funding programs, proposal development and industry, and government engagement.

MIME Welcomes Deputy Director, Director of Research Laurence Meagher

Earlier this year Laurence Meagher, joined MIME as the Deputy Director, Director of Research. Laurence joined MIME and Monash University from CSIRO where he worked for the last 16 years in a variety of leadership roles, including Program Leader in the CRC for Polymers, Research Group Leader, Supramolecular Materials and Stream Leader in the Biomedical Materials Theme in CSIRO. He brings a diverse leadership profile to MIME, extensive experience in science strategy and delivery in both academic and commercial arenas as well as strong experience in commercialisation and intellectual property. He is an inventor on 17 granted, PCT and provisional patents.

MIME Seed Fund Now Open

The MIME seed fund has been established to accelerate the development of new medical technologies that address significant unmet clinical needs.

The 2015 round of the MIME seed fund is designed to lay the foundations for the collaborative framework of MIME, by encouraging early clinician involvement in identifying areas of significant clinical need, so that our research can be directed to areas where it can deliver greatest impact. Secondly it aims to build and strengthen collaborative relationships between MNHS clinicians in Monash's partner hospitals and researchers in the Faculties of Engineering and IT, as well as reaching out to researchers in other disciplines and partner organisations.

There will be up to $500,000 available in the 2015 funding round. Applications may be for any amount between $10 - $50K. The funding will be directed to projects that can achieve a meaningful outcome within 12-18 months, e.g. proof-of-concept data or initial prototype. The seed funding is aimed at progressing a project to the point that the research team is well positioned to then secure external funding from industry or grants to progress the next phase of the R&D. There are two stages to the application process: an initial call to clinicians to define areas of unmet clinical need, followed by an invitation to all Monash staff to respond with proposed solutions. All Monash staff are eligible to participate in the multidisciplinary ‘solution' teams. Researchers from MIME partner institutions are also invited to participate as members of the collaborative teams.

The 2015 funding round aims to foster new collaborative projects, hence applications must be directed to new research areas, not extensions or augmented funding of existing funded projects.

For further information regarding the MIME Seed Fund please follow the link to our website.

MIME PhD Projects

MIME is establishing an interdisciplinary PhD program to support students and their supervisors undertaking projects related to the development of new medical technologies. MIME PhD scholarships are now available to support collaborative projects that are co-supervised by a clinician researcher from the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences and a researcher from the Faculty or Engineering or Faculty of IT.


Building on a donation from Monash Health, six scholarships are available for projects involving a co-supervisor from the School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health. Similarly, four to five scholarships are expected to be available for projects that are co-supervised by a clinician from the Central Clinical School at Alfred Health. Additional scholarships are under discussion with other Faculties, including the Faculties of Art Design and Architecture, Science and Arts.

Phase 1 of the process for awarding the scholarships is underway now – the call to clinicians to nominate areas of significant unmet clinical need with a significantly challenging research question that befits a PhD project.

For further information about MIME PhD projects and scholarships please visit the MIME website (www.monash.edu/mime). Clinician researchers wishing to co-supervise PhD students should complete and return the Phase 1 application form by the 29th of June 2015.

Clinicians and researchers wishing to be involved in the development of course material for training and development modules to be made available to MIME PhD students should contact the MIME Director of Research, Professor Laurence Meagher, directly (laurence.meagher@monash.edu).

Upcoming MIME Events - Register Here

MIME Affinity meetings provide an opportunity for clinician researchers at our hospital sites to connect to researchers with enabling expertise in the areas of engineering, IT, design, science and biomedicine, etc. The meetings aim to foster new collaborative connections for clinicians and researchers interested in developing leading edge medical technologies.

Our next two MIME Affinity meetings have been timed to coincide with Phase 1 of the MIME seed funding process, - i.e. the Call to Clinicians to nominate areas of significant unmet clinical need that could potentially be addressed by engineering or IT innovation. 

The next two MIME Affinity meetings are scheduled as follows:

MIME-MHTP Affinity meeting: Thursday 18th June, 9.00am - 11.00am 

Monash Health Translation Precinct - Monash Medical Centre

246 Clayton Road, Clayton, Victoria, 3168, Australia 

Block E, Level 5, Surgery Seminar Room.

