Professor Mark Cook holds the Sir John Eccles Chair of Medicine in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences and is Professor in Biomedical Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, at the University of Melbourne. He serves as Director and Clinical Director of the Graeme Clark Institute for Biomedical Engineering, Director of Neurology at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, and Director of Clinical Neurosciences and Group Leader of the Clinical Neurosciences group at St Vincent’s Hospital, University of Melbourne. Cook earned his MBBS in 1983 and MD in 2000 from the University of Melbourne, along with a PhD from the same university. He completed specialist neurological training in Melbourne and doctoral research at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London. Returning to Melbourne, he built and expanded comprehensive epilepsy services at St Vincent’s Hospital over more than three decades, integrating advanced neuroimaging, neurophysiology, and presurgical evaluation.

Professor Cook is internationally recognised for his expertise in epilepsy, particularly the management of complex and drug-resistant cases. His research focuses on epilepsy modelling, clinical and animal studies of epilepsy and neurological disorders, epidemiological studies, novel therapeutic and diagnostic approaches using biopolymers, seizure monitoring, brain network analysis, circadian and multidien seizure rhythms, and development of implantable and ambulatory EEG systems for seizure detection and forecasting. He led the development and commercialisation of the Epiminder, a sub-scalp implantable device transmitting brain electrical activity for machine learning-based seizure prediction and analysis, implanted in 12 Australian patients. He also pioneered world-first implantable abdominal pumps delivering anti-convulsant drugs to the brain, achieving a 77% reduction in seizure frequency in initial trials. Cook has attracted sustained NHMRC funding, including Project Grants for polymers for anti-epileptic drug delivery (2010-2012, $514,735), non-invasive localisation of epileptic brain activity (2012-2014, $653,270), and an ambulatory epilepsy treatment device (2010-2012, $415,700). He has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals, supervised higher degree students and clinician-scientists, and contributed to senior leadership in academic medicine, professional societies, and medical technology innovation. Awards include appointment as Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2023 and Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (FAHMS).

Professional Email: markcook@unimelb.edu.au