I have worked with Dr. Marco Cantini, Prof. Delphine Gourdon and Prof. Massimo Vassalli at the Centre for the Cellular Microenvironment (CeMi). With Marco, we have developed hydrogels with controlled viscoelasticity to harness mechanosensitive chondrogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells. By modifying the hydrogel mechanical and biochemical properties, we aim to generate a novel 3D platform for regeneration of cartilage tissue. With Delphine, my research largely focused on… Show more I have worked with Dr. Marco Cantini, Prof. Delphine Gourdon and Prof. Massimo Vassalli at the Centre for the Cellular Microenvironment (CeMi). With Marco, we have developed hydrogels with controlled viscoelasticity to harness mechanosensitive chondrogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells. By modifying the hydrogel mechanical and biochemical properties, we aim to generate a novel 3D platform for regeneration of cartilage tissue. With Delphine, my research largely focused on understanding breast cancer pathology, particularly involving mechanobiology; I also studied the role of fibronectin conformation on cell response using FRET-labelled fibronectin and biolubrication properties of synovial fluid-mimicking biomaterials.With Massimo, my project involves mechanical and biological characterisation of low molecular weight dipeptide gel filament 'noodles' for applications in muscle tissue regeneration, bacterial living material engineering and wearable sensors.I am involved in the supervision of numerous PhD, Masters, and Bachelors student projects and carry out various lab management duties, such as training of atomic force microscopy. Show less

During my PhD, in the group of Dr. Dani Ungar with co-supervision from Dr. Paul Genever, Dr. Victor Chechik and Dr. Andrew Pratt, I developed temperature-sensitive, magnetic nanoparticles that could release entrapped growth factors following magnetic heating. Released growth factors were shown to be bioactive by observing stem cell response. The developed nanoparticles could be a potential tool to promote tissue regeneration through the novel delivery and triggered release of bioactive… Show more During my PhD, in the group of Dr. Dani Ungar with co-supervision from Dr. Paul Genever, Dr. Victor Chechik and Dr. Andrew Pratt, I developed temperature-sensitive, magnetic nanoparticles that could release entrapped growth factors following magnetic heating. Released growth factors were shown to be bioactive by observing stem cell response. The developed nanoparticles could be a potential tool to promote tissue regeneration through the novel delivery and triggered release of bioactive proteins.I was able to win the KM Scott prize at an interdepartmental Biology symposium for 'Best Second Year Talk' and was involved in the supervision of an MSc student in the Department of Chemistry, working on the synthesis of magnetic nanoparticles for the optimisation of nanoparticle magnetic heating. Show less

During my Masters degree, in the group of Dr. Dani Ungar, I worked on the characterisation of glycosylation mutants in Drosophila melanogaster. This experience allowed me to develop a variety of laboratory skills and techniques, such as SDS-PAGE, western blotting, PCR, yeast-two-hybrid, glycan profiling, MALDI mass spectrometry and fly husbandry.

For my final year dissertation, during my undergraduate degree, I worked on a 3-month lab research project with Dr. Frank Voncken investigating antibiotic resistance in the parasite Trypanosoma brucei, a known cause of sleeping sickness. I was able to gain practical lab experience working on parasitic cell culture, as well as assessing parasite viability to different antibiotics.