Oveis Pourmehran

Dr Oveis Pourmehran

Grant-Funded Researcher (A)

Adelaide Medical School

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.


Oveis Pourmehran began his research journey in targeted drug delivery during his Master's program (2013-2015), where he developed several computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models to simulate magnetic drug targeting, thereby enhancing drug delivery efficiency in the human lungs.

In 2017, Oveis joined the University of Adelaide (Australia) as a Ph.D. candidate and completed his thesis titled "Understanding the flow behaviour in human maxillary sinuses for drug delivery applications" at the School of Mechanical Engineering in 2021. His Ph.D. research contributed to the advancement of a tailored acoustic wave technique for drug delivery to human sinuses. In this groundbreaking work, he developed a high-fidelity direct computational aero-acoustic model to investigate the effect of acoustic waves on drug delivery to human maxillary sinuses, providing new insights into the acoustic drug delivery technique. His experiments demonstrated the potential of this technique to increase drug delivery efficiency by more than 45 times compared to conventional nebulized drug delivery methods.

Since June 2021, Oveis has been a postdoctoral research fellow at the Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Adelaide Medical School, University of Adelaide, where he established a Biomechanics Research Node (ENT-BioMech) to develop innovative drug delivery methods and devices for enhancing treatment efficiency in human upper airway diseases. Collaborating with leading researchers and scientists from the ENT research group at the medical school and researchers at the School of Mechanical Engineering, he has been awarded several research grants totaling over $2 million (2022-2025) as a chief investigator to develop cutting-edge techniques and devices for drug delivery to the upper airways and sinuses for CF and CRS treatment.

Media appearances:
https://set.adelaide.edu.au/news/list/2022/02/18/mechanical-engineering-phd-concept-developed-for-use-in-medical-clinical
https://www.schoolandcollegelistings.com/AU/Adelaide/321219921227571/Basil-Hetzel-Institute-for-Translational-Health-Research

As a multidisciplinary research team, the ENT surgery group, led by Prof. Peter-John Wormald, has recently established a Biomedical Engineering research node under the supervision of Oveis Pourmehran. The research node aims to develop innovative drug delivery methods and devices to improve treatment efficiency for upper airway diseases.

The following research topics are available for Ph.D. applicants, HDR, Honours, and 3rd-year students in 2022:

  1. Acoustic drug delivery to paranasal sinuses (Supervisory panel: Dr Pourmehran, Prof Wormald, Prof Psaltis)

2. Development of a mesh nebulizer for improved sinus drug delivery (Supervisory panel: Dr Pourmehran, Prof Wormald, Prof Psaltis)

3. Virtual endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) followed by airflow analysis and particle tracking in the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses (Supervisory panel: Prof Wormald, Prof Psaltis, Dr Pourmehran)

4. Magnetic and electric-charged particle (drug) delivery to human lung and paranasal sinuses (Supervisory panel: Dr Pourmehran, Prof Vreugde)

Other Projects :

1.  Evaluating Nasal Irrigation Flow Dynamics and Eustachian Tube Involvement: A Computational Fluid Dynamics Approach

2.  Designing Focused Magnetic Field Systems for Targeted Nasal Cavity Drug Delivery: A Strategy for Frontal and Maxillary Sinuses

3.  Sinus Drug Delivery Assessment: 3D Models, FITC, and SPECT Imaging

4.  Optimising Microfluidic Methods for Realistic In-vitro Assessment of Sinus Drug Delivery Efficiency

    These research projects employ various techniques and skills, including computational fluid dynamics (CFD), particle tracking using DPM-CFD, finite element analysis (FEA), signal processing (acoustics), computer-aided design (CAD) modeling, CT-scan reconstruction (using 3D Slicer and other potential software), and cutting-edge 3D printing technology (such as FUSETEC).

