ACMD Link | From Prototype to Patient: Advanced Manufacturing in Victoria

• Are you a medtech, biotech or digital health innovator reliant on advanced manufacturing, but uncertain how to scale in Australia?

• Do you want to understand how Victoria’s medtech and biotech fabrication ecosystem can accelerate your pathway from prototype to clinically deployable product while keeping capability, talent and value onshore?

​Join ACMD on Wednesday 13 May for a focused exploration of how integrated research, clinical insight and advanced manufacturing infrastructure can reduce translation risk and shorten time to market.

This session brings together researchers, clinicians and innovators to demonstrate how Victoria’s coordinated capabilities are enabling end-to-end development, from discovery through to manufacturing and deployment within the health system.

Featuring state-of-the-art member facilities of the ANFF-Vic Joint Venture, including the Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication (MCN) and ACMD partner hubs across Victoria, the event will highlight how local infrastructure is responding to real clinical and system pressures, and why proximity matters in scaling health innovation.

Through expert perspectives and real-world case studies, you will gain insight into:

Navigating the full innovation pathway: Understanding how to access and connect local capabilities across research, prototyping, validation and advanced manufacturing

Translating complex science into viable products: Leveraging medtech and biotech fabrication, micro- and nanoscale engineering, and advanced characterisation to move from concept to clinic-ready solutions

Building next-generation diagnostics and devices: Where advanced hardware, biosensing technologies and data-driven systems converge to create scalable, market-ready solutions

Keeping translation onshore: Why retaining development and manufacturing locally strengthens speed, security, and long-term commercial value.

Whether you are at idea stage, proof of concept, or preparing to scale, this session offers practical insight into how to move faster - without leaving the ecosystem.

This ACMD Link event is powered by ANDHealth

EVENT DETAILS

Date: Wednesday 13 May 2026

Time (AEST): 4:00pm - 6:00pm

Venue: The Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery (ACMD), Auditorium, Level 1, 27 Victoria Parade, Fitzroy, VIC 3065

Session format: Hybrid delivery with presentations, audience Q&A and networking  

Registration*: Free to attend, but registration is essential

*Registrations will close 9am Tuesday 12 May 2026

Who should attend:

• Manufacturers, engineers, clinicians, researchers and scientists

• Postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers

• Early-stage innovators, founders and CXOs

• Medtech, biotech and digital health professionals and industry service providers.

MEET OUR SPEAKERS

Andrew Batty, Chief Commercialisation Officer, ACMD

Andrew is a MedTech executive with over 25-years’ experience in the healthcare sector where he’s developed, executed, and managed business strategies and companies to commercialise innovative and emerging technologies.

Andrew has worked in Sales, Marketing, Business Development, Clinical Operations and Management with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. He has launched private and ASX listed companies including CogState, IM Medical, and Anatomics, establishing exits, manufacturing agreements and global distribution channels.

Andrew is the Director and founder of Wonderland Medical, assisting businesses, at start-up, SME or corporate level to design, plan and implement commercial strategies. He was a Partner at Templar Capital Group raising local and foreign investment for Australian companies.

More recently, he has launched several local MedTech companies including VividWhite developing a microfluidic implant for glaucoma, iFix Medical developing a topical medicate for corneal repair, Morand Medical in the field of the tissue engineering and NeuroInsights recording brain activity for neurological conditions.

Andrew has a Bachelor of Science, a Master of Commerce, serves as a Director on several company boards, is the past chair of the University of Melbourne IAG for Biomedical engineering and is currently the Chief Commercial Officer at the Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery.

Oded VanHam, Client Engagement Facilitator, Medical Technologies, Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF)

Oded VanHam has spent more than 25 years in the intersection of science and business, with graduate degrees in both. He has worked in in Australia, Canada, and China with biotech start-ups, large research programmes, industry consultancies, and in several business development roles.

Oded is the Client Engagement Facilitator for Medical Technologies at the Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF). He is responsible for assisting industry and researchers in developing and commercialising technologies by connecting them with ANFF’s cutting edge facilities and expertise.

Connect with Oded to learn about how your medical device can harness a half billion-dollar investment in open access advanced manufacturing capabilities.

Dr Ash Dyer, Senior Process Engineer – Deputy Facility Manager, Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication (MCN)

(MCN is a member of the ANFF-Vic Joint Venture)

Dr Ash Dyer is a Senior Process Engineer and the Deputy Facility Manager at the Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication (MCN). The MCN is a premier open-access cleanroom facility featuring adjoining biochemistry PC2 labs to support the transition of medical technology from concept to reality.

The MCN cleanrooms house cutting-edge micro and nano-fabrication equipment within ISO:9001 and ISO:14644-1 certified lab spaces. These facilities are open access, with expert staff available to provide specialised equipment training, technical consultation, and fee-for-service work to support diverse project needs.

With a background in aerospace materials, Ash is a member of the Thin Film Deposition and Packaging team. In this role, he has been fortunate enough to contribute to the fabrication of advanced drug delivery systems and implantable devices.

MCN is the Victorian flagship of the broader Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF) network. It operates as a strategic joint venture between seven Victorian universities and CSIRO with support from State and Federal government. MCN serves as a critical hub for supporting advanced manufacturing and innovation in Victoria and internationally.

Associate Professor Elena Taran, Head of Materials Characterisation and Fabrication Platform (MCFP), The University of Melbourne

(MCFP is a member of the ANFF-Vic Joint Venture)

Elena is an accomplished leader with a wealth of experience in navigating the complexities of research infrastructure and fostering collaborative, innovative environments.

