Robert Gorkin Email & Phone Number

Sydney, Nsw, Au

The Translational Health Research Institute (THRI) is Western Sydney University's portal to world class health and wellness research in public health and health services, psychology, nursing, human geography, paediatrics and reproductive medicine, microbiology, pharmacology, and many other important areas of healthcare. Our researchers cover diseases – both acute and chronic — health service delivery and new models of care. THRI connects Western Sydney University's research to the nation's fastest growing urban population, Western Sydney, along with health practitioners, hospitals, local health districts, primary health networks, patients, families, and consumers. As Co-Director (Impact, Innovation and Partnerships) I help lead the Institute’s approach to research translation in the context of research impact, innovation and industry engagement.

Charged with spearheading Eudaemon's expanding innovation initiatives, supporting a growing team of staff and Executives, and propelling the advancement of pioneering technologies with the capacity to revolutionise industries and markets.

Eudaemon Technologies ('Eu' meaning good and 'daemon' meaning spirit) is a scale-up building next generation medical devices utilising novel material science, user driven design, and advanced manufacturing.Our first product innovation, aka ‘Project Geldom’, is bringing Industry 4.0 to the condom industry, a growing $11B business producing 35B condoms annually. Eudaemon is replacing legacy latex with tough hydrogels to create better feeling, safer and more-cost effective condoms in order to revolutionize safe sex, reduce STIs and promote family planning globally. Our technology has the potential to impact billions of users and alleviate the estimated $60 global burden from ineffective condom use.Over the last 5+ years 'Project Geldom' has demonstrated the potential to make better feeling more attractive condoms that can be manufactured to international safety standards, securing over $XXM in support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, two prestigious Universities, the NSW Medical Device Fund, the Accelerating Commercialisation Fund, and linked a range of industry partners along the supply chain.Eudaemon is readying the technology for clinical trials, as well as positioning stakeholders, collaborators, and investors for scalable condom manufacturing and market clearance as well as expansion into sexual and reproductive health devices, materials for smart and healthy environments, and energy innovation.

Leading, advising and assisting with strategic initiatives at interface of Industry 4.0 and Social Good.

Initiated, secured funding, and executed Industry 4.0 and Society 5.0 projects across faculties and disciplines:• Led Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant developing new better feeling condoms from novel smart materials• Co-CI on Drones@UOW initiative supporting UOW drone work for science and industry with projects ranging from Antartica to Australian beaches • Co-CI working with the Illawarra Digital Living Lab - the regions key Internet of Things community initiative - leading and assisting projects from Disability Accessibility to Smart Homes• Co-CI on XR - virtual, augmented and mixed reality scoping group• Supported new teaching activities with UOW's Molecular Horizons

Responsible for two projects under the UOW's Global Challenges initiative:• Led the Bill & Melinda Gates sponsored research program to develop a better feeling tough hydrogel condom material. Responsible for coordinating activities from senior researchers including polymer scientists, biologists, social health researchers, designers and foresight academics across University of Wollongong and collaborators Swinburne University of Technology.• Key engineer exploring the role of 3D printing in Regional Community Development. Pilot project investigating how Maker Spaces, FabLabs and organizations their ecosystem can enable regional development and transition where manufacturing is in decline. Coordination of project engineers, social scientists, business facility and University leadership for strategic initiatives.

Auaus Illawarra-Shoalhaven Fixed Locations

The first "Researcher in Residence" within iA, the Illawarra's premier incubator and accelerator. Helped link emerging companies with researchers and entrepreneurial academics with industry collaboration opportunities, assisting management to assess intake, mentoring, and helping support impact investment in the region.

Sydney, Australia

Imagine was a graphene applications company enhancing the connection between people and the infrastructure we build - believing in sensing everywhere in real-time. Their first product imgne X3® was a graphene coating that makes smart geosynthetics. In 2017 imgne X3® co-launched a market first offering in an advanced geotextile for leak identification sold through Geofabrics as Bidim-C®, which led to successful installations in northern Australia. Imagine operated the largest commercial graphene production plant in Australia. As a part of the original team (founded in 2014) I worked across both technical and business aspects of the company and help manage critical external R&D at Australian, US and Finnish collaborations.