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    • Appointments

      Date Position Institution name
      2021 - ongoing Postdoctoral Research Fellow The University of Adelaide
      2017 - 2021 PhD candidate The University of Adelaide
    • Awards and Achievements

      Date Type Title Institution Name Country Amount
      2023 Scholarship 2023 THRFG BHI Conference and Travel Grant The Hospital Research Foundation Group Australia -
      2021 Award Dean's Commendation for Doctoral Thesis Excellence The University of Adelaide Australia -
      2020 Award ECMS High-Impact publication in the sector of "Health Solutions" The University of Adelaide Australia -
      2020 Award Frank Perry Travelling Scholarship in Engineering The University of Adelaide Australia -
      2017 Scholarship Beacon of Enlightenment PhD Scholarship The University of Adelaide Australia -
      2015 Award Distinguished Graduated Student National Elite Foundation Iran, Islamic Republic of -
    • Education

      Date Institution name Country Title
      2017 - 2021 The University of Adelaide Australia PhD
      2013 - 2015 Babol Noshirvani University of Technology Iran M.Sc
    • Certifications

      Date Title Institution name Country
      2019 ANSYS Fluids Academic Training at University of Adelaide LEAP Australia Pty Ltd Leading Engineering Application Providers Australia
      2018 2 Day FEA and CFD ANSYS Academic Training at the University of Adelaide LEAP Australia Pty Ltd Leading Engineering Application Providers Australia
    • Research Interests

