After graduating from durham university (M.Chem, 2.1) I completed my PhD within the Chemical Biology CDT at Imperial College London. My PhD involved developing label-free aptamer-functionalised nanopore biosensors for high value protein biomarkers (thrombin, alpha synuclein oligomers) detection that were both highly sensitive (10 pM) and selective in human serum. During this time, I was a graduate teaching assistant (GTA) for 2nd year undergraduates in organic chemistry and took part in the Imperial College global fellowship scheme, where I undertook a 6-week placement at Tokyo Tech university developing lab techniques involving cell culture, plasmid cloning and protein expression.After my PhD I undertook an RSC-funded internship at NeuDrive, where I looked at developing (bio)sensors based on organic thin film transistors. During this time I developed skills in electrochemistry (cyclic voltammetry, potentiometry) while learning the fundamentals of clean room fabrication (spin-coating, photolithography).I currently work as a researcher at éclateral, a start up based on the Future Space campus where I develop lateral flow assay based diagnostics coupled with an integrated electrochemical readout for Covid-19. In particular, in this role I conduct laboratory based experiments, help generate novel IP through patent writing (WO2022185061A1 Devices and methods for performing lateral flow tests), help lead the technical team, write lab-based standard operating procedures/risk assessments and assist with QMS (FMEA, FTA) as part of ISO 13485 medical device regulation.Key skills developed: • Surface attachment chemistry/bioconjugation • Electrochemical-based detection • Data analysis • Aptamer chemistry • QMS (FMEA, FTA) as part of ISO 13485 medical devices • Nanofabricationab based • Nucleotide chemistry (including biochemical synthesis via transcription and separation via electrophoresis) • Bioanalytical skills (mass spectrometry, HPLC) • Protein aggregation • Cell culture (Plasmid cloning, protein expression) • Synthetic chemistry
