Meet the Team
A/Prof. SHAUN GREGORY
Lab Director
Dr. Shaun Gregory an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Monash University, and a Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellow. He holds PhD, MSc and BEng degrees in medical engineering. Shaun’s research interests focus on the development and evaluation of mechanical circulatory and respiratory support systems (artificial hearts and lungs). He has published widely in this field, including as the lead editor on the textbook ‘Mechanical Circulatory and Respiratory Support’. Shaun’s previous roles include being the director of the Innovative Cardiovascular Engineering and Technology Laboratory (ICETLAB), Chief Technical Officer of De Motu Cordis Pty Ltd, and Research Fellow at the University of Queensland and Griffith University where he still holds honorary / adjunct positions.
Dr. ANDREW STEPHENS
Research Fellow
Dr Andrew Stephens is an Electronic and Computer Engineer working on the control and monitoring of biomedical systems. Andrew conducted his PhD in Queensland, investigating the control of artificial heart devices using implantable fibre optic sensors. Andrew is currently investigating the control of artificial respiratory support devices to prevent under- and over-oxygenation and improve patient outcomes. Andrew is currently the deputy director of CREATElab and is looking to take on undergraduate, masters and PhD students who have a passion for combining medicine and engineering.
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Dr. MEHRDAD KHAMOOSHI
Research Fellow
Dr. Mehrdad Khamooshi a Research Fellow in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Monash University. He holds Ph.D. and M.Sc. degrees in Mechanical Engineering and B.Sc. degree in Biomedical Engineering. Mehrdad's research interests are in computational and experimental fluid dynamics, focusing on multiphase flows and fluid-solid interactions and applications in cardiovascular and respiratory support systems.
Dr. BEHNAM GHADIMI
Research Fellow
Dr. Behnam Ghadimi is a Mechanical Engineer. In his Ph.D. thesis, Behnam used computational fluid dynamics to optimize the geometry of a centrifugal blood pump considering hemolysis and pump efficiency as objective functions. He is interested in single- and multi-objective shape optimization problems and blood flow analysis in ventricular assist devices.
REZAN JAFARY
PhD Candidate
Rezan Jafary is a biomedical engineer. She has attained her MSc in Biomedical Engineering in 2013 from Ulster University, Northern Ireland, UK. After which, she has worked as a researcher at the Cell Therapy Center, Amman, Jordan. Her research tackled the fabrication and characterization of scaffolds for tissue engineering applications. In 2016, she became a lecturer at the Biomedical Engineering department, German Jordanian University in Jordan. She taught: Biomaterials, Artificial Organs, Tissue Engineering and Medical Instrumentation. Rezan is currently pursuing her PhD at Monash University. She will be working on developing a high-fidelity reusable simulation-based ECMO training model.
DEVINDI WANIGASEKARA
PhD Candidate
Devindi is a second year PhD student at Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Monash University. Her research focuses on developing a cannulation technique to assist in carrying out in-field ECMO implantation by less experienced clinicians outside of the hospital. Devindi holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Monash University and her final year project was an in-vitro evaluation of post pulmonary thrombo-endarterectomy (PTE) treatment in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) patients.
KAR YING THUM
PhD Candidate
Kar Ying is a first year PhD student at Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Monash University. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Monash University. She is interested in hemodynamic flow of the cardiovascular system and her current research focuses on evaluating and improving the mechanical circulatory support system through the use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD).
Dr Michael Seman is a cardiologist and clinician researcher at the Alfred Hospital. His research focuses on improving diagnostic and treatment strategies for people with structural heart disease. He is using computational and in-vitro models of the cardiovascular system to simulate the haemodynamics of a range of disease phenotypes. This research will allow for investigating aspects of complex structural heart disease that is not otherwise possible in the clinical setting
Dr. JASMINE CHAN
Medical Doctor & PhD Candidate
Jasmine is a medical doctor, aspiring to be an interventional cardiologist. She has a strong interest in cardiovascular research, particularly coronary biomechanics and athero-biology. Jasmine graduated from Monash University and undertook her basic physician training at Monash Health. She is currently in her first year of her PhD working on assessing non-invasive estimates of coronary endothelial shear stress.
MARJAN AZIMI
PhD Candidate
Marjan is a PhD candidate at Monash University with the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Her research interests lie in the computational simulation of cardiovascular systems and the improvement of biomedical devices. Currently, she is running a parametric study on a cannula as part of a left ventricular assist device. She is investigating the hemodynamics of the system employing different simulation methods such as Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) with the aim of reducing the thrombosis risk.
AVISHKA WICKRAMARACHCHI
PhD Candidate
Avishka is a PhD student at the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Monash University. His research primarily involves the use of computational fluid dynamics to investigate and analyse cannula flow dynamics during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation treatment. Consequently, he hopes to produce information regarding cannula malposition, improper flow rates, and thrombosis inducing environments due to cannula flow. His research interests also include cannula design optimisation and data validation through particle image velocimetry.
SOPHIE ARMSTRONG
PhD Candidate
Sophie is a first-year PhD student with the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Monash University after recently completing a Bachelor of Biomedical Science and Bachelor of Materials Engineering with first-class honours. Her research interests include biomaterials, biomechanics, 3D printing and tissue engineering. She will be working to increase cardiac device biocompatibility through novel surface scaffolds and coatings that promote cellular adhesion and proliferation; hence decreasing postoperative risks of bleeding and thrombosis.
