Summary
I am a PhD student working under the supervision of Dr Toby Athersuch (Imperial College) and Professor Tim Gant (Public Health England). My project aims to identify mechanistically relevant biomarkers for pulmonary responses to traffic pollutants using a combination of standard toxicological assays and omics screens.
During the second year of my PhD I collaborated with Dr Ian Mudway and the Environmental Research Group at King's College, London to complete a mini fellowship. This project was funded externally by the In Vitro Toxicology Society and taught me the fundamentals of particulate toxicology.
In addition to my laboratory work I have enjoyed representing my department in the 3 Minute Thesis competition, presenting my data at conferences and writing articles for medical charities.
Before starting my PhD I completed an MRes in Biomedical Research at Imperial College in September 2013. During these studies I investigated the role of the miR-542 gene family in skeletal muscle wasting under the supervision of Dr Paul Kemp. During a second project I worked with Dr Kieran O'Dea at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital to determine the role of plasma proteins in maintaining the integrity of the pulmonary endothelial glycocalyx.
My undergraduate degree in Biological and Forensic Sciences (Coventry University) provided the opportunity to investigate the potential use of RNA quantification for aging forensic blood samples as a final year project. I also explored the antimicrobial potential of artemesinin analogues and fruit oils during a summer placement with the university’s research team.
Between completing these projects and beginning work with Imperial College I lived in Samos, Greece where I performed preliminary investigations into the adverse effects that agricultural herbicide use may have on the health of residents.