Lab Spotlight: Iverson Health Innovation Research Institute

Lab Spotlight: Iverson Health Innovation Research Institute, Swinburne University of Technology

The Iverson Health Innovation Research Institute, led by Director Professor Gavin Lambert, tackles cardiovascular health through transdisciplinary collaboration spanning bioengineering, computational biology, AI, and neuromodulation. Since launching in 2017, the team has published over 275 peer-reviewed articles, spawned three start-up companies, and secured competitive national grants—all focused on solving real-world health challenges through innovative, ethically-grounded research.

What is your team's vision?

To be a leader in solving real-world health challenges, because health and wellbeing can be improved.

Who are the key team members working on hypertension research?

Our hypertension research team includes Mariya Patel, Joseph Braun, Callum Hay, Tatiana Kameneva, Elisabeth Lambert, Amir Aryani, and Simon Moulton.

What makes your approach to hypertension research unique?

We have developed an integrative platform with six distinct yet interrelated research themes:

  • Bioengineering Solutions (led by Simon Moulton)
  • Chronic Disease & Disability (led by Rachael McDonald)
  • Computational Biology and Biophysics (led by Tatiana Kameneva)
  • AI in Health (led by Amir Aryani)
  • Digital Health Systems (led by Junhua Xiao)
  • Neuromodulation (led by Jason Howitt)

Underpinning all our work is Evie Kendal’s research group examining the ethical, legal, and social implications of emerging technologies—ensuring our innovations are not just scientifically sound but ethically responsible.

What hypertension research is your team currently working on?

Our work benefits from Swinburne’s advanced neuroimaging facility, where PhD candidates Mariya Patel and Joseph Braun, supervised by Elisabeth Lambert and Tatiana Kameneva, are examining the brain pathways associated with beat-to-beat changes in muscle sympathetic activity. This research is delineating human stress responses and their relationship to body weight regulation.

Our postdoc Callum Hay and Simon Moulton are focused on bioengineering approaches to modulate neuronal activity—work that could lead to novel interventions for resistant hypertension.

We are also engaged in cybersecurity projects with a particular focus on medical device security and securing AI in healthcare, funded by CSIRO and Data61 and led by Professor Yang Xiang.

“Working with engineers and computer scientists in this field is fascinating and a wee bit frightening—mind you, they are great to work with if you lock your keys in the car.”

What's on the horizon for your team?

The Institute has undergone a refresh over the past 12 months with new themes initiated to align with sector developments. Our Computational Biology and Biophysics, and AI for Health themes will focus on brain pathways involved in autonomic nervous activity and the use of large language models for improving diagnosis, management, and health services delivery.

In partnership with the Baker Institute and University of Tasmania, we recently received funding from the Australian Economic Accelerator program to develop our remote robotic ultrasound system—a project that could revolutionise healthcare delivery in rural and remote areas.

A particular priority is improving cardiometabolic health for people with intellectual disability (ID). Approximately 2% of Australians have ID, yet they experience more than twice the rate of avoidable deaths and live around 20 years less than the general population—primarily due to preventable cardiovascular disease. Adults with ID have higher blood pressure, increased adiposity, and higher HbA1c levels. Our work aims to develop and implement health promotion strategies addressing this health inequity.

What funding and recognition has your hypertension research received?

Since launching in May 2017, the Iverson has supported approximately 275 peer-reviewed publications.

The Institute has fostered three start-up companies:

  • Eudaemon Technologies (sexual and reproductive health products)
  • NirTek (intracoronary devices for detecting unstable plaques)
  • Axcelda (joint repair technologies for osteoarthritis)

Hypertension-specific grants include two NHMRC Ideas Grants:

  • Elisabeth Lambert et al. (2022-2024, #2012029): “Identifying brain pathways regulating sympathetic nervous outflow in human hypertension”
  • Simon Moulton et al. (2025, #2036955): “Targeted carotid body ablation for treatment of resistant hypertension”

The Institute has supported 14 completed PhD programs and multiple career development awards. In October 2024, the Iverson became Australia’s newest hub in the International Chair in Bioethics network—cementing our status as global leaders in medical and bioethics education.

What key research findings have you published?

We maintain ongoing collaborations with leading hypertension researchers Markus Schlaich, Murray Esler, and Francine Marques. Recent Swinburne-initiated publications include:

  • Patel et al. (2025): Demonstrated that resting-state brain dynamics are associated with cardiovascular and metabolic profiles in healthy adults [Journal of Neurophysiology]
  • Braun et al. (2024): Identified frontal and temporo-parietal changes in delta and alpha brain wave power accompanying stress-induced vasoconstriction and blood pressure responses [Journal of Neurophysiology]
  • Keatch et al. (2024): Examined phase-amplitude coupling in response to transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation, focusing on regions implicated in mood and memory [Journal of Neurophysiology]
  • Vasan et al. (2024): Investigated the relationship between early cardiovascular disease markers and loneliness in young adults [Scientific Reports]
  • Aryani et al. (2025): While not specifically hypertension-focused, this work demonstrates the power of large language models in facilitating retrieval, analysis, and summarization of large volumes of text data—tracking twenty years of coronavirus research [Scientific Data]

Where can we find out more about your work with Hypertension?