Alumni Stories
GRADS 2026: Maryam Sousani
There’s a moment towards the end of a graduation ceremony, when assembled academics doff their caps to welcome newly minted Doctors of Philosophy. This March, it was especially poignant for 91Ö±²¥ graduate Dr Maryam Sousani – there was joy at joining the fold and celebrating an immense milestone, and pain at not being able to share the moment with her parents, who remain in her homeland of Iran.
“I deeply missed having my parents by my side,” Maryam says. “As you can imagine, this was a lifelong dream for them, especially my dad. But even something as simple as a phone call or sharing photos and videos wasn’t possible.”
Nonetheless, she’s grateful for the love that surrounded her on the day – and throughout her PhD journey – from her husband, Mehran, PhD supervisor Senior Lecturer Dr Maryam Ghahramani from the Faculty of Science and Technology, and her colleague and compatriot, fellow PhD graduate Dr Yasaman Baradaran, among others.
“I’m so lucky,” Maryam says. It’s a sentiment she repeats often, no matter how hard things get – she has her people, and loves the work she’s doing in biomedical engineering.
“One thing I’ve learned: Life keeps moving, and so do we. I’m grateful for the strength this journey has given me, and I promise myself to keep growing, keep trying, and make my family proud.”
Finding meaning on her path
Inspired by her father, Maryam always knew the terrain of her career path.
She spent much of her childhood tinkering under the hood of a car with her dad – a precursor to an undergraduate engineering degree.
“Still, as much as I knew I wanted to be an engineer, I didn’t really know how engineering would help me, or how I could use it to help others,” she says.
That particular lightbulb moment occurred when Maryam was pursuing a master’s in telecommunications engineering, and found her interest shifting to biomedical engineering.
“I realised that I could apply my knowledge in signal processing, engineering and mathematics to really help a group of people – that was a real motivator for my work,” she says.
She set her sights on working with the most complex machine of all – the human brain. Maryam started conceptualising a system that could help treat Parkinson’s disease in a non-invasive way.
A progressive disorder of the nervous system, Parkinson’s symptoms can include problems with movement, tremors, stiffness, and impaired balance.
“Even in my small family, we had relatives who had either already been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, or who had symptoms, like shaking hands,” she says.
Learning about non-invasive electrical stimulation – an umbrella term for therapies or research methods that modify neural activity without requiring surgery, often used in the management of Parkinson’s – she saw the possible intersection with her own work, and scanned the globe to see what other researchers were working on in the space.
“The challenge was to do this work in a country with limited facilities – but I could at least start to work on the topic in Iran,” she says. “Nonetheless, we faced many issues – not being able to conduct tests and work with patients, and not having enough devices to use for our tests. We ended up working with simulations and modelling everything from scratch.”
The reality of leaving home
Maryam knew that in order to effectively continue the work that meant so much to her, she would have to leave Iran.
“I found that Australia had a large number of people living with Parkinson’s disease, and knew I’d be able to work with patients here,” she says.
Close-knit family ties also played a part in her decision – Maryam wanted to be able to travel back to Iran to see her family, ruling out a number of destinations. Ultimately though, it was the chance to work with her primary supervisor at UC that proved the driving factor.
“When I was looking further into work in the space, I came across the research Maryam [Ghahramani] was doing on the gait analysis of people with Parkinson’s disease – she specialises in using machine learning to analyse human motion, with the aim of rehabilitation,” she says.
“She became my primary supervisor, and Associate Professor Raul Fernandez Rojas from the Faculty of Science and Technology, and Associate Professor Elizabeth Preston from the Faculty of Health, became my second and third supervisors respectively.”
When she first got to Australia, Maryam was assailed with doubts.
“Even though I came here with my husband, I still felt lonely,” she says. “I missed my family and wondered if I had done the right thing.
“Then Maryam welcomed me to campus and took me on a tour, and I found myself thinking – yes, this is going to be fun. This feels right. I remember thinking that, in those early days.
