Robert Shepherd

Professor Robert Shepherd is the Director of the Bionic Ear Institute and Professor of Medical Bionics in the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Melbourne.

Prof Shepherd received his Ph.D. in Otolaryngology from the University of Melbourne. His doctoral thesis examined the safety and efficacy of multichannel cochlear implants and contributed to Cochlear Ltd’s successful FDA approval for the clinical use of a multichannel cochlear implant. Prof Shepherd has held international research appointments throughout his career at institutions such as the Virginia Merrill Bloedel Hearing Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, U.S.A.; Department of Physiology.

Prof Shepherd has authored 145 peer-reviewed scientific papers and invited book chapters. He has been the Principal Investigator on more than $5.3M of research funding including grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia and the U.S. National Institutes of Health. He continues to work closely with industry through research links with Cochlear Ltd. and Living Cells Technologies Ltd.