Alessandra’s PhD is supported by the Isambard Research Scholarship

“I’m a second year PhD student at Brunel Institute for Bioengineering (BIB) and I’m carrying out my research in the biofluidmechanics group.  I did my bachelor and master degrees in Biomedical Engineering in Italy and after that I decided to do the PhD at Brunel because I was very interested in the research projects offered by BIB.  The Isambard scholarship allows me to attend conferences related to my research field.  This year I am the PhD student representative of BIB and this allows me to be more aware of student problems.  After the PhD I would like to go on with my research doing a Postdoc in the UK or abroad.”

Samantha is in her final year of a CASE studentship PhD funded by Lonza biologics. 

“I completed my first degree in medical Biology at Brunel.  I choose this course due to its variety of human biology modules and placement opportunities. As part of my four-year course I completed a one year thick sandwich placement at Northwick Park Hospital in the Virology laboratory. 

On graduating I took up a research assistant position at the Bioproducts Laboratory (BPL) in Elstree.  The placement year offered by Brunel provided me with priceless experience that was a real selling point to an industrial company.  This position entailed working on virus inactivation studies for a number of biotherapeutics to GLP (Good Laboratory Practice) for international regulatory body licensing (FDA and MHRA). After three years working on a variety of demanding projects I felt a PhD was needed to further my career.  I am currently in my final year of a CASE studentship PhD at BIB funded by Lonza biologics.  The experience I have gained has been invaluable to my future career. The combination of an industrial sponsor and an academic background offered by BIB has allowed me to gain the benefit of both sectors, making my PhD extremely focused and structured, industry application driven and also greatly enjoyable.”

Warren is in his fourth year of a part-time PhD

“I am a part‑time PhD student and full‑time ultrasonographer at Hillingdon general hospital.  My research interest is in the non‑invasive assessment of vascular disease, basically trying to improve the routine ultrasound examination which I conduct within the NHS.  I am presently working on motion analysis of the arterial wall.  This dynamic capability could provide useful information about the mechanical properties of the vessel wall.  The close collaboration between Hillingdon Hospital and Brunel University has provided excellent opportunities for this research.”