Dr Nikhilesh Bappoo (GAICD, PhD, MPE, BPhil Hons) is Co-Founder and Director at lubdub.ai, a Perth-based MedTech startup pioneering accessible cardiovascular diagnostics through AI-driven wearable technology. He is a healthtech innovator and company director specialising in cardiovascular research and medical device commercialisation.

Originally from Mauritius, Dr Bappoo relocated to Western Australia in 2011 and completed his PhD in Biomedical Engineering at UWA and the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, where he specialised in vascular engineering. He also gained international experience working with Materialise, a global leader in medical 3D printing.

Dr Bappoo won the 2025 Prime Minister's Prize for New Innovators, recognising his leadership in translating research into real-world health solutions that advance equity and accessibility in healthcare. He is driven by a vision of a world where no life is lost because healthcare was too complex or out of reach.

In addition to lubdub.ai, Dr Bappoo co-founded VeinTech, a WA-based medtech company where he serves as CEO, having invented a handheld imaging device that improves success rates in intravenous cannulation. He is also a committee member of Life Sciences WA and runs a non-profit connecting Perth's medical innovation community.

Lubdub received $436,900 in state government funding and $100,000 in seed funding from the Heart Foundation as a Top 10 Catalyst Partner, and its 'heart health in a box' platform enables hospital-grade cardiac diagnostics from home without specialist visits.