Profile

I am a PhD student in biomedical engineering at the University of Birmingham. That means I have spent three years researching the design of spinal implants called Total Disc Replacements. They are used to replace the intervertebral discs of people with severe back pain. The implant is made of a ball and a socket, which rub against each other as the person moves. Over time the surfaces of the implant wear and it needs to be replaced. I am looking into the use of ceramic materials which are likely to wear less in use and therefore extend the life of the implant. I am currently writing my thesis, which is like writing a book as it is 50,000 words long! Once it is finished I will have an exam where two people ask me questions about my research and then decide if I have passed or not. I’m already nervous!

I use machines called spinal simulators to test the Total Disc Replacements. They simulate the movement of the spine and we run them for 10 million cycles of movement, which is roughly equivalent to 10 years of a patient’s life. I then measure how much the implant has worn and compare it to other implants. This link shows you a video of the spinal simulator in action testing one of the implants.  

As well as doing experiments  I spend time at my desk analysing my test results. This is a graph of frictional force against time. It helps me understand what is happening to the surfaces of the implant.

I’m currently spending a lot of my time writing my thesis and journal papers. Journal papers are the way scientists share their research with each other. They are reviewed by a couple of researchers and if they are good enough quality they will be published in scientific journals.

I love my job and I’m passionate about sharing what I do with other people and letting students know what a fascinating career it can be. I’