Javad Tavakoli

Dr Javad Tavakoli moved to the University of Technology Sydney after being awarded the prestigious Chancellor's Research Fellowship in January 2020. He was a Postdoctoral Fellow (2018-2020) of China-Australia International Laboratory for Health Technologies (ILHT) in Medical Devices Research Institute (MDRI) and Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology (INST) at Flinders Univesrity. His previous postdoctoral research at ILHT led to the creation of new microfluidic platforms for nano-fabrication and characterisation of hydrogels and cell tracking, using aggregation-induced-emission fluorogens. His PhD research at Flinders University mainly focused on understanding the structure-function relationship in soft tissues that resulted in novel findings describing the ultrastructural organisation and mechanical function of elastic fibres in the intervertebral disc. His prizes and awards reflect his growing research profile and reputation for research excellence: • 2023 Best Spinal Research Award, Spine Society of Australia; (SpineWeek, May 2023, Melbourne). • 2022 David Findlay Early Career Researcher Award, Australian & New Zealand Orthopaedic Research Society; (August 2022, Gold Coast). • AO Spine 2022 Discovery and Innovation Award, AOSpine & AO Foundation (Switzerland); (Global Spine Congress June 2022, Las Vegas USA). • National Biomechanics Day Award 2022, Biomechanics Initiative Organization (USA). • Publication of the Year Award 2020, Australian & New Zealand Society of Biomechanics (ANZSB). • Excellence in Reviewing Award 2020, Acta Biomaterialia. • Finalist, Acta Student Award 2019, Acta Biomaterialia. • Best Spinal Research Award 2019, Spine Society of Australia; (April 2019, Brisbane). • Clayton Adam Award 2018. Spine Society of Australia; (May 2018, Adelaide). • Vice-Chancellor Award for the Best Higher Degree Research Student Publication 2017, Flinders University. • Outstanding Reviewer Award 2017, Carbohydrate Polymers • Outstanding Reviewer Award 2016, Materials Science and Engineering: C He has built and lead a successful research team with impactful outcomes evidenced by his students being awarded: • Judges’ Choice Award 2022, UTS Capstone Showcase [Stephanie Weiss]. • Engineering Female Scientist Award Runner-up 2022, Australian Biomechanics Conference [Maryam Rad] • 2022 OSMEN Creative Design Award [Finalist: Stephanie Weiss]. • Best Basic Science Poster Presentation 2022, Sydney Spinal Symposium [Maryam Rad]. • UTS-IEEE Award 2021, UTS Capstone Showcase [Ke Ma] His knowledge in the design of hydrogel-based drug delivery systems along with working experience in relevant industries has resulted in the commercialisation of three products so far. New and expanding areas of interest include the use of 3D bioprinting to engineer novel 3D tissue and organ-on-a-chip models for disc regeneration and low back pain studies. Performing mechanistic multi-scale approaches to develop novel research toolboxes for a better understanding of the clinical relevance of elastic fibres in the disc and other soft tissues is another research interest. He is also interested in nanofabrication of aggregation-induced-emission fluorogens for biomedical application.application. Dr Tavakoli has secured > 700k funding from industry [2007-2013] and since 2020 he has been awarded > 1.3M in research funds from multiple sources [national and international]. He is currently the co-director of the 2$M UTS Implant Testing Facility.