Associate Professor Mohit Naresh Shivdasani

My Expertise

Neural Prosthetics, Electrical Stimulation, Medical Bionics

Keywords

neural prostheses

neuromodulation

retina

retinal prosthesis modelling

cochlear implant

electrophysiology

blind and/or vision impaired

inflammatory bowel diseases

Fields of Research (FoR)

Biomedical Engineering, Animal Physiology - Systems, Neurosciences, Opthalmology and Vision Science, Sensory Systems, Biomedical Instrumentation

Biography

Dr Mohit Shivdasani arrived in Australia from India to pursue a Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering at La Trobe University, Melbourne. He was subsequently offered a scholarship to undertake a PhD in Auditory Neuroscience following which he took up a postdoctoral Research Fellow position at the Bionics Institute (formerly Bionic Ear Institute) in 2009. Since then, Dr Shivdasani has been part of a multi-disciplinary team whose research is focused on developing a bionic eye for vision restoration in blind humans through a $50M federally funded grant awarded to Bionic Vision Australia. Dr Shivdasani's own research at the Bionics Institute played a major role in this project since the beginning, and his unique preclinical electrophysiology experiments were instrumental in the design and development of Australia's first bionic eye prototype which was successfully implanted in three patients in 2012, only 3 years since the development of the device began. Subsequently, he became part of the team performing carefully controlled psychophysical experiments in the implanted patients, and testing strategies to help patients use their implant to its full capability and improve the level of vision attainable. In February 2018, he was appointed as a Senior Lecturer in Bionics in GSBmE, UNSW and began a new life chapter in Sydney after having lived in Melbourne for 15 years. Based on this unique preclinical and clinical experience with the bionic eye his future goals are to continue basic research to help improve the resolution of devices which will help improve functional outcomes and increase the quality of living for patients.

Dr Shivdasani has published several papers in prestigious international journals and has won many awards including the 2006 Young Biomedical Engineer of the Year presented by Engineers Australia. In 2014, he procured independent research funding through a New Investigator Project grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia and was elected as a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in 2016. Dr Shivdasani has also supervised a number of PhD and Master’s students to completion and has made numerous local and international invited presentations about his research, both professionally and publicly. See below for Dr Shivdasani's current CV. In 2018, Dr Shivdasani joined UNSW as a Senior Lecturer in Bionics and Neuromodulation and continues to dabble in various bionics projects related to retinal implants, cochlear implants, neuroscience of touch and nerve stimulation to treat chronic pain. In 2022, Dr Shivdasani was promoted to Associate Professor.

Professional Memberships

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS): Senior Member: Feb 2016 to Present; Member: June 2015 – Feb 2016, Jan 1999 – Dec 2002
Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO): Member: 2011-Present

Publications

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/mohit.shivdasani.1/bibliography/public/

My Grants

UNSW-Tsinghua University Collaborative Research Seed Program #RG234536; 2024-2025; "Closed-loop vagus nerve stimulation for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease"; $30,000; Role: CIA
National Health and Medical Research Council Development Grant #2014380; 2022-2025; "Retinal implant with closed-loop multichannel stimulation to improve visual acuity"; $1,141,581; Role: CIG
UNSW Research Infrastructure Award #RG214410; 2021; $73,430; Role: CIA
UNSW-Chinese Academy of Sciences Seed Funding Bridging Award #RG192622; 2020-2022; "Paving the way for the next generation of retinal implants to treat blindness"; $50,000; Role: CIA
National Health and Medical Research Council Ideas Grant #1187416; 2020-2022; "A novel approach for peripheral neuromodulation: Using ionic direct current to treat chronic pain"; $732,693; Role: AI
Australian Research Council Discovery Project Grant #DP200100630; 2020-2022; "The role of spike patterning in shaping human perception of tactile stimuli"; $550,000; Role: CID
UNSW-DAAD Grant; 2019-2020; $25,000; Role: CIA
Retina Australia Project Grant; 2019; $39,900; Role: CIC
UNSW Mental Health, Neuroscience and Addictions Theme Seed Grant; 2018-2019; $40,000; Role: Co-CI
UNSW Research Infrastructure Award #RG183273; 2018; $351,666; Role: Co-CI
UNSW Research Infrastructure Award #RG183053; 2018; $55,203; Role: Co-CI
UNSW Engineering Faculty Infrastructure Award; 2018; $145,000; Role: Co-CI
National Health and Medical Research Council New Investigator Project Grant #1063093; 2014-2017; “Improving Spatial Resolution in Retinal Prostheses through Novel Electrical Stimulation Techniques”; $359,501; Role: CIA
Australian Research Council Linkage Project #LP13010022; 2013-2016; “Improved effectiveness of cochlear implants through new simultaneous stimulation techniques”. $350,000; Role: Named Research Fellow

My Qualifications

Doctor of Philosophy (Bionics and Neuroscience) (2004 – 2009), La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia

Master of Electronic Engineering (Biomedical Engineering Specialisation) (2003), La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia

Bachelor of Biomedical Engineering (Honours) (1998 – 2002), Mumbai University, Mumbai, India

