Summary
I am a British Heart Foundation (BHF) Centre of Excellence PhD student in the National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI) at Imperial. My research uses cutting edge organ-on-a-chip technology to provide an alternative approach to traditional cell culture.
During my MRes, I developed a pulmonary artery-on-a-chip platform, for which I was awarded the Dean’s Prize for Respiratory and Cardiovascular Science. My PhD studies, under the guidance of Dr Beata Wojciak-Stothard, Professor Joshua Edel and Professor Martin Wilkins, explore the application of the pulmonary artery-on-a-chip to pulmonary arterial hypertension, with the ultimate aim of providing a pre-clinical testing tool to assist with discovery and validation of novel therapies and to reduce the burden of animal testing. Before my BHF MRes/PhD scholarship I completed my BSc in Biomedical Science at the University of Hull and my MSc in Molecular Medicine at Imperial.
I am an active member of the London Vascular Biology Forum (LVBF) and the UK Organ-on-a-chip technologies network. I am also passionate about public engagement and science communication, with my research being featured at the Imperial Festival, Pint of Science and in conjunction with the BHF at the Great Exhibition Road Festival and Cheltenham Science Festival.
I host my own podcast called Making A Scientist which explores the life and research of prominent scientists from academia, industry and beyond - providing a platform to communicate the advice that they wish they had received as an early career researcher and discussing the thought processes behind the decisions they made.
In 2020 I was given the Imperial College Student Award for Outstanding Achievement and in 2021 I was awarded the Imperial College Provosts Award for Excellence in Animal Research in the 3Rs category (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement).
Publications
Journals
Hislop A, Ainscough A, Wojciak-Stothard B, 2020, Endothelial Cells and Endothelium, Encyclopedia of Respiratory Medicine
Sindi HA, Russomanno G, Satta S, et al., 2020, Therapeutic potential of KLF2-induced exosomal microRNAs in pulmonary hypertension (vol 33, pg 631, 2020), Nature Communications, Vol:11, ISSN:2041-1723, Pages:1-1
Sindi H, Russomanno G, Satta S, et al., 2020, Therapeutic potential of KLF2 induced exosomal microRNAs in pulmonary hypertension, Nature Communications, Vol:11, ISSN:2041-1723
Paulose Nadappuram B, Cadinu P, Barik A, et al., 2019, Nanoscale tweezers for single-cell biopsies, Nature Nanotechnology, Vol:14, ISSN:1748-3387, Pages:80-88
Aldabbous L, Abdul-Salam V, McKinnon T, et al., 2016, Neutrophil Extracellular Traps Promote Angiogenesis: Evidence From Vascular Pathology in Pulmonary Hypertension., Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, Vol:36, ISSN:1079-5642, Pages:2078-2087