MIME-AMREP Affinity meeting: Tuesday 23rd June 10.00am - 12.00pm 
Alfred Centre  
99 Commercial Road, Melbourne, Victoria, 3004, Australia (Corner of Punt Road and Commercial Road enter via Lobby B)  

Level 5, Seminar Room 1.

Clinician researchers are invited to give a 5 minute presentation outlining a clinical need or opportunity they are willing to champion. Please advise susan.newland@monash.edu if you wish to present. Engineering, IT and other MIME researchers are strongly encouraged to attend these events, to identify new opportunities to apply your expertise, and meet potential clinical collaborators. Networking time will be available. Researchers attending these events should then be well positioned to respond to Phase 2 of the MIME seed fund process - the call for Engineering or IT-enabled R&D programs addressing unmet clinical needs.

Researchers wishing to attend the Affinity meetings should complete the online form. MIME will provide transport between the Clayton site and the Affinity meetings.

Researchers from MIME partner organisations i.e. CSIRO, Hudson Institute and BakerIDI are also welcome to attend the MIME Affinity meetings. 

Funding Opportunities

Each month MIME News will alert our followers to any relevant funding opportunities. 

Applications for grants by the Ian Potter Foundation are open

The Ian Potter Foundation was established in 1964 by Australian financier, businessman and philanthropist, Sir Ian Potter (1902 – 1994).  The Foundation is now one of Australia’s major philanthropic foundations.

Based in Melbourne, the Foundation makes grants nationally to support charitable organisations working to benefit the community across a wide range of sectors and endeavours. Grants are made through nine program areas which reflect Sir Ian’s interest in the arts, and his visionary approach to issues including the environment, science, medical research, education and community wellbeing, as well as the importance of investing in Australia’s intellectual capital.

Through its grants, the Foundation seeks to encourage excellence and support Australia’s talent: the visionaries, social entrepreneurs, scientists, academics and researchers, artists and teachers, and those who dedicate themselves to bettering our communities for the benefit of all.

Applications close at 5.00pm on Tuesday, 23 June 2015. Further information is available here. 

Australia- Germany Joint Research Cooperation Scheme
The Australia-Germany Joint Research Co-operation Scheme is a joint initiative of Universities Australia and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Germany's national agency for the support of international academic co-operation. It aims to foster research collaboration of the highest quality between Australian researchers from Universities Australia member universities and German researchers from German universities and research institutes.The scheme will support exchanges for Australian researchers to spend time at partner institutions  in Germany and for collaborating German researchers to spend time at Australian universities.

Applications close on Tuesday, 30 June 2015. Further information is available here.

EOI for ARC Centres Of Excellence 2017 
Expressions of Interest for ARC Centres of Excellence 2017 are now open in RMS. 
Applications close at 5pm on Wednesday 22, July 2015. Further information is available here.

The Royal Society of Victoria 2015 Young Scientist Research Prizes
Applications are now open for the Royal Society of Victoria 2015 Young Scientist Research Prizes for Biomedical & Health Sciences, Biological Sciences (Non-human), Physical Sciences, Earth. The Royal Society of Victoria has established four prestigious competitive prizes open to post-graduate, doctoral students in all areas of the Biomedical & Health Sciences, Biological Sciences (Non-human), Earth Sciences and Physical Sciences.

• The Biological Sciences (Non-human) prize and Earth Sciences prize are supported by donations from the families of previous Royal Society Presidents Edmund D Gill and Neil Archbold respectively. The field of Biomedical and Health Sciences includes Endocrinology, Epidemiology, Genetics, Human Physiology, Human Anatomy, Immunology, Medical Parasitology, Microbiology, Neurology, Nuclear Medicine, Pathology, Pharmacology, Radiology and related human sciences apart from clinical trials. The field of Biological Sciences (Non-human) includes Agriculture, Biochemistry, Botany, Cell Biology, Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, Forestry, Zoology, and related non-human science.

• The field of Physical Sciences includes Astronomy, Astrophysics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics, all branches of Engineering and related sciences.

Applications close at 5.00pm on Friday 31 July 2015. Further information is available here.