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Dr. Mitra Safavi-Naeini

Dr. Mitra Safavi-Naeini
Dr. Mitra Safavi-Naeini
Research Leader, ANSTO and CEO of GaiaPOD. Particle physicist. Entrepreneur. Inventor. Science realist and Superstar of STEM.

I am a particle physicist and a research leader at the ANSTO Human Health.

My two main research areas are: particle therapy - where we use the nuclei of atoms to target cancers with poor prognosis - and using radiation to probe the internal workings of the human body through advanced medical imaging techniques. I am the co-inventor of neutron capture enhanced particle therapy (NCEPT). Together with my multi-disciplinary team of chemists, biologists, physicists, mathematicians and clinicians, we have established a large group of international industry and academic partners from all around the world around the NCEPT technology and its sustainable translation.

Ever the innovator and tapping into my multi-disciplinary background, I have led teams in three successful hackathons in 2020 - the Australian Computer Society #flattenthecurvehack, the ANZ Defence #shockproof hackathon, and the NASA SpaceApps COVID-19 Challenge. I am the CEO of GaiaPOD Pty Ltd, an Australian technology research and development (R&D) company developing scalable, autonomous and sustainable telecommunications and positioning, navigation and timing solutions for remote or contested theatres of operation. My dream is to establish the first multi-ion therapy facility in Australia. It will cost less than the amount pet owners will spend on animal costumes this Halloween.