    • Journals

      Year Citation
      2023 Farnoud, A., Tofighian, H., Baumann, I., Ahookhosh, K., Pourmehran, O., Cui, X., . . . Schmid, O. (2023). Numerical and Machine Learning Analysis of the Parameters Affecting the Regionally Delivered Nasal Dose of Nano- and Micro-Sized Aerosolized Drugs. Pharmaceuticals, 16(1), 14 pages.
      DOI Scopus1
      2023 Pourmehran, O., Zarei, K., Pourchez, J., Vreugde, S., Psaltis, A., & Wormald, P. J. (2023). Advancements in acoustic drug delivery for paranasal sinuses: A comprehensive review. International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 644, 123277.
      DOI
      2022 Pourmehran, O., Cazzolato, B., Tian, Z., & Arjomandi, M. (2022). The effect of inlet flow profile and nozzle diameter on drug delivery to the maxillary sinus.. Biomech Model Mechanobiol, 21(3), 849-870.
      DOI Scopus5 WoS4 Europe PMC1
      2021 Pourmehran, O., Arjomandi, M., Cazzolato, B., Tian, Z., Vreugde, S., Javadiyan, S., . . . Wormald, P. -J. (2021). Acoustic drug delivery to the maxillary sinus.. Int J Pharm, 606, 1-15.
      DOI Scopus14 WoS11 Europe PMC6
      2021 Islam, M. S., Larpruenrudee, P., Saha, S. C., Pourmehran, O., Paul, A. R., Gemci, T., . . . Gu, Y. (2021). How severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 aerosol propagates through the age-specific upper airways. Physics of Fluids, 33(8), 081911-1-081911-13.
      DOI Scopus20 WoS18 Europe PMC5
      2021 Taheri, M. H., Pourmehran, O., Sarafraz, M. M., Ahookhosh, K., Farnoud, A., & Cui, X. (2021). Effect of swirling flow and particle-release pattern on drug delivery to human tracheobronchial airways. Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology, 20(6), 2451-2469.
      DOI Scopus11 WoS10 Europe PMC6
      2020 Sarafraz, M. M., Pourmehran, O., Yang, B., Arjomandi, M., & Ellahi, R. (2020). Pool boiling heat transfer characteristics of iron oxide nano-suspension under constant magnetic field. International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 147, 106131.
      DOI Scopus114 WoS112
      2020 Ahookhosh, K., Pourmehran, O., Aminfar, H., Mohammadpourfard, M., Sarafraz, M. M., & Hamishehkar, H. (2020). Development of Human Respiratory Airway Models: A Review.. European journal of pharmaceutical sciences : official journal of the European Federation for Pharmaceutical Sciences, 145, 1-22.
      DOI Scopus43 WoS39 Europe PMC8
      2020 Arya, H., Sarafraz, M. M., Pourmehran, O., & Arjomandi, M. (2020). Performance index improvement of a double-pipe cooler with MgO/water-ethylene glycol (50:50) nano-suspension. Propulsion and Power Research, 9(1), 75-86.
      DOI Scopus8 WoS6
      2020 Pourmehran, O., Cazzolato, B., Tian, Z., & Arjomandi, M. (2020). Acoustically-driven drug delivery to maxillary sinuses: aero-acoustic analysis. European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 151, 1-14.
      DOI Scopus17 WoS16 Europe PMC7
      2019 Arya, H., Sarafraz, M. M., Pourmehran, O., & Arjomandi, M. (2019). Heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of MgO nanofluid in a double pipe heat exchanger. Heat and Mass Transfer, 55(6), 1769-1781.
      DOI Scopus33 WoS26
      2019 Sarafraz, M., Pourmehran, O., Yang, B., & Arjomandi, M. (2019). Assessment of the thermal performance of a thermosyphon heat pipe using zirconia-acetone nanofluids. Renewable Energy, 136, 884-895.
      DOI Scopus106 WoS97
      2019 Sarafraz, M., Yang, B., Pourmehran, O., Arjomandi, M., & Ghomashchi, R. (2019). Fluid and heat transfer characteristics of aqueous graphene nanoplatelet (GNP) nanofluid in a microchannel. International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer, 107, 24-33.
      DOI Scopus82 WoS71
      2019 Sarafraz, M. M., Silakhori, M., Madani, S. A., Kiamahalleh, M. V., & Pourmehran, O. (2019). Thermal and hydraulic performance of a heat exchanger working with carbon-water nanofluid. Heat and Mass Transfer/Waerme- und Stoffuebertragung, 55(12), 3443-3453.
      DOI Scopus7 WoS7
      2019 Pourmehran, O., Arjomandi, M., Cazzolato, B., Ghanadi, F., & Tian, Z. (2019). The impact of geometrical parameters on acoustically driven drug delivery to maxillary sinuses.. Biomech Model Mechanobiol, 19(2), 557-575.
      DOI Scopus15 WoS13 Europe PMC3
      2018 Tabassum, R., Mehmood, R., Pourmehran, O., Akbar, N. S., & Gorji-Bandpy, M. (2018). Impact of viscosity variation on oblique flow of Cu–H2O nanofluid. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part E: Journal of Process Mechanical Engineering, 232(5), 622-631.
      DOI Scopus28 WoS22
      2018 Mehmood, R., Tabassum, R., Pourmehran, O., & Ganji, D. D. (2018). Crosswise stream of hydrogen-oxide (H2O) through a porous media containing copper nanoparticles. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 43(15), 7562-7569.
      DOI Scopus15 WoS15
