Academic directory

Our people

Consultant physicians, clinical research fellows, bioengineers, and operations management based at the Sir Michael Uren Hub.

Academic leadership and senior faculty

Prof Michael Fertleman
Group Lead • Principal Investigator

Professor of Practice, Department of Bioengineering; Consultant Physician in Acute & Geriatric Medicine, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (St Mary’s & Charing Cross Hospitals).

Research focus: National leadership — Chairman of the Specialist Advisory Committee (SAC) for Geriatric Medicine, overseeing training curricula for over 800 geriatric specialty registrars across the UK.
Email Prof Michael FertlemanView Imperial profile →
Dr Louis John Koizia
Senior Clinical Researcher

Visiting Researcher, Department of Bioengineering; Consultant Geriatrician & Physician, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. PhD Candidate (Writing Up) in big data fracture modelling.

Research focus: Orthogeriatrics, acute fragility fractures, perioperative surgical pathways, post-operative rehabilitation, and medical education.
Email Dr Louis John KoiziaView Imperial profile →
Prof Benjamin Harris
Visiting Academic Researcher

Visiting Researcher, Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London.

Research focus: Health systems innovation, cross-disciplinary engineering partnerships, and surgical pathway redesign.
Contact via department (s.brier@imperial.ac.uk)View Imperial profile →

Postdoctoral research fellows

Dr Chris Pereira
Postdoctoral Research Fellow

MD(Res), 2023 (Department of Bioengineering). Investigating blood and CSF in the perioperative period using NMR and MS techniques.

Research focus: Post-surgical metabolomics — pathway profiling of systemic inflammation and cellular bioenergetics after major trauma.
More detail
Investigating systemic inflammatory cascades and cellular bioenergetics in blood and CSF samples following major acute surgical trauma using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectrometry (MS).

Analytical technologies: High-field NMR spectroscopy and LC-MS metabolomic fingerprinting; blood-brain barrier permeability profiling; cellular mitochondrial respiration & bioenergetic resilience.
Email Dr Chris Pereira
MP
Dr Megan Parkinson
Postdoctoral Research Fellow

MD(Res), 2025. Monitoring the effects of traumatic brain injury in older adults using a remote home monitoring system.

Research focus: Remote functional telemetry — wearable motion accelerometry and remote sensor analytics in post-discharge monitoring.
More detail
Developing and evaluating continuous remote sensor systems to monitor functional recovery, circadian mobility patterns, and physical resilience in older patients recovering from traumatic brain injury.

Telemetry platforms: Continuous wearable motion accelerometry and sensor analytics; digital biomarker tracking in acute home recovery settings.
Email Dr Megan Parkinson
AS
Dr Alvin Shrestha
Postdoctoral Research Fellow

MD(Res) Candidate (Awaiting Viva). Investigating frailty and cellular vulnerability from oxidative stress during hip replacement surgery.

Research focus: Joint arthroplasty and cognition — integrated gait and kinesiology analysis linked to pre- and post-operative neurocognitive metrics.
More detail
Investigating the intersection of joint replacement surgery, systemic oxidative stress, and long-term neurocognitive resilience in frail older surgical candidates.

Investigation methods: Kinematic gait analysis and instrumented ground force plates; serum oxidative stress markers and antioxidant capacity assays; pre- and post-operative computerized neurocognitive battery testing.
Email Dr Alvin Shrestha

Research postgraduates and doctoral students

Dr Chirag Haria
Research Postgraduate & Doctoral Student

Assessing the feasibility of an in-ear EEG device to measure brain activity from the ear by comparing it to gold standard scalp EEG.

Research focus: In-ear EEG telemetry & ambulatory brain monitoring — continuous discrete ear-electrode EEG to provide comfortable, portable brain activity monitoring from laboratory environments to clinical practice.
More detail
Testing how accurately an in-ear EEG device records brain activity using sensors positioned within the ear, versus scalp electrodes.

Key protocols: in-ear physiological sensing and electrode impedance validation; direct comparative validation against gold-standard scalp EEG; user-centred clinical feasibility and long-term wearability trials.
Email Dr Chirag Haria
Dr Catherine van’t Hoff
Research Postgraduate & Doctoral Student

Investigating biochemical, biomechanical, and radiographic recovery trajectories in older adults undergoing elective total hip arthroplasty (THA).

Research focus: Total hip arthroplasty recovery, frailty & sarcopenia — inflammatory profiling, functional gait lab biomechanics, and 3T MRI muscle segmentation.
More detail
Characterising circulating inflammatory mediators, functional gait measurements, and imaging parameters around total hip arthroplasty preoperatively and 6-months postoperatively.

Biomarkers & methods: IL-10, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, plasma CRP, GDF-8; Timed Up and Go (TUG) and Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB); 3T MRI volumetric muscle segmentation.
Email Dr Catherine van't Hoff
Dr Win Khine
Research Postgraduate & Doctoral Student

MD(Res) Candidate (Writing Up). Investigating paired CSF and blood metabolomic alterations during transcatheter aortic valve procedures.

