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August 13, 2021

2021 Bill Wheeler Symposium to be held online

Head and neck surgeon Dr Bruce Ashford to deliver feature presentation

The 2021 Bill Wheeler Community Symposium and Award will be held online, from 5.30pm on Tuesday 17 August, with members of the community still welcome to join the event (virtually) to hear about the latest in bionics research.

Surgeon Dr , who specialises in head and neck surgery, will deliver the feature presentation.

In addition to his day job, Dr Ashford is an Associate Professor of Surgery at the ¾«¶«´«Ã½ of ¾«¶«´«Ã½ (UOW), is the Clinical Director of the (IHMRI), and leads both research and the COVID Task Group for the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District.

Dr Ashford started his professional life as a dentist. Thereafter he studied medicine, progressed through surgical training and completed a PhD in molecular biology.

He is passionate about innovation in patient care and in encouraging junior doctors to realise their potential.

The late Bill Wheeler was a very active member of the Illawarra community who took a keen interest in new bionics research at the ¾«¶«´«Ã½ of ¾«¶«´«Ã½ (UOW). After meeting the famous Professor Graeme Clark, inventor of the cochlear implant, Bill instigated and organised a fundraiser for bionics research. 

Bill died in 2007, but his support for bionics research lives on through the Bill Wheeler Award, established in 2009. A prize of $2,000 is awarded to the student who best communicates the social impact of their research and how the prize will benefit their work.

The award is presented each year at the Bill Wheeler Symposium.

To register to attend the Bill Wheeler Symposium, please visit: