Announcement of new Engineering Co-Director, Hamlyn Centre

Professor Ferdinando Rodriguez y Baena has been appointed Engineering Co-Director of the Hamlyn Centre from 1st July 2020.

Imperial College London is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Ferdinando Rodriguez y Baena as the new Engineering Co-Director, a joint position with Professor The Lord Ara Darzi, of the Hamlyn Centre. Professor Rodriguez y Baena brings to the position a wealth of knowledge and an array of experience in the application of mechatronic systems to medicine, in the specific areas of clinical training, diagnostics and surgical intervention.

Ferdinando Rodriguez y Baena is Professor of Medical Robotics in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College, where he leads the Mechatronics in Medicine Laboratory and the Applied Mechanics Division. He has been the interim Co-Director of the Hamlyn Centre, which is part of the Institute of Global Health Innovation, since August 2019.

"I am absolutely thrilled to take the role. The Hamlyn Centre has a world-recognised brand, with infrastructure, equipment, and track record which are second to none." Prof Ferdinando Rodriguez y Baena Co-Director, Hamlyn Centre

Alongside this, he is the Mechanical Engineering Postgraduate Tutor and the co-chair of the Mechanical Engineering Equality, Diversity and Departmental Culture Committee. He is a founding member and the current Speaker of the Imperial College Robotics Forum, now the first point of contact for roboticists at Imperial College.

His 20-strong team of staff and PhD students has a translational focus, though their work encompasses both “blue skies” research and “near-to-market” development. He is the Chair of the Programme Committee for the International Society for Computer Assisted Orthopaedic Surgery (CAOS International), CAOS UK, and the Hamlyn Symposium. 

He is also the founding Chair of the IET’s recently established Communities Committee for Technical Networks (CC TN), a Leverhulme Prize winner (engineering), a former ERC grant holder, and the coordinator of an €8.3M European project on robotic-assisted neurosurgical drug delivery (EDEN2020). He has published over 160 papers and secured in excess of £12M in research funding to date

Stimulating research

Working jointly with Professor the Lord Ara Darzi, Professor Ferdinando Rodriguez y Baena plans on developing a new strategic plan for the Hamlyn Centre, implementing initiatives that will stimulate new research and teaching areas to ensure the sustainability and development of existing and emerging research strengths of the centre.

Commenting on his appointment, Professor Rodriguez y Baena said: "I am absolutely thrilled to take the role. The Hamlyn Centre has a world-recognised brand, with infrastructure, equipment, and track record which are second to none. It also hosts high calibre academics, researchers and operational staff that give the centre momentum and drive, and whom I feel privileged to work with in pursuit of bigger and better things to come.”

"Ferdinando is a strong enthusiast for collaborative team culture and is the perfect person to realise the immense opportunities ahead." Professor Mike Lowe Head of Imperial's Department of Mechanical Engineering

Professor Mike Lowe, Head of Department of Mechanical Engineering said: "I am delighted that Professor Ferdinando Rodriguez y Baena has been appointed as Co-Director of the Hamlyn Centre. Ferdinando will share his time as a continuing senior member of the Department of Mechanical Engineering with his new leadership post in the Hamlyn Centre. The Centre has a natural fit with engineering research in several departments of the Faculty of Engineering, including with medical robotics in Mechanical Engineering, together with the Faculty of Medicine. Ferdinando is a strong enthusiast for collaborative team culture and is the perfect person to realise the immense opportunities ahead."

Professor Nigel Brandon, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering also said "I congratulate Professor Ferdinando Rodriguez y Baena on his appointment as Co-Director of the Hamlyn Centre. Ferdinando has done an outstanding job for the past year as acting Co-Director, and this appointment recognises the research and leadership strengths he brings to the role. Furthermore, it reinforces the importance and value of the Hamlyn Centre itself, bringing together Engineering and Medicine to establish new research and education programmes in this critical area."

Joint Co-Director of the Hamlyn Centre, Professor The Lord Ara Darzi commented: "I am delighted with the appointment of Professor Rodriguez y Baena as Co-Director of the Hamlyn Centre, and look forward to working in partnership spearheading new technological innovation and clinical translation, to directly benefit patients and deliver global impact. Ferdinando has a fantastic track record and brings a wealth of experience and research expertise to bear in helping to shape the exciting future direction of the Centre."

About the Hamlyn Centre

The Hamlyn Centre was established for developing safe, effective and accessible imaging, sensing and robotics technologies that can reshape the future of healthcare for both developing and developed countries. The multidisciplinary Centre, part of the Institute of Global Health Innovation, is supported by two stake-holding departments, Mechanical Engineering and Surgery and Cancer. The Centre is based at three sites (South Kensington, St Mary’s Hospital and the Griffin institute).