Biography
Stephen O’Leary holds the William Gibson Chair of Otolaryngology at The University of Melbourne. He obtained his PhD at The University of Melbourne under the mentorship of Professor Graeme Clark in 1994, and completed surgical training in Ear Nose and Throat- Head and Neck Surgery in 1998. Professor O’Leary has undertaken post-doctoral research at Oxford University, UK and the University of Utrecht, the Netherlands. He has worked as both a surgeon and a medical researcher at The University of Melbourne and the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, since 1999, and served the Hospital as Chairman of the Senior Medical Staff 2007-2009. Prof O’Leary holds an honorary appointment with the Bionic Ear Institute.
Professor O’Leary is recognized internationally for his clinical and research activities in ear disease, hearing and balance, and particularly for contributions to cochlear implantation. His primary translational research is the protection of the inner ear during cochlear implant surgery, which promises to enable implant recipients to maintain their hearing in the ear that receives the cochlear prosthesis. He has a track record in the aetiology and prevention of infection with cochlear implantation, and the use of neurotrophins to regenerate the auditory nerve after deafness. Professor O’Leary has led the development of a virtual reality simulator to train ear surgeons in collaboration with CSIRO, and this system has recently been licensed for commercial development to an Australian company, Medic Vision. He was elected to the Collegium Otorhinolaryngologicum Amitciae Sacrum in 2006 in recognition of his contributions to Otolaryngology, and was recipient of the 2009 John Mitchell Crouch Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons for excellence in surgical research.
Qualifications, Honours, Fellowships and Other
Awards
Qualifications
| Title |
Institution |
Date Awarded |
Abbreviation |
| Bachelor of Medical Science |
University of Melbourne |
31-Dec-1985 |
|
| Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Surgery |
University of Melbourne |
31-Dec-1985 |
|
| Doctor of Philosophy |
University of Melbourne |
31-Dec-1994 |
|
Fellowships
| Fellowship |
Date Awarded |
| Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (FRACS) |
|
Other Awards
| Award Type |
Awarding Body |
Comments |
Date Awarded |
| Other (Award) |
Australian Institute of Political Science |
Young Tall Poppy |
01-Jul-1999 |
| Other (Award) |
Royal Australasian College of Surgeons |
John Mitchell Crouch Fellow for Surgical Research |
05-May-2009 |
Government Research Classifications
Research Fields, Courses and Discipline Classifications
Socio-Economic Objective Classifications
Grants and Contracts
Research Grants, Contracts and Consultancies awarded to the University of Melbourne as the administering institution (since 2003) as recorded in Themis Agreements.
Grants
| Title |
Role |
Funding Source |
Scheme |
Award Date |
| Response of the Auditory Nerve to High Rate Electrical Stimulation |
Principal Supervisor |
NHMRC |
Dora Lush Biomedical Postgraduate Scholarship |
01/01/2005 |
| Neurotrophin-dependent firing properties of the auditory nerve |
Chief Investigator |
GARNETT PASSE & RODNEY WILLIAMS MEMORIAL FUND |
Project Grants |
01/02/2005 |
| SCHOLARSHIP IN OTOLARYNGOLOGY HEAD AND NECK SURGERY |
Principal Supervisor |
GARNETT PASSE & RODNEY WILLIAMS MEMORIAL FUND |
Scholarship in Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery |
06/02/2006 |
| SCHOLARSHIP IN OTOLARYNGOLOGY HEAD AND NECK SURGERY |
Principal Supervisor |
GARNETT PASSE & RODNEY WILLIAMS MEMORIAL FUND |
Research Scholarships |
01/02/2007 |
| Can nerve growth factors improve hearing with a cochlear implant? |
Chief Investigator |
NHMRC |
Project Grants |
01/01/2008 |
| Protecting the inner ear during surgery |
Chief Investigator |
NHMRC |
Project Grants |
01/01/2008 |
| Virtual reality training on temporal bone surgery |
Principal Supervisor |
GARNETT PASSE & RODNEY WILLIAMS MEMORIAL FUND |
Scholarship in Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery |
20/02/2008 |
| Hearing protection during surgery with glucocorticosteroids and anti-oxidants |
Chief Investigator |
GARNETT PASSE & RODNEY WILLIAMS MEMORIAL FUND |
Project Grants |
01/03/2008 |
| Changes to ion channel activity in spiral ganglion cells following deafness and neurotrophin-treatment |
Principal Supervisor |
GARNETT PASSE & RODNEY WILLIAMS MEMORIAL FUND |
Research Training Fellowships |
01/03/2009 |
| The cause and prevention of delayed hearing loss after surgery |
Principal Supervisor |
GARNETT PASSE & RODNEY WILLIAMS MEMORIAL FUND |
Scholarship in Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery |
01/03/2009 |
Publications
Publications produced at the University of Melbourne and reported in the Annual Publications Collection and 'Research Report' since 2001. The Themis Publications module, released in November 2006, allows additional publications from previous institutions and publications from past years to be entered.
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