Elena is an Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) specialist, leveraging this powerful technique to enable and advance research in nanotechnology and materials science.

Elena is dedicated to empowering teams, driving positive change, and integrating fresh ideas into strategic goals. Passionate about continuous learning and development, Elena champions diversity and inclusivity, believing that diverse perspectives are key to success. With a focus on impact, acknowledgment, and recognition, she ensures that contributions are valued, and teams are inspired to excel.

Dr Karyn Jarvis, Senior Research Engineer, Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF), Victoria Biointerface Engineering Hub, Swinburne University of Technology

(ANFF Biointerface Engineering Hub is a member of the ANFF-Vic Joint Venture)

Dr Karyn Jarvis is a senior research engineer at Swinburne University of Technology, managing their Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF) Biointerface Engineering Hub.

Since joining ANFF and Swinburne in 2015, she has spent the last decade supporting academic and industry users to develop advanced surface and thin film technologies for biomedical, space, and industrial applications. Her expertise spans plasma polymerisation, surface modification and characterisation, with a strong interest and focus on translating fundamental research into manufacturable, real world solutions.

Karyn works closely with industry partners, startups, and researchers to design surfaces for tailored applications while promoting and enabling access to national research infrastructure through ANFF.

Dr César Huertas, Head of Biomedical Applications Team - Integrated Photonics and Applications Centre (IInPAC), School of Engineering, STEM College, RMIT University

Dr César Sánchez Huertas leads the Bioanalytical Applications Team at the Integrated Photonics and Applications Centre (InPAC) at RMIT University, Australia.

As a nano-biotechnologist, he specialises in lab-on-a-chip technologies that integrate photonics and microfluidics. His team develops biomedical lab-on-a-chip devices capable of analysing biomarkers—from DNA and RNA to proteins and cells—to reflect the body’s internal state. Their work primarily focuses on immunology, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. He is dedicated to advancing photonic biosensor detection through sophisticated signal processing techniques and pushing the limits of biomedical analysis with innovative microfluidic devices. His team integrates these technologies into compact, versatile lab-on-a-chip devices. He is also a committed supervisor and mentor, fostering a community of researchers in the lab-on-a-chip and MedTech fields.

Collaborating with engineers, biomedical groups, clinicians, and industry, César aims to develop diagnostic and biomedical devices that are user-friendly, instantaneous, and portable. In 2021, he co-founded HatiSens Pty Ltd, a medical technology startup focused on improving the efficiency of heart attack diagnostics. To date, his team has secured over AUD $1 million in competitive funding and more than AUD $500k in private industry-led funding.

Associate Professor Shayanti Mukherjee, Al and Val Rosenstrauss Fellow and Head, Translational Tissue Engineering Lab, The Ritchie Centre, Hudson Institute of Medical Research

A/Professor Shayanti Mukherjee specialises in innovative cell-based therapies for pelvic floor disorders and birth trauma injuries.

She completed her PhD at the National University of Singapore where her work contributed to the growing body of nanostructured biomaterials design for repair and regeneration of soft tissues. Her research encompasses principles of material science, nanotechnology, stem cell biology and immunology to improve maternal urogynecological health.

Currently, her work involves the design of optimal meshes using degradable polymers and additives for improving the treatment of pelvic organ prolapse (POP). A/Professor Mukherjee and her team have designed novel tissue engineered stem cell based surgical constructs using solution electrospinning, 3D Printing and Melt electro writing.

A/Professor Shayanti Mukherjee, Head of the Translational Tissue Engineering Research group, specialises in innovative cell-based therapies for pelvic floor disorders and birth trauma injuries.

A/Professor Mukherjee also has a keen interest in bio-inks for stem cell bioprinting for personalising pelvic floor reconstructive surgery. She has a strong interest in biomaterial induced immune response and is an expert in evaluation of foreign body response using clinical models. The multi-dimensional research led by A/Professor Mukherjee aims to improve the understanding of the fundamental pelvic muscle physiology as well as accelerate the clinical translation of new generation surgical constructs for urogynecology.

Students with good academic records and interest in challenging multi-disciplinary tissue engineering and nanomaterials projects may enquire for PhD and other research project opportunities.

Associate Professor Victor Cadarso, Co-Founder and CSO, Proton Intelligence | Deputy Scientific Director, Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication (MCN) | Associate Professor, Monash University

Victor is an accomplished physicist and materials scientist with a PhD from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. His academic journey includes research in micro- and nanotechnology at the Institute of Microelectronics of Barcelona (IMB) and fellowships at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) and the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI).

At Monash University, Dr Cadarso’s laboratory focuses on micro– and nanotechnologies, sensing and imaging applications, soft matter, and surface modification for biomedical and environmental applications. 

Dr Cadarso is the co-founder and CSO of med-tech startup Proton Intelligence, which is building the first real-time, on-demand potassium monitoring wearable that will allow clinicians to treat and manage kidney disease patients more safely and precisely. The start-up company was an MCN industry resident and is still a user of the facility, with all core technology R&D being conducted at MCN, allowing acceleration of Proton Intelligence’s R&D and commercial journey.

Important note for attendees:

Please be advised that photographs and videos may be taken by ACMD and ANDHealth staff. By attending this event, you agree to being filmed or photographed, and acknowledge that these may be used for marketing or promotional purposes.

As a condition of complimentary registration, all guests attending this event will be required to complete a short post-event survey. Your feedback supports continuous improvement and helps shape the direction of future industry activities.