PROFILE
Dr Brendan Kennedy
Started at UWA: 2008
Engineering a way to improve health
Above all, I’m driven to make a difference with my research in biomedical engineering. I get a real kick out of learning about areas well beyond the topics I studied, such as pathology and biology. It keeps me on my toes and guarantees I’ll never become bored with my work. Dr Brendan Kennedy
Dr Brendan Kennedy is a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering at The University of Western Australia and Head of the Bioimaging Research and Innovation for Translational Engineering Lab (BRITElab) at the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research. He graduated with a PhD from Dublin City University, Ireland, in 2006, and before joining UWA, was employed as a teaching and research academic at the University of Santiago, Chile.
In 2014, Dr Kennedy received a WA Tall Poppy Award for outstanding achievements in the area of scientific research and communication and, in 2015, he received a UWA Vice-Chancellor’s Mid-Career Research Award. He is also co-founder and lead researcher with OncoRes Medical, a UWA start-up company developing novel surgical imaging tools.
Dr Kennedy’s primary research interest is in the development of novel optical imaging techniques. In particular, he leads the development of micro-elastography – a method to measure tissue’s micro-scale stiffness. He is developing micro-elastography for intraoperative tumour margin detection in breast cancer, and is also exploring the application of micro-elastography to tumour and vascular biology, biomaterials and airway physiology. He is also actively developing convergent approaches to research at UWA.
Dr Kennedy is available as a PhD supervisor in the areas of biomedical engineering, medical imaging, optics and photonics. For more information, contact [email protected].
UWA Vice-Chancellor's Mid-Career Research Award, 2015
WA Tall Poppy Award for Outstanding Achievements, 2015
UWA startup co-founder and lead researcher, 2015
Founding member of BioZone, 2015
Funding
2017
Cancer Council of Western Australia
- 'Micro-elastography: A new surgical tool to reduce the number of re-excision breast cancer surgeries'
- Dr Brendan Kennedy, Professor Christobel Saunders, Dr Lixin Chin
2016
WA Department of Health Merit Awards
- 'Merit Award – Project – Intraoperative micro-elastography for improved assessment of tumour margins in breast cancer'
- Dr Brendan Kennedy
UWA Research Collaboration Awards
- 'Quantitative 3D imaging of the mechanical micro-environment in biomimetic engineered tissues'
- Dr Brendan Kennedy, Doctor Peter Munro, Professor Assad Oberai, Dr Lixin Chin
NHMRC Equipment Grants
- 'Live Tissue Microtome and Accessories'
- Dr Ruth Ganss, Professor Peter Leedman, Professor Ryan Lister, Dr Pilar Blancafort, Professor Anna Nowak, Dr Willem Lesterhuis, Dr Juliana Hamzah, Dr Brendan Kennedy, Associate Professor Deborah Trinder, Associate Professor Jennifer Rodger, Associate Professor Julian Heng, Dr Raelene Endersby, Professor Camile Farah, Associate Professor Evan Ingley, Emeritus Professor George Yeo
2015
ARC Discovery Projects
- 'Intravital mechano-microscopy: a discovery platform for cell mechanics'
- Dr Brendan Kennedy, Emeritus Professor Miranda Grounds, Mr Peter Munro, Professor Andrew Pelling
News
Breast cancer imaging invention to improve surgery accuracy gets funding for clinical trials
A hand-held imaging probe developed by biomedical engineers at the University of Western Australia will be able to identify those tumours in real-time during the first surgery.
Read moreEngineering a way to improve health: Brendan Kennedy
Dr Brendan Kennedy is seeing first-hand how engineering has the potential to save lives in his joint appointment between the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research and The University of Western Australia’s School of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering.
Read moreCentres
- Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research
- The Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research was established in 1998 as the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research (WAIMR) with the vision of creating a multi-site Institute that would enhance collaboration between Western Australian medical researchers. The University of Western Australia is a founding partner. In October 2013, WAIMR changed its name to the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research to honour its inaugural Chairman, Harry Perkins AO.
- OncoRes Medical
- OncoRes Medical is an early-stage medical device company located in Perth, Western Australia and is developing its patent-protected technology in collaboration with leading researchers at The University of Western Australia and the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, and breast cancer surgeons in the Western Australian public health system. With funding provided by the Medical Research Commercialisation Fund (MRCF), OncoRes Medical aims to develop the technology for use in clinical applications that require the real-time assessment of tissue microstructure.
- Biozone
- BIOZONE specialises in the production of high-quality student and teacher resources for high school biology (grades 9–12) in Australia and internationally. BIOZONE was founded by a high school biology teacher who recruited a team of academics, researchers, teachers, and designers to help adapt what he had learned in the classroom. Together, they have developed a suite of resources that meet the very real needs of teachers and students worldwide. Coming from a teaching background, BIOZONE understands the challenges of teaching biology in a modern classroom with today's aspiring biologists.
