Professor Shaun Gregory, from the QUT School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering, has been awarded the 2025 Batterham Medal for Engineering Excellence, recognising his leadership in cardiovascular engineering and impact on global health.
Director of the QUT Centre for Biomedical Technologies, Professor Gregory has led a multidisciplinary effort to develop and commercialise next-generation artificial heart technologies that are changing the future of cardiac care.
Here, he has established formal, co-funded and collaborative partnerships with various Queensland hospitals, bringing together engineers and clinicians to develop solutions for clinically relevant problems.
The Batterham Medal, awarded annually by the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE), honours early-to-mid-career engineers who demonstrate excellence, innovation and impact in their field.
Professor Gregory's work has positioned Australia at the forefront of artificial heart research and clinical application, with QUT the number one university in Australia and sixteenth globally for biomedical engineering.
He is co-director of the Artificial Heart Frontiers Program (AHFP), a transdisciplinary group established to develop and commercialise critical implantable devices for the treatment of heart failure.
Through his research, Professor Gregory has changed the way implantable heart-support devices are implanted, improved clinical training techniques for long-term heart-lung support machines and contributed to the regulatory approval of novel medical devices.
"Engineering plays a crucial role in solving global health challenges," Professor Gregory said.
"This recognition reflects the power of collaboration across universities, industry and healthcare to deliver life-saving technologies that give patients not just more time but a better quality of life."
Professor Gregory spearheaded the successful $50 million Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Frontiers grant that established the AHFP in 2024.
The initiative is now home to more than 40 staff and 10 chief investigators working across academia, government and industry to deliver advanced cardiovascular devices.
These technologies are expected to substantially reduce deaths from heart failure and contribute up to $1.8 billion to the Australian economy through healthcare savings, manufacturing growth and job creation.
In addition to his research leadership, Professor Gregory founded the international Heart Hackathon, the world's largest biomedical engineering student competition, where more than 450 students from 13 countries collaborate to design, prototype and test artificial heart technologies.
As the first Australian president of the International Society for Mechanical Circulatory Support (ISMCS), he has further advanced Australia's standing in the global biomedical engineering community.
ATSE President Dr Katherine Woodthorpe said the 2025 winners represent the very best of Australia's scientific and engineering excellence, each driving breakthroughs that deliver real-world impact.
"ATSE congratulates Professor Gregory for winning the 2025 Batterham Medal. Through his leadership and creativity, he is demonstrating how engineering is making Australian lives better," she said.
"Professor Gregory's work, along with all of our award winners, shows how Aussie innovation can deliver global impact."
Professor Gregory is the third QUT recipient of the Batterham Medal since its inception in 2015.
Professor Michael Milford received the medal in 2019 for his interdisciplinary research in robotics, neuroscience and computer vision; and Professor Aaron McFadyen followed in 2022 for his work in aviation safety and collision risk assessment technologies.
