RESEARCHER PROFILE
Associate Professor Johan Verjans
(Filmed in Adelaide, South Australia, May 2024)
SAHMRI – Platform AI
Deputy Director, Medical Machine Learning, Australian Institute for Machine Learning
Platform Leader AI, SAHMRI
Consultant Cardiologist, Royal Adelaide Hospital / Jones Radiology
Associate Professor Johan Verjans is a clinician-scientist with a strong focus on cross-disciplinary translational research. In his role as Deputy Director at the Australian Institute for Machine Learning (AIML)—one of the world’s premier machine learning institutes, with over 200 researchers—and as Group Leader of Artificial Intelligence at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), he integrates his expertise in molecular medicine, clinical research, and advanced imaging with machine learning applications. This unique combination enables him to drive the translation of cutting-edge AI research into practical medical applications. He works with global teams from multinationals on AI problems.
Johan Verjans graduated in medicine from Maastricht University through the prestigious MD-PhD track, during which he was awarded the DiPalma Fellowship. This fellowship allowed him to work with renowned Professor Narula at institutions such as UC Irvine and in Philadelphia. He further honed his skills in cardiology and research through a postdoctoral fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, supported by the prestigious Dutch Science Foundation’s Rubicon Fellowship. He later completed his cardiology training at the University Medical Centre Utrecht, where he was awarded a clinician-scientist fellowship.
In 2017, he was recruited by the University of Adelaide and SAHMRI, and he established the Medical Machine Learning group at AIML. Since then, the multidisciplinary team has expanded to over 40 members and includes clinicians, biomedical researchers, and computer scientists. Their goal is to position the University of Adelaide as a global leader in AI-driven healthcare by leveraging AIML’s world-class expertise in machine learning. He currently is the Future Industry Fellow at the University of Adelaide.
Prof. Verjans has made significant contributions to the field of cardiology and molecular diagnostics with his research published in high-impact journals, including Circulation (IF 23.6), JACC (IF 20.6), Nature Reviews Cardiology (IF 20.3), and Basic Research in Cardiology (IF 12.6). Additionally, he has published six articles in the top-ranked imaging journal JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging (IF 12.7) and other prestigious outlets such as Light: Science and Applications (IF 15) and IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging (IF 13.94).
His team of computer scientists has published last year in leading AI conferences such as CVPR (ranked second on Google’s h5 index), MICCAI, and ICCV. Notably, his group pioneered advancements in Medical Visual Question Answering (VQA), winning the first global challenge on the subject organized by the NIH—a remarkable achievement in one of the most challenging areas of machine learning.
Beyond his academic work, Prof. Verjans is actively involved in applying AI to digital health and pushing solutions into the clinical realm. He has initiatives using the Caremappr platform to generate actionable insights for mental health, automate pharmacy review, enhance adherence to cardiology guidelines, and helping SA Health with novel solutions. His group created the algorithm for a world’s first cluster-randomised controlled trial, using AI in the Emergency Department for Chest pain, which was presented as late breaking clinical trial in 2024 at the largest cardiology conference ESC.
Through collaborations with industry his work continues to push the boundaries of AI in healthcare, driving both scientific discovery and practical medical innovations.
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Inner ear organoids for the study of human hearing and balance
Dr Jackie Ogier is an auditory neuroscientist, with a research focus on the molecular biology of hair cells, the specialised sensory receptors in the ear that detect sound and balance. She is a postdoctoral research fellow in the laboratory of A/Prof Bryony Nayagam, supported by a prestigious Passe and Williams foundation fellowship.
Dr Ogier’s experience broadly spans the genetics of hearing loss, disease modelling, micro dissection, primary cell culture, stem cell culture, organoids, and proteomics. Overall, she aims to generate knowledge of hearing and vestibular sensory biology.
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Blister management and impact on firefighters
David Burns, a Senior Paramedic with LifeAid, a private paramedicine company in Victoria and, has a diverse background in healthcare. He began his career as a registered nurse, progressing to critical care nursing specialising in liver transplants and cardiovascular surgery.
At the Australasian College of Paramedicine International Conference, David presented research focused on the foot care of firefighters during prolonged bushfire campaigns. During the 2019-2020 bushfires, over 10,000 firefighters sought care, with nearly 50% requiring attention for foot-related issues. David emphasised that inadequate foot care could bench firefighters for up to 10 days, diminishing their ability to protect communities and critical infrastructure. Recognising the economic benefits of prioritising firefighter health, David advocates that ensuring their well-being allows communities to recover effectively and enhances safety for all involved in firefighting efforts.
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CASE STUDY Next Generation Condom Contraception
Eudaemon Technologies, an early-stage medtech company with a focus on sexual reproductive health, is developing a hydrogel condom to address the need for a better feeling, next generation condom, with the potential to improve user experience and address issues with traditional latex condoms.
“Over 1 million STI’s being diagnosed every day and up to 120 million unplanned pregnancies every year result in a $60 billion health burden across the globe”, says Co-Founder and Executive Director of Operations, Dr Simon Cook.
Formed in 2018, the company focuses on developing tough hydrogels as an alternative to address issues with odour, colour, and taste commonly associated with latex condoms. This technology can be loaded with small molecule drugs for flavours or anti-STI compounds, and was developed in response to a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to address unplanned pregnancies and STIs.
