What was your route into your current job?
I have an interdisciplinary background, having studied Bioengineering here in Sheffield. Since then I have worked between the Dental School and Materials Science and Engineering, completing a PhD in tissue engineering, and being employed on three post-doctoral positions and an EPSRC Doctoral Prize Fellowship.
What does your work entail?
My research has focussed on the use and functionalisation of calcium phosphate materials for use in two different purposes: the treatment of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw, and the regeneration of bone tissue. This has involved in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo study, the manufacture, functionalisation and characterisation of biomaterials, microbiology; as well as translational activities such as market analysis and patient engagement.
What were your awards and why did you receive them?
The Medicine, Dentistry and Health Early Career Researcher (ECR) prize is a yearly prize given to four outstanding ECRs within the faculty. I was nominated by my Principal Investigator Prof Cheryl Miller and Co-Investigator Dr Vanessa Hearnden, who both provided statements supporting my application.
The committee was impressed with my work as a whole and the alignment to the University's four pillars. They specifically highlighted my collaboration with industry, which has been an important part of all of the projects I have worked on.
I regularly meet with Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) panels to discuss my research to ensure my work is aligned with the needs of the patients who may eventually receive it. The panel were impressed with this work and my role as an ambassador for the University in these meetings.
In the past year I put together two applications: one for NHS ethics to take patient swabs to increase our work's clinical relevance, and one for university ethics to interview clinicians to improve our clinical understanding. The committee were impressed with this and highlighted this in their feedback.
I was also awarded the Tissue and Cell Engineering Society (TCES) Robert Brown Award for Early Stage Investigators, where the panel noted me as future leader in the tissue engineering field. I was required to submit a CV and personal statement, in which I highlighted the achievements recognised for the ECR prize, alongside my publications, grant successes and the market analysis programme I have recently been involved in.. I was shortlisted to give a talk summarising my research at the annual TCES conference, following which I was selected for the prize on the strength and diversity of my CV as well as the quality and clarity of my presentation.
What do you enjoy about your job?
I really enjoy being able to work on diverse projects involving both laboratory work and more translational activities; such as market research, PPI meetings and industrial collaboration. I get to work with people from a variety of different disciplines in a collaborative environment where I feel my development is seen as important. The variety within my job means I’ve been able to develop a broad range of different skills, and means no two days are ever the same.