Stephen Blakeney is the National Innovations Manager for the Medical Device Partnering Program, MedTech Venture Partner for the Target Translation Research Accelerator, co-lead for Research Translation at the Medical Device Research Institute, a Guest Lecturer and mentor for the Innovation in Medical Device course at Flinders University.

His role is co-funded by the Australian National Fabrication Facility, and he is a member of the Bridgetech steering committee.

Stephen started his career as a mechanical engineer developing a system to help deliver electrodes to the brain for Deep Brain Stimulation to treat Parkinsons and he has since gone on to work on a wide variety of devices including a liver retractor for laparoscopic surgery, ophthalmic equipment, post-stroke rehabilitation equipment and more.

Stephen moved into commercially-focussed roles around six years ago, working for the Health and Medical team at the Department for Trade and Investment where he led a delegation of health and life sciences companies on a trade mission to China and helped to support inbound investment of companies into Adelaide.

In his current role he supports medical device companies around Australia, speaking to at least 50-100 medtech start-ups per year and providing advice and guidance on how to commercialise their medical devices.