Research Theme Champion: Health and Wellbeing

Associate Professor Paul Breen

The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development
p.breen@westernsydney.edu.au

Paul is an Associate Professor in the Biomedical Engineering & Human Factors research group at the MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development. He also a member of the International Centre for Neuromorphic Systems and the Translational Health Research Institute.

His work focuses on identifying addressable real-world problems and utilising a cross spectrum of technologies to build solutions to these problems. He works closely with academic colleagues and industry partners to bring these solutions to commercial reality. Specific research interests include novel sensing methodologies for unobtrusive wellness and medical monitoring, electrical stimulation techniques for the enhancement of sensory perception and controlled incubation of biological tissue. These devices are of importance to researchers, clinicians and patients with sleep, cardiovascular and neurological conditions. Collaborators include academics, clinicians, and businesses both nationally and internationally, e.g., Rutgers, Johns Hopkins, NASA, Department of Veterans Affairs USA, NUI Galway, Kings College London, Oventus Medical, Medical Monitoring Solutions and Durapol among others.

Paul joined Western Sydney University as a Senior Lecturer in 2013. Since then, he has been awarded 9 research grants, bringing his combined total research budget to date, to $15.5 million. These funds were awarded by the US Department of Defence, NHMRC, NSW and National Australian Departments of Industry and the Australian Association of Gerontology. Key to these successes has been a focus on transdisciplinary research with real-world impact and collaboration with industry.

Alongside the >20 peer-reviewed publications produced since joining WSU, the primary outcomes of this work have been the filing of three patents and one trademark, leading to the establishment of three Australian start-up companies. Medical Monitoring Solutions and HemoMedic commercialise specific purpose wearable technologies for patients with sleep disorders and cardiovascular disease. He is also a founder and director of PAYO Scientific which manufactures Braincubator, an incubation system for tissue samples.