      2018 Pourmehran, O., Sarafraz, M., Rahimi-Gorji, M., & Ganji, D. (2018). Rheological behaviour of various metal-based nano-fluids between rotating discs: a new insight. Journal of the Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers, 88, 37-48.
      DOI Scopus64 WoS61
      2018 Sarafraz, M., Pourmehran, O., Nikkhah, V., & Arya, A. (2018). Pool boiling heat transfer to zinc oxide-ethylene glycol nano-suspension near the critical heat flux. Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology, 32(5), 2309-2315.
      DOI Scopus10 WoS7
      2018 Tabasum, R., Mehmood, R., & Pourmehran, O. (2018). Velocity slip in mixed convective oblique transport of titanium oxide/water (nano-polymer) with temperature-dependent viscosity. European Physical Journal Plus, 133(9), 1-12.
      DOI Scopus11 WoS12
      2018 Mohammadian, M., Pourmehran, O., & Ju, P. (2018). An Iterative Approach to Obtaining the Nonlinear Frequency of a Conservative Oscillator with Strong Nonlinearities. International Applied Mechanics, 54(4), 470-479.
      DOI Scopus9
      2017 Pourmehran, O., Rahimi-Gorji, M., & Ganji, D. D. (2017). ANALYSIS OF NANOFLUID FLOW IN A POROUS MEDIA ROTATING SYSTEM BETWEEN TWO PERMEABLE SHEETS CONSIDERING THERMOPHORETIC AND BROWNIAN MOTION. THERMAL SCIENCE, 21(6B), 3063-3073.
      DOI WoS15
      2017 Biglarian, M., Rahimi Gorji, M., Pourmehran, O., & Domairry, G. (2017). H<inf>2</inf>O based different nanofluids with unsteady condition and an external magnetic field on permeable channel heat transfer. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 42(34), 22005-22014.
      DOI Scopus58 WoS61
      2017 Yousefi, M., Pourmehran, O., Gorji-Bandpy, M., Inthavong, K., Yeo, L., & Tu, J. (2017). CFD simulation of aerosol delivery to a human lung via surface acoustic wave nebulization. Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology, 16(6), 2035-2050.
      DOI Scopus54 WoS53 Europe PMC13
      2017 Mosayebidorcheh, S., Rahimi-Gorji, M., Ganji, D. D., Moayebidorcheh, T., Pourmehran, O., & Biglarian, M. (2017). Transient thermal behavior of radial fins of rectangular, triangular and hyperbolic profiles with temperature-dependent properties using DTM-FDM. Journal of Central South University, 24(3), 675-682.
      DOI Scopus47 WoS44
      2016 Pourmehran, O., Rahimi-Gorji, M., & Ganji, D. D. (2016). Heat transfer and flow analysis of nanofluid flow induced by a stretching sheet in the presence of an external magnetic field. Journal of the Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers, 65, 162-171.
      DOI Scopus82 WoS72
      2016 Pourmehran, O., Gorji, T. B., & Gorji-Bandpy, M. (2016). Magnetic drug targeting through a realistic model of human tracheobronchial airways using computational fluid and particle dynamics. Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology, 15(5), 1355-1374.
      DOI Scopus83 WoS69 Europe PMC17
      2016 Rahimi-Gorji, M., Pourmehran, O., Gorji-Bandpy, M., & Ganji, D. D. (2016). Unsteady squeezing nanofluid simulation and investigation of its effect on important heat transfer parameters in presence of magnetic field. Journal of the Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers, 67, 467-475.
      DOI Scopus99 WoS93
      2015 Pourmehran, O., Rahimi-Gorji, M., Hatami, M., Sahebi, S. A. R., & Domairry, G. (2015). Numerical optimization of microchannel heat sink (MCHS) performance cooled by KKL based nanofluids in saturated porous medium. Journal of the Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers, 55, 49-68.
      DOI Scopus142 WoS128
      2015 Pourmehran, O., Rahimi-Gorji, M., Gorji-Bandpy, M., & Gorji, T. B. (2015). Simulation of magnetic drug targeting through tracheobronchial airways in the presence of an external non-uniform magnetic field using Lagrangian magnetic particle tracking. Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, 393, 380-393.
      DOI Scopus83 WoS73
      2015 Rahimi-Gorji, M., Pourmehran, O., Gorji-Bandpy, M., & Gorji, T. B. (2015). CFD simulation of airflow behavior and particle transport and deposition in different breathing conditions through the realistic model of human airways. Journal of Molecular Liquids, 209, 121-133.
      DOI Scopus149 WoS136
      2015 Rahimi-Gorji, M., Pourmehran, O., Hatami, M., & Ganji, D. D. (2015). Statistical optimization of microchannel heat sink (MCHS) geometry cooled by different nanofluids using RSM analysis. European Physical Journal Plus, 130(2), 1-21.
      DOI Scopus162 WoS148
      2015 Pourmehran, O., Rahimi-Gorji, M., Gorji-Bandpy, M., & Baou, M. (2015). Comparison between the volumetric flow rate and pressure distribution for different kinds of sliding thrust bearing. Propulsion and Power Research, 4(2), 84-90.
      DOI Scopus26
      2015 Tavana, M., Pourmehran, O., Aghaei Khasraghei, A., Gorji-Bandpy, M., & Alipour Sangarab, J. (2015). Numerical analysis of fluid flow and heat transfer in microchannels with various internal fins. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence and Mechatronics, 3(4), 227-230.
    • Conference Papers

