3 YEARS IN, PROGRAM BUILDS ON CAPABILITY AND CONNECTIVITY FOR EARLY CAREER RESEARCHERS IN ENT MEDICAL DEVICES Beyond Science gives in theatre opportunities, networking with stakeholders and support from mentors
With
Professor Payal Mukherjee, Adult and Paediatric ENT Surgeon
Otologist, Cochlear Implant and Skull Base Surgeon &
Clinical Professor, Macquarie University &
TGA Advisory Committee for Medical Devices &
Clinical Associate Professor, University of Sydney &
Surgical Innovation Lead, RPA Institute of Academic Surgery &
Head of Department ENT, Sydney Adventist Hospital &
Co-Founder & Co-Director, Beyond Science
Distinguished Professor Gordon Wallace AO,
Director, Intelligent Polymer Research Institute,
University of Wollongong &
Co-Founder & Co-Director, Beyond Science
AUSTRALIAN HEALTH JOURNAL SEGMENT
Filmed in Sydney & Wollongong | August 2025
Surgeon-scientists and surgeon-innovators have an important role in the entire medical technology translational cycle; not only from discovery to commercialisation, but in ensuring that health technologies are implemented in value-based manner.
This includes defining safety and regulatory standards, balancing patient outcomes against health care costs, and working with policy makers to ensure that funding is both sustainable and promotes equitable access to technology.
Despite a rich history of biomedical innovation in Australia, there are limited training opportunities for surgeons to develop these skills. Within NSW, there are no formal surgeon-scientist training pathways in Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery.
In 2022, Distinguished Professor Gordon Wallace AO and Professor Mukherjee jointly established Beyond Science as a clinician led, academically supported and clinician run Australian-first medical technology translation program.
The program is aimed at early career researchers and clinician-scientists working in medical device research specifically in otolaryngology (ear, nose, and throat), head and neck surgery.
Its core mission is to build capability and foster connections between researchers and key stakeholders such as industry, government, universities, and health systems.
This is through helping researchers understand health system priorities and translation pathways from research to real-world impact. Uniquely, this includes opportunity to enter surgical environments for observation and tissue collection.
Australian Health Journal spoke to its founders about how it supports academic mentorship and creates networking opportunities to help early career stage medical device researchers connect with clinicians, policymakers, industry leaders, and funding bodies.
Beyond Science is funded by Passe & Williams Foundation & the Sydney Local Health District
Source: Adapted from Beyond Science, RACS and University of Wollongong websites
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Awareness campaigns and HCP Toolkits for thyroid health
In 2021, the Australian Thyroid Foundation released analysis to show, well over 1 million Australian are living with an undiagnosed thyroid disorder, including thyroid cancer, lower IQs, lifelong disability, and a causal or possible contributory factor – in the development of other neurological disorders such as ADHD and autism. Some of the challenges for diagnosis and treatment can be addressed by producing material for health care practitioners during patient presentations.
‘Recent statistics show well over 1 million Australians are living with an undiagnosed thyroid disorder, awareness and testing can prevent unwarranted outcomes for mothers and their babies’ says ATF CEO Beverley Garside OAM
The Australian Thyroid Foundation has lodged a Pre-Budget Submission for the Federal Budget 2024-25 to counter increasing misinformation on social media creating dietary deficiencies such as an increasing number of young women, who are planning pregnancy or already pregnant opting for plant based milks such almond, soy or oat milk coffee as an alternative to standard cow’s milk, which is a source of iodine and alternate milks do not include.
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Emerging researcher appointed to James Packer Chair in Mood Disorders at UNSW
The UNSW Discipline of Psychiatry and Mental Health is widely renowned as the pre-eminent psychiatry research department in the country and one of the leading university psychiatry research groups internationally. In 2023 it celebrated 60 Years of Psychiatry & Mental Health at UNSW Sydney.
Australian Health Journal spoke with Professor Kimberlie Dean, Head of the Discipline of Psychiatry and Mental Health at UNSW Sydney, about the recent appointment of mental health disorders expert and clinician researcher Dr Aswin Ratheesh to lead the James Packer Chair in Mood Disorders at UNSW Sydney. -
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