Prof Anne Vanhoestenberghe PhD MSc (Belgium)
Anne is a truly international academic. She started travelling during her degree in Engineering in Belgium, when she completed an Erasmus exchange in the Netherlands. She moved again, this time to the UK to complete a PhD at University College London (UCL). She has worked in Germany (IMTEK, Freiburg) and Australia (UNSW, Sydney), where she contributed to the development of the Bionic Eye. She co-founded the Centre for Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology CREATe, at UCL. In March 2022 she became Professor of Active Implantable Medical Devices at King's College London.
One of her many interests is developing implantable electronic devices to improve the quality of life of patients, through applications such as, control of prosthetic limbs, restoration of movement for paralysed muscles, activation of artificial organs and neuromodulation for improved bladder control or spasticity management. She has been involved in several INSPIRE funded grants, including NEUROMOD (2016-2018) and NEUROMOD II (2018-2022).
Anne is a committee member of the UK chapter of the International Microelectronics Assembly and Packaging Society (IMAPS-UK), which she chaired from 2017 to 2020. She is also a keen teacher, who actively seeks new strategies to develop more inclusive learning spaces and to improve the university experience of non-mainstream students. Her focus and ambition is to improve the quality of life of people affected by disease and disability by supporting the development of therapeutic and rehabilitation interventions. Her research includes core engineering considerations for new devices interacting with the nervous system, as well as scientific collaborations with clinicians. Anne joined INSPIRE’s National Scientific Committee in 2019.