      Year Citation
      2020 Pourmehran, O., Cazzolato, B., Tian, Z., & Arjomandi, M. (2020). Acoustic Behaviour of the Human Maxillary Sinus: The Importance of the Middle Meatus and the Ostium on Resonance Frequency Behaviour. In AIP (American Institute of Physics) Conference Proceedings Vol. 2425. online: AIP.
      DOI Scopus1
      2020 Pourmehran, O., Arjomandi, M., Cazzolato, B., & Tian, Z. (2020). Effect of Particle Diameter and Density on Acoustic Drug Delivery to Maxillary Sinus – a Sensitivity Study. In Proceedings of the 22nd Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference AFMC2020 (pp. 1-4). online: The University of Queensland.
      DOI

    2022-2025: NHMRC Medical Research Future Fund (#2014977), 'The AIRSPACE Trial: AntI-MRSA PhAge Cocktail treatment via Acoustic Enhanced Nebulisers', (CIs: Wormald, Vreudge, Psaltis, Morales, Pourmehran, Cazzolato, Arjomandi, Louise, Schubert). Role: Chief Investigator E ($1,712,000).

    2022-2025: Passe & Williams FoundationConjoint Grant, 'Acoustic Drug Delivery for CRS Treatment', (CIs: Wormald, Pourmehran). Role: Chief Investigator B ($375,000).

    Fluid Mechanics I

    Fluid Mechanics II

    • Committee Memberships

      Date Role Committee Institution Country
      2023 - 2023 Chair SESSION #2: CLINICAL APPLICATIONS IN THE NOSE & AIRWAY SCONA2023; 15th Asia Oceania ORL-HNS Congress Australia
    • Memberships

      Date Role Membership Country
      2022 - ongoing Member Passe and Williams Foundation Australia
      2021 - ongoing Member Early- and Mid-Career Researchers, Australian Academy of Science Australia
      2020 - ongoing Member Australasian Fluid Mechanics Society Australia
      2018 - ongoing Member Acoustics Vibration and Control (AVC) Group Australia
    • Editorial Boards

      Date Role Editorial Board Name Institution Country
      2023 - ongoing Editor NANO AND MEDICAL MATERIALS NANO AND MEDICAL MATERIALS Singapore
      2021 - ongoing Editor Special Issue "Recent Advances on Acoustic, Ultrasonic, and Magnetic Drug Delivery" (IF 5.215) MDPI Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute Switzerland
    • Event Participation

      Date Event Name Event Type Institution Country
      2022 - 2022 ANFF-SA Microengineering School Workshop Australian National Fabrication Facility Australia
      2018 - 2018 MATLAB Academic Conference in Adelaide Conference MathWorks -
    • Presentation

      Date Topic Presented at Institution Country
      2023 - ongoing CFD simulation of nasal irrigation and nebulisation for drug delivery to post operative sinuses Basil Hetzel Institute for Translational Health Research (BHI) Central Adelaide Local Health Network, Adelaide, Australia Australia
      2023 - 2023 Comparison of Squeeze Bottle and Nebuliser in Sinus Drug Delivery: A Computational Modelling SCONA2023 in conjunction with Asia Oceania ORL-HNS Congress 2023 Translational Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia Australia
    • Review, Assessment, Editorial and Advice

      Date Title Type Institution Country
      2023 - ongoing AAPG Generic call - 2023 Grant Assessment French National Research Agency (ANR) AAPG 2023 France
      2022 - 2022 PRACE 24th Call for Proposals for Project Access Grant Assessment Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe (PRACE) Belgium
    • Position: Grant-Funded Researcher (A)
    • Phone: 0881334002
    • Email: oveis.pourmehran@adelaide.edu.au
    • Campus: North Terrace
    • Building: TQEH- Basil Hetzel Institute
    • Org Unit: Surgical Specialities

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