“And I remember arriving on campus very early in the morning, when it was just me and the kangaroos.”
Science and grace: ‘Even if it doesn’t help us, it will help the next generation’
For her PhD, Maryam focused on a multimodal system which could measure, assess and record changes in brain activity in people living with Parkinson’s – and conversely, use those measures in disease detection, which is important in diagnosis, management and support.
It is multidisciplinary work that brings together neuroscience, sensing technologies and Artificial Intelligence.
To get the necessary measures of brain activity, Maryam decided to utilise functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), a non-invasive neuroimaging technology that detects changes in blood oxygenation levels using near-infrared light. The wearable tech allowed her to monitor brain function as patients moved and interacted.
To find patients for her study, Maryam connected with the Physiotherapy Parkinson’s Clinic at the UC Health Clinics. The experience was one of profound grace and meaning, and for Maryam, it brought to life the kind of impact her research could have.
For the first year of her PhD, Maryam had been intent on proving herself.
“I was putting a lot of pressure on myself, and I wouldn’t really recommend that [approach]!” she says. “But in the second year, when I started working with Parkinson’s patients, that was when I truly started enjoying the journey.
“They were such great people, so kind and generous and willing to participate in my research, even when it wasn’t always easy for them.
“They said ‘yes – if it could help, we want to be involved. Because even if it doesn’t help us, it will help the next generation’. I was so impressed, and I am grateful that I got to spend time with them.”
Living two lives
Throughout her PhD journey on this side of the world, Maryam was always acutely aware of what was happening back in Iran – especially when widespread protests began in 2022, when Mahsa Amini was killed after being arrested for not wearing hijab.
For Maryam, it was almost like living two lives – her mind was focused on her research; her heart was always with her people, as she constantly looked for ways to show her support.
“Maryam and Yasaman being from the same culture really helped,” she says. “In times like this, you need someone who really understands – and that starts with understanding where you come from in the first place.
“Every time something bad happened, we hugged each other. We went through it all together.
“There were so many worries … but at the same time, I really enjoyed my research. So, there have been many ups and downs on this journey – but I think that helped me grow.”
Taking her research further
When she finished her PhD research, Maryam found herself at yet another starting point.
“I am fortunate to be in a position to continue my research on assessing and monitoring brain activity with fNIRS – this time, in research on children’s hearing with Hearing Australia,” says Maryam.
Hearing Australia provides research and hearing services across the country; Maryam is also a Research Fellow with the affiliated, world-leading National Acoustic Laboratories (NAL).
“Because fNIRS is non-invasive and wearable, it’s ideal to use in paediatric cases,” she says.
“Right now, we’re trying to see if we can detect whether having a hearing aid inserted in a timely manner impacts language development in kids – like, what is the impact of getting one at three months old, vs getting it at six months?”
Maryam is also using an fNIRS device to see how two people’s brains may be in sync when they are communicating with each other.
“We are interested in what this might mean for mother-child communication – and if a child with hearing loss has better interaction with their mother, could that affect language development at a later age?” she says.
It’s fascinating work. And while it may be a different field of research to her PhD focus, Maryam’s baseline research – and life – goals remain solid.
“That same purpose – that inspired me to leave home and come to Australia – remains,” Maryam says. “It’s about helping people, making their lives better, regardless of population.”
Words by Suzanne Lazaroo, photos by David Barber.
Congratulations to all our graduates this March and welcome to the UC alumni community!
Behind each testamur lies a story of aspirations, inspiration, sacrifice and hard work – and our graduates have risen to meet every challenge with spirit, heart, creativity and courage.
We couldn’t be prouder of what they have achieved and the people they are today.
They now embark on a new chapter with the skills and knowledge gained, and the values embedded from their years of study and practice at UC.
Wherever they carve out their paths, we look forward to seeing what they’ll do next on a journey of lifelong learning.