Research focus: Metabolomics of delirium — pre- and post-operative mass spectrometry metabolomic profiling for cognitive decline risk.
More detail
Investigating paired biofluid alterations (cerebrospinal fluid and systemic blood) in patients undergoing structural cardiac procedures to identify molecular biomarkers that predict postoperative delirium.
Email Dr Win Khine
Dr Max Sayers
Research Postgraduate & Doctoral Student

Evaluating frailty, sarcopenia, and related geriatric syndromes in older adults undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI).

Research focus: Sarcopenia, frailty & TAVI clinical outcomes — psoas muscle CT morphometry, frailty scoring, and joint perioperative cardiology care.
More detail
RESTORE-TAVI Pilot: evaluating a cardiologist-delivered multidomain geriatric intervention in transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

CT sarcopenia morphometry: psoas muscle cross-sectional area and radiological density assessing physiological reserve.
Email Dr Max Sayers
JM
Dr Jane Manning
Research Postgraduate & Doctoral Student

MD(Res) Candidate (Writing Up). Investigating autonomic tone analysis and systemic stress biomarkers following structural cardiac interventions.

Research focus: Biomarkers post-cardiac intervention — physiological reserve and deterioration predictors following TAVI.
More detail
Evaluating cardiac autonomic regulation, heart rate variability metrics, and systemic inflammatory stress markers in older adults following catheter-based aortic valve interventions.
Email Dr Jane Manning
Tricia Tay
Research Postgraduate & Doctoral Student

Tricia’s PhD is titled ‘The engagement with and impact of digitally-enabled interventions on mitigating unhealthy ageing among community-dwelling older adults’.

Research focus: Digital health & healthy ageing — engagement with and real-world impact of digitally-enabled interventions combining qualitative research, co-design, clinical trials, and wet-lab science to mitigate unhealthy ageing in community-dwelling older adults.
More detail
Tricia is on a mission to reimagine how technology can help older adults live healthier and more independent lives. Her PhD explores the engagement with and real-world impact of digitally-enabled interventions in tackling unhealthy ageing among community-dwelling older adults, combining qualitative research, pilot and co-design studies, clinical trials, and wet-lab science to bridge the gap between lived experience and biological evidence.

Her work sits at the intersection of digital health, ageing, and bioengineering, with the goal of turning ubiquitous digital technologies into practical tools for healthier ageing in the community.
Email via Group Admin (Mrs Shelley Brier)

Bioengineering student researchers

Mariam Babunashvili
Bioengineering Doctoral Researcher • Resident Doctor

MD(Res) Candidate in Bioengineering. Investigating conservative management of geriatric cervical spine fractures and clinical recovery in octogenarians.

Research focus: Geriatric trauma, spinal immobilisation & acute fracture outcomes — clinical recovery beyond radiological union and functional impact of cervical collars.
More detail
MD(Res) Candidate in Bioengineering and Resident Doctor evaluating conservative management of geriatric trauma, acute cervical spine fractures, and the functional impact of rigid collar immobilisation in octogenarians.

Academic credentials: PgCert in Medical Education (2025); MSc in Affective Disorders (2019); BSc in Psychology (2018).
Email via Group Admin (Mrs Shelley Brier)
Fahmida Alom
Bioengineering Student Researcher

Conducting a 10-participant study comparing semi-automated and manual workflows for creating personalised 3D-printed collars from 3D scan data.

Research focus: 3D-printed cervical collars, medical additive manufacturing & anatomical landmark automation.
More detail
Evaluating patient-specific 3D-printed cervical collars designed via a Python-based semi-automated pipeline utilizing anatomical landmarks to reduce dysphagia, pressure ulcers, and elevated intracranial pressure compared to conventional manual fabrication.
Email via Group Admin (Mrs Shelley Brier)

Operations and academic support

Mrs Shelley Brier
Group Administrator

Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London. Managing academic administration.

Email Mrs Shelley Brier

Interested in joining our research group?

We welcome enquiries from prospective clinical research fellows (ST3 and above holding a UK NTN), bioengineering doctoral students with an Imperial Bioengineering main supervisor, and Imperial Bioengineering undergraduates.

Explore fellowships and admissions →

Founding benefactors and institutional sponsors

José Luis Cutrale visiting White City Campus with Imperial leadership.

José Luis Cutrale (1946–2022) & The Cutrale Family

In 2019, industrialist and philanthropist José Luis Cutrale (CEO of Sucocitrico Cutrale) partnered with Imperial College London to establish a founding philanthropic endowment for perioperative healthcare innovation in older patients. Facilitated through collaboration with Professor Anthony Bull (Director of the School of Convergence Science) and Professor Michael Fertleman (Professor of Practice), this vision created the Cutrale Group within the Sir Michael Uren Hub.

Departmental tribute: Mr Cutrale’s catalytic endowment continues to support cutting-edge bioengineering research, point-of-care medical devices, and specialised clinical research fellowships that safeguard older surgical patients across the NHS.