Welcome to our brand new 2023 TRAM Track cohort

TRAM Track is BACK, and we would like to warmly welcome our superstar 2023 TRAM Track cohort!

We’re excited to share the full list of dynamic research teams pushing their innovative solutions and research to new heights. We’ve got 15 research teams in 2023 with an incredible seven of these being female-led, and four led by PhD researchers.

The teams bring a wealth of experience from varied backgrounds and industries and join us from four faculties across the University of Melbourne. These include the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, the Faculty of Business and Economics and the Melbourne Graduate School of Education.

These teams represent the new wave of innovation coming from the university, solving enormous problems from outdated sexual health education and carbon emissions to learning difficulties in children and limited gonorrhoea treatments.

Bonnie Zhang, TRAM Track Program Manager, is delivering the program this year. She is excited about the variety of ideas in this year’s cohort:

“We’ve run the Track Program countless times supporting dozens and dozens of research teams, but this year is our first time delivering the program in our new home at Melbourne Connect. We welcome 15 Track teams into our TRAM Fam!

One thing I am particularly passionate about and position at the centre of everything we do in the Track program is building community, whether it’s within the cohort of our researchers, with their mentors from Business Development and Knowledge and Technology Transfer, or with our wider entrepreneurial ecosystem. Within our new home at Melbourne Connect, we are fortunate enough to bring together all the people and ingredients for our teams to make an impact.”

We’ll be sharing updates about the teams’ progress, so if you haven’t already, make sure you sign up for the TRAM Newsletter, and connect with us on social media.

Please join us in welcoming the 2023 TRAM Track cohort:

Oral Gono Model: There are a lack of treatments for oral gonorrhoea. Fabian Kong from the Oral Gono Model team is building a preclinical model to screen for new treatments. (Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences)

MyNE: Current interventions to promote wellbeing and mental health are complex and difficult to access. Lynette Joubert from the MyNE team has created a digital solution to enable frontline healthcare workers to better support the mental health of their patients. (Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences)

Trauma Informed Dental Care: The dental setting is highly triggering for patients who have experienced trauma. The Trauma Informed Dental Care team wants to deliver a tailored dental solution for patients who have experienced trauma to address inequities in oral health. This team is made up of Rachel Martin and Sharonne Zaks. (Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences)

Young People’s Sexual Health: Sexual health education is inconsistent and confusing for young people. Madeleine Lim from the Young People’s Sexual Health team aims to make sexual health education accessible to young people in the way they consume content. (Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences)

Visual Cognition Test: Visual cognition is not tested in children’s early education, leading to learning difficulties later on. Christine Nearchou from the Visual Cognition Test team has built a screening tool to identify children with visual cognition deficits. (Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences)

Team EyeCP: Current methods of measuring intracranial pressure are invasive and require specialist training. Team EyeCP is developing a new method of measuring intracranial pressure that is non-invasive and easy to use in the medical field. This team is made up of Bao Nguyen, Lauren Ayton, Bang Bui, Sam John and Max Kaplan. (Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences and Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology)

AI Security Consulting: AI Systems are growing across many sectors however the people that deploy them do not have the tools to mitigate attacks. Andrew Cullen from AI Security Consulting is building solutions that defend these AI systems. (Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology)

Simulation-Guided Complex Systems Engineering: Carbon sequestration is a key technology to mitigate global warming, however accurate modelling predictions are lacking. The Simulation-Guided Complex Systems Engineering team is building a simulation tool that can realistically and accurately predict carbon sequestration. This team is made up of Qi Shao and Stephan Matthai. (Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology)

Carbophite: There is a gap in the market for a high quality, low-cost carbon precursor for carbon coating lithium batteries. Mehrdad Parsa from the Carbophite team has a novel method to apply brown coal as the source of carbon to coat lithium battery anode materials. (Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology)

Apis Robotics: In mining, spillage of materials from conveyor belts leads to safety hazards, material loss and maintenance cost. The Apis Robotics team is building a multi-robot system that can clean spillage from conveyor belts in the mining industry. This team is made up of Yangmengfei Xu, Mingliang Liu, and Runfeng Li. (Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology)

NextGen Industrial Wireless: With advancement of autonomous systems, there is a need for fast, private and flexible wireless communication systems. The NextGen Industrial Wireless team is creating a new wireless technology for smart industry applications. The team is made up of Chien Chan, Shane Kilcullen, and Andre Gygax. (Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology)

Myo79: Current methods to measure muscle activity are rigid and not user friendly. The Myo79 team is building a e-tattoo device (surface electromyography sensor) that is ultrathin, wearable, and flexible to detect muscle activity. The team is made up of Jihoon Lim and Mingrui Sun. (Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology)

ALEx: Educators lack understanding about aesthetic and sensory learning. Andy Wear from the ALEx team has developed a game to teach teachers sensory modes of learning. (Faculty of Business and Economics)

Reachie: The process for research students finding academic supervisors, and vice versa, is complicated and difficult. The Reachie team is developing a platform to match supervisors and research students. This team is made up of Yuqi Lin and Kai Guo. (Melbourne Graduate School of Education)

Sensitive Personality & Wellbeing: Around 25% of the population have highly sensitive personality trait yet there is little awareness and education around it, resulting in poor wellbeing for these individuals. Becky Black from the Sensitive Personality & Wellbeing team is developing an online portal to educate individuals on sensitive personality. (Melbourne Graduate School of Education)