My Awards

Australia-China Young Scientists Exchange Program Fellowship, October 2017, ATSE, Australia
Bionic Vision Technologies Travel Grant, September 2017, Bionic Vision Technologies
CASS Foundation Travel Grant, April 2016, CASS Foundation, Australia
International Symposium on Visual Prosthetics Travel Grant, November 2015, RWTH Aachen University, Germany
Bionic Vision Australia Travel Grant, February 2014, Bionic Vision Australia
Harold Mitchell Postdoctoral Travelling Fellow, June 2010, Harold Mitchell Foundation and The Bionic Ear Institute, Australia
Student outstanding poster presentation prize, December 2008, Medical Bionics conference, Lorne, Australia
Harold Mitchell Postgraduate Student Travelling Fellow, June 2007, Harold Mitchell Foundation and The Bionic Ear Institute, Australia
Engineers Australia Young Biomedical Engineer Award, September 2006, Engineering in Physical Sciences and Medicine conference, Noosa, Australia
Student poster presentation prize, July 2006, Frontiers in Otorhinolaryngology conference, Sanctuary Cove, Australia
Student poster presentation prize, January 2006, Australian Neuroscience Society conference, Sydney, Australia
Student Paper Presentation - First Prize, October 2001, Institute of Engineers All India Paper presentation contest, Mumbai, India

My Research Supervision

Supervision keywords

retinal prosthesis modelling

neuroinflammation

inflammatory bowel diseases

vagus nerve

cytokines

Areas of supervision

AVAILABLE STUDENT PROJECTS: "CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR TALENTED STUDENTS WANTING TO DO A HIGHER RESEARCH DEGREE IN BIONICS"

Minimising gut inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease through closed-loop vagus nerve stimulation
Using ionic direct current to treat chronic nociceptive pain through stimulation of the sciatic nerve
Improving pitch perception in human cochlear implant recipients through encoding of stimulus timing
Stimulation strategies for selective activation of different neuron classes in nerve bundles
Platinum dissolution and stimulation waveforms to minimise dissolution
Generation of direct current with neural stimulation and safety limits

Currently supervising

Postgraduate Supervision

Ongoing (5 PhDs)

Primary Supervisor for Mr Michael Italiano (PhD, UNSW Sydney). Thesis Topic: Stimulation strategies to selectively activate neuron classes in retinal degeneration. Expected completion in 2025.
Primary Supervisor for Ms Mathi Manoharan (PhD, UNSW Sydney). Thesis Topic: Hybrid stimulation of the retina using combined optogenetic and electrical stimulation. Expected completion in 2025.
Joint Supervisor for Mr Hallur Reynisson (PhD, UNSW Sydney). Thesis Topic: Retinal degeneration and selective activation of neurons. Expected completion in 2024.
Co-supervisor for Ms Catherine Guo (PhD, UNSW Sydney). Thesis Topic: Behavioural outcomes of treating chronic pain through ionic direct application to the sciatic nerve. Expected completion in 2025.
Co-supervisor for Mr Tom Su (PhD, UNSW Sydney). Thesis Topic: Neurophysiological basis to treat chronic pain through ionic direct application to the sciatic nerve. Expected completion in 2025.

Completed (7 PhDs, 4 Masters)

Co-Supervisor for Dr Sam Titchener (PhD, The University of Melbourne). Thesis Title: "Oculomotor behaviour and perceptual localisation in retinal prostheses". PhD completed in March 2021.
Primary Supervisor for Dr Thomas Spencer (PhD, The University of Melbourne). Thesis Title: "Preclinical investigation of electrical field shaping strategies for retinal prostheses". PhD completed in December 2019. Currently working at the Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Australia.
Co-Supervisor for Dr Kabir Sikder (PhD, The University of Melbourne). Thesis Title: “Exploring the use of diamond in medical implants”. PhD completed in December 2019. Currently working in the Department of Physics, Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh.
Co-Supervisor for Dr Kerry Halupka (PhD, The University of Melbourne). Thesis Title: “Prediction and shaping of visual cortex activity for retinal prostheses”. PhD completed December 2017. Currently working at Canva, Australia.
Supervisor for Ms Patricia Rodrigues (MSc in Biomedical Engineering Internship, University of Twente, Netherlands. Report Title: “Calcium Imaging Techniques for Wholemount Cat Retinal Cells”. Internship completed in 2016. Currently working at ASML, Netherlands.
Co-Supervisor for Dr Shefin George (PhD, The University of Melbourne). Thesis Title: “Investigating the effect of Focused Multipolar Stimulation for Cochlear Implants: Preclinical Studies”. PhD completed in June 2016. Currently working at Stanford University, USA.
Co-Supervisor for Dr Bart Steensma (MSc in Biomedical Engineering Internship, University of Twente, Netherlands. Report Title: “Characterization of electrode coatings for neural stimulation”. Internship completed in 2014. Currently working as assistant professor at UMN Utrecht, Netherlands.
Co-Supervisor for Dr Rosemary Cicione (PhD, La Trobe University). Thesis Title: “Visual cortex responses to suprachoroidal electrical stimulation of the retina”. PhD completed in 2014. Currently working at Medibio Limited, Australia.
Co-supervisor for A/Prof Sam John (PhD, La Trobe University). Thesis Title: Retinal Prostheses: “Optimising electrical stimulation for suprachoroidal retinal prostheses”. PhD completed in 2013. Currently working at the University of Melbourne, Australia.
Primary Supervisor for Mr Gerald Wirth (MSc in Biomedical Engineering, University of Applied Sciences, Luebeck, Germany). Thesis Title: “Intermediate phosphenes by current steering in retinal prostheses”. Degree completed in 2013. Currently working at Inari Medical, Germany.
Primary Supervisor for Mr Austin Mueller (MSc in Life Sciences and Technology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne). Thesis Title: “Development and application of instrumentation for parallel stimulation and safety testing of high resolution retinal prostheses”. Degree completed in 2012. Currently working at Neuralink, USA.