Laura Poole-Warren

Professor Laura Poole-Warren is a distinguished academic at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), affiliated with the Faculty of Engineering. Her research focuses on biomaterials for neural and soft-tissue interfaces, including conducting polymers, hydrogels, and 3D tissue engineering. She leads a research group developing advanced materials for neural electrodes and has extensive experience in academia, industry, and regulatory bodies such as the Australian Government’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).

• Leadership roles: UNSW Associate Dean Research, Dean of Graduate Research, and Chair of Athena SWAN initiatives.
• Editorial roles: Associate Editor of Biomaterials and Editorial Board member of Journal of Neural Engineering.
• Awards: AM (Order of Australia), Fellowships in ATSE, AIMBE, IUSBSE, and the Royal Society of NSW.

Research interests include:

• Biosynthetic polymers for neural interfaces
• Material-tissue interactions in medical implants
• Hydrogel-based drug delivery and tissue regeneration

Her recent publications emphasize optimizing neural electrode performance, 3D tissue models, and conductive coatings to enhance biocompatibility and functionality. Collaborative projects include flexible optrode arrays and in vitro models mimicking human-scale neural structures.

Awards and recognition highlight her contributions to biomedical engineering and graduate research advocacy.

Current supervision focuses on polymeric biomaterials, conducting polymers for soft-tissue interfaces, and 3D tissue engineering.