NINA LANGER
PhD Candidate
Nina Langer is a mechanical engineer working on a novel heart pump. Nina obtained her B.Sc. and M.Sc. in mechanical engineering at RWTH Aachen in Germany and holds a M.Sc. degree in mechanical engineering from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. During her studies she gained professional experience in various companies, including in the field of cardiovascular engineering. At CREATElab, she is working on the development of a heart pump for HFpEF patients and is conducting in vitro tests to validate the design as part of her PhD program at Monash University.
NURUL (SOPHIA) SHUKAR
PhD Candidate
Sophia is a physicist in her first year of PhD candidacy at the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment, Deakin University, in collaboration with CREATElab, Alfred Hospital, and Monash University. She completed her B.Sc (Hons) in Physics and M.Sc in Applied Physics from the National University of Malaysia (UKM). During her studies, she worked on research projects at the Malaysian Nuclear Agency and The Science and Technology Research Institute for Defence (STRIDE) under the Malaysian Ministry of Defence in medical and radiation physics. Sophia is working at CREATElab to develop a device to improve the survival rate of cardiac arrest patients using Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS).
SHELLEY YAP
PhD Candidate
Shelley holds a B.Eng and MSc in Mechanical Engineering from Monash University. She has a keen interest in solving biophysical problems in the medical field. During her time as a master’s research student, she explored the practicality of bipolar and multipolar radiofrequency ablation for treating liver cancer. After graduating from her master’s degree, she joined the corporate world as a product manager for two years before making the return to research. Her current research focuses on building a simulation model to predict the formation and propagation of thrombus under the influence of turbulent flow.
PRASHANT CHAND
PhD Candidate
Prashant is a PhD student with the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Monash University, Australia. Prashant is a graduate Mechanical engineer who has research interests in the field of medical-wearable technology, Cardio-Respiratory engineering, and Artificial Intelligence. His doctoral research involves the introduction of an automated hybrid (physiological-circuit) control and safety system for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation treatments. His research will also involve developing a novel AI-ECMO Assistant which will predict the onset of adverse events and raise an alarm to clinicians for early identification and intervention.
TAYLAH BANHAM
Research Assistant
Having recently completed her Bachelor of Materials Engineering at Monash University, Taylah is a research fellow in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Her professional interests lie in additive manufacture and design, and she thoroughly enjoys the journey from novel ideas to tangible prototypes. Taylah assists the CREATElab team with a diverse array of research and experimentation, with the aim of seeing the best possible research outcomes achieved.
JOHN POLLARD
Senior Holographic Simulation Specialist
John is a former soldier, Monash graduate, and holographic simulation specialist. His work at CREATE Lab combines his fabrication and additive manufacturing expertise with his three-year research and development experience of working in room-scale and planet-scale mixed-reality environments at the Monash Immersive Visualisation Platform. John’s current projects align his research interests and lived experience through the architecture and design of augmented reality systems that integrate holographic head-mounted display systems with real-time data, visualization elements, and a holographic interface for increasing situational awareness of the operator while decreasing the operator’s cognitive load.
Dr. SAM LIAO
Research Collaborator
Dr Liao completed his Bachelor of Medical Engineering at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in 2014. He commenced his PhD at QUT in 2015, investigating the effects of artificial hearts on flow patterns within the native heart. Sam is interested in evaluating and improving mechanical circulatory and respiratory support systems.
Sam is currently a mechanical engineer at Hydrix working on product development and realisation. He continues to work closely with CREATElab on various CFD, VR and tissue engineering projects.
Dr. ASHKAN VATANI
Research Collaborator
Dr Ashkan Vatani is a research fellow in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Monash University. Ashkan holds a PhD in mechanical engineering from Griffith University, Australia. His research interests are heat transfer, fluid dynamics, CFD, thermodynamics and medical engineering. He has published in several high ranked journals in this field. He is currently working on optimising a cannula design that avoids thrombosis to be used in ECMO.
Prof. ULRICH STEINSEIFER
Research Collaborator
Uli holds a PhD in mechanical engineering from the RWTH University in Aachen, Germany. During his professional career, he held various positions in the medical device industry, ranging from Project Manager at the largest German hospital supplier (B. Braun Melsungen AG) to Director and CEO of a German, French and US-based start-up enterprise (Triflo Medical Inc). In addition, he made successful use of his industrial experience as a freelance consultant and entrepreneurial coach, and (co-)founded seven start-up companies in the field of medical devices and engineering services.
Dr. JOSIE CARBERRY
Research Collaborator
Dr Carberry is a lecturer in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Monash University. Her research focuses on the way in which fluid forces in blood flow affect cardiovascular function. She uses a range of experimental techniques and platforms including microfluidic chips, PIV, flow and surface imaging, flow control and targeted numerical simulations. One focus is the generation of controlled in-vitro flow environments mimicking the complex blood flow conditions found in the human body, facilitating highly detailed measurements which are not otherwise possible. Such tools are aimed at investigations of disease mechanisms, development of implantable devices and drug evaluation.