About

Professor Opie BE BSc PhD MBA is a biomedical engineer and world expert in neural interfaces. He is Professor and Laboratory Head of the Vascular Bionics Laboratory, Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne, and an NHMRC Research Fellow.
Prof Opie has taken multiple numerous biomedical devices from concept to clinic, including a suprachoroidal retinal prosthesis (bionic eye) designed to restore sight to those with profound vision loss, and a motor neuron prosthesis (bionic spine) that is aimed at restoring independence, communication and mobility to those with paralysis. He has published over 55 peer reviewed articles in journals and filed over 90 patents, and was awarded the 2021 NFMRI John Raftos AM Award for Advancing Innovation.
He is the founding CTO of Synchron, a neural interface company based in Melbourne and NY. Prof Opie designed and developed the Stentrode which was listed in Time Magazine’s Top 100 Inventions of 2021. The system provides treatment for debilitating medical illnesses and enable patients to feel empowered by communicating in ways that improve their lives. Following a successful first-in-human trial in Australia, Prof Opie and Synchron recently received approval from the US FDA to start a larger study ahead of a regulatory application.