Nayagam David A X

David A. X. Nayagam (M'07) was born in Sri Lanka in 1978. He received the B.Sc. and B.E.(Hons.) degrees in neuroscience and electrical engineering from The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic., Australia, in 2001. After a one year hiatus backpacking around the globe, he received the Ph.D. degree in auditory neuroscience (electrophysiology) from The University of Melbourne in 2007. He is currently a Research Fellow at the Bionics Institute of Australia (formerly the Bionic Ear Institute), Melbourne, where he conducts multidisciplinary research into the safe and efficacious use of nanotechnology and bionic devices. He is presently a Member of the team which successfully developed and implanted a retinal prosthesis (‘‘Bionic Eye'') into blind patients, in a world-first clinical trial of its kind. He also holds an honorary position in the University of Melbourne's Department of Pathology. In 2009, he was one of 22 candidates, from 8 413 suitably qualified applicants, to reach the final stage of selection in the European Space Agency's astronaut recruitment program. Dr. Nayagam has been a Foundational Member of the Australian government's Space Industry Innovation Council since 2009 where he has contributed to the creation of Australia's inaugural space policy (released: April 2013). He is a Member of the Australian Neuroscience Society, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists, and the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.