University Of Wollongong

Developed new opportunities for industrial and academic partnerships for ACES expertise and capabilities. Audited critical R&D work in the multistate 5-institution network and developed business case for creation of new graphene company NanoCarbon (now Imagine Intelligent Materials). Lead efforts in new application of tough hydrogel material works and was responsible for securing and project managing a Grand Challenges grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

University Of Wollongong - Wollongong, Australia

Lead engineer for team under Professor Wallace’s ARC Laureate Fellowship responsible for developing 3D/4D printing equipment to create implantable bioscaffolds for muscle and neural regeneration. Developed several new techniques for bioprinting of multi- material conduits in the micro and nano domain including bathless reactive printing, bio-pulltrusion wet spinning, and graphene-hydrogel extrusion printing using commercial and custom printing systems.

University Of Wollongong - Wollongong, Australia

Responsible for procuring key industrial processing equipment ($1.5M) for testing scalable fabrication of printed and flexible electronics and 3D printed bio and electromaterial devices under the Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF) Material Node. Integrated pilot projects based on state-of-the-art inkjet, spray coating, roll-to-roll and 3D bioprinting processes for automotive, solar, and bionics applications. Worked with advanced Additive Manufacturing technologies including Polyjet 3D polymer processing and 3D selective metal melting/welding using the Objet Connex and Realizer SLM systems, and advanced bioprinting using the Envsiontec 4th generation Bioplotter. Served as the Electrochromics Laboratory Manager.

Dublin City University - Dublin, Ireland

• CAJAL4EU was a highly collaborative ENIAC (European Nanoelectronics Initiative Advisory Council) industrial led project to develop Nanoelectronics-based biosensor technology platforms for in vitro diagnostics. Participants included over 25 partners in 8 European countries. Responsible for coordinating Irish participation of country-wide industrial teams, communication to work package leaders and reporting to national (Enterprise Ireland) and EU agencies. • Technical leader for addressing critical challenges in microfluidic systems at DCU: polymer fabrication/bonding methods, long-term reagent storage and valving technologies, and assay processing in disposable devices. Projects included isolating circulating tumor cells, advanced immunoassays, portable environmental and water analysis, and chemical separation science. • Highlights - Microfluidic R&D of electrochemical sensors utilizing nanoarrays and nanopores. Assisted clinical partners to develop pilot assays targeting detection of cardiac biomarkers and respiratory diseases. 8 journal articles, multiple presentations at international conferences, and various EU and US patent applications filed.

University Of California

Engineered next generation sample-to-answer diagnostics systems from design and modeling, to prototyping and manufacturing, instrumentation production and software development, to clinical testing. Worked under Professor Marc Madou in the BioMEMS laboratory.• Developed centrifugal microfluidic platforms targeting rapid diagnosis of multiplexed respiratory tract infections including Flu A/B, SARS, H1N1. Multi-million dollar collaboration supported by Genome Canada, lead by Dr. Bergeron’s Infectious Disease Research Center at Laval University Hospital Centre and University of Laval, Québec City, CANADA. • Lead engineer in NIH sponsored project for point-of-care diagnosis of Group B Streptococcus infection in women during labor - developed bacterial lysis, DNA purification, and FCR fluorescent detection techniques for clinical devices.

International Exhanges From Madou Lab Uci

Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, SOUTH KOREA • Worked with Professor Yoon-Kyoung Cho for low limit analyte detection in saliva assays, research supported by UNIST-SAMSUNG research grants. 1st Biomedical Engineer to visit UNIST under the South Korea World Class University (WCU) program. University of Malaya, Kuala Lampur, MALAYSIA • Worked with Professor Fatimah Binti Ibrahim for portable disc immunoassay technologies for analyzing Dengue fever and other tropical diseases in clinical labs/extreme point-of-care settings. Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, West Bengal, INDIA• Assisted in advancing prototyping labs and projects for malaria detection with Professor Suman Chakraborty through a US NSF-India DST exchange. Co-chaired Indo-US Fabrionics conference at UCI hosting 40 delegates from India.

West Point, Pa

Based in the Automated Biotechnology Department to carry out ultra-high throughput screening (uHTS) of the company’s chemical compound libraries for drug development. Operated and maintained cutting edge (30million USD+) robotic handling systems.

Master Of Business Administration (Mba)

Phd, Biomedical Engineering

Activities and Societies: UCI IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS) – Founder and President until 2009 Runner Up - 2009.

Master'S Degree, Biomedical Engineering

Activities and Societies: Biomedical Engineering Graduate Fellowship 2005

Bachelor'S Degree, Engineering Physics

Activities and Societies: University of Pittsburgh Rugby Football Club 1999-2004 Provost's Study Abroad Scholarship 2000 University.

Medical Device Commercialization Training Program

Sponsored by the NSW Office for Health and Medical Research, and run by ATP Innovations (Incubator of the Year 2014), the Medical Device.