Te Titoki Mataora MedTech Seminar Series

Real stories. Real impact. Real pathways from research to MedTech innovation.

Proudly hosted by the Te Tītoki Mataora Future Leaders Module, this national seminar series spotlights emerging and established MedTech leaders who are turning academic research into real-world health solutions. This session is for PhD students, postdocs, clinician-scientists, engineers, and anyone curious about translating research into impact.

1st seminar - Monday 2 March 2026, 12:00 – 1:30 pm

Locations: Auckland, Christchurch*, Wellington & Online (Hybrid)

Programme

12:00 – 12:10: Welcome + housekeeping

12:10 – 12:40: Keynote presentation Jennifer Kruger

“Turning your research into Real-world Impact: Navigating the messy, non-linear journey from academic to founder"

Jennifer Kruger will talk about her journey from clinician to academic and then co-founder of JUNOFEM, a spin-out company from the Auckland Bioengineering Institute, supporting women to improve their pelvic floor health.  The highs and lows, avoidable pitfalls (i.e. had I known better), the different but real market pressures of running a company. 

12:40 – 12:50: ECR speaker #1 Annette Swale

"Mitigating Head Impact Severity in Contact Sports: Biomechanics and Novel Softshell Headgear"

Annette’s PhD research centres around how to reduce the intensity of head impacts in contact sports, and the importance of how repetitive loading can contribute to brain injuries. Her work also evaluates novel softshell headgear constructions, including 3D‑printed lattice materials, to determine their effectiveness in attenuating impact severity under controlled laboratory conditions.

12:50 – 13:00: ECR speaker #2 Ella Guy

“Respiratory monitoring and decision support tool”

Ella is a mechanical engineering post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Canterbury. She is working on integrating digital twin technology and low-cost sensor systems to monitor respiratory diseases, both for long-term monitoring of disease progression and prediction and early detection of exacerbations to enable early intervention in the short-term.

13:00 – 13:20: Hybrid discussion

*For those in Christchurch, the in-person gathering at UC’s John Britten Foyer starts at 11.45am where light refreshments will be provided. After the seminar, there will be a brief information session on Te Titoki Mataora (funding options and capability building), and the opportunity to talk directly to UC’s R&I team.

Register here: https://forms.monday.com/forms/8c39c8118871a847063e32354fbc3a59?r=apse2 (details will be sent after registration)

Save the dates - 2026 upcoming seminar series:

• 2nd Seminar: Monday 4 May, 12:00–1:30 pm

• 3rd Seminar: Monday 13 July, 12:00–1:30 pm

• 4th Seminar: Monday 7 September, 12:00–1:30 pm

• 5th Seminar: Monday 19 October, 12:00–1:30 pm

• 6th Seminar: Monday 16 November, 12:00–1:30 pm