About us Our people Researchers and engineers Dr Thushara Perera Dr Thushara Perera is a Senior Biomedical Engineer at the Bionics Institute and an Honorary Fellow in the Medical Bionics Department, University of Melbourne. He has a background in electronics, software, and biomedical engineering as well as doctoral qualifications in neuroscience (La Trobe University and Murdoch Children’s Research Institute). Dr Perera and his team focus on discovering new and innovative ways to help people living with chronic illnesses such as Parkinson’s disease, Essential Tremor, and Multiple Sclerosis. Collaborating closely with neurologists, neurosurgeons, and specialist nurses, Dr Perera leads the development of medical technologies to monitor and manage symptoms associated with movement disorders. Dr Perera also leads software development and data science endeavours for research and commercialisation activities associated with deep brain stimulation products. Numerous accolades have been presented to Dr Perera in recognition of his many achievements. He was named an AMP Tomorrow Maker (2019), became a finalist in Bupa Foundation’s Emerging Health Researcher Award (2017), and was granted a prestigious veski Victoria Fellowship in Life Sciences (2016). Dr Perera is also committed to public engagement and has appeared on television and in newspapers. Dr Perera is proud to train the next generation of engineers, researchers, clinicians, and scientists. He has supervised over 20 students from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines to successful completion. Many of Dr Perera’s pupils have gone on to start their own companies or work for large R&D organisations. Having authored more than 30 peer-reviewed scientific papers, one book chapter, and presented at numerous conferences, including six as invited speaker, Dr Perera is academically inclined. He balances this with a translational focus, being named inventor on several patents and having experience with commercialisation start-ups. E: [email protected] URL: https://www.bionicsinstitute.org/dr-thushara-perera Google scholar: Thushara Perera Research projects Improved positioning for DBS (ADEPT device) Adaptive Deep Brain Stimulation Device (ASTUTE system) Top 5 publications Perera T, Lee WL, Jones M, Tan JL, Proud EL, Begg A, Sinclair NC, Peppard R, McDermott HJ, “A palm-worn device to quantify rigidity in Parkinson’s disease,” Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 317, 2019 Perera T, Lee WL, Yohanandan SAC, Nguyen AL, Cruse B, Boonstra FMC, Noffs G, Vogel AP, Kolbe SC, Butzkueven H, Evans A, van der Walt A, “Validation of a Precision Tremor Measurement System for Multiple Sclerosis,” Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 311, 2019 Perera T, Tan JL, Cole MH, Yohanandan SAC, Silberstein P, Cook R, Peppard R, Aziz T, Coyne T, Brown P, Silburn PA, Thevathasan W, “Balance control systems in Parkinson’s disease and the impact of pedunculopontine area stimulation,” Brain, 141(10), 2018 Tan JL, Thevathasan W, McGinley JL, Brown P, Perera T, “An instrumented pull test to characterize postural responses,” Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE), 146, 2019 Sinclair NC, McDermott HJ, Bulluss KJ, Fallon JB, Perera T, Xu SS, Brown P, Thevathasan W, “Subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation evokes resonant neural activity,” Annals of Neurology, 83(5), 2018 Further information Click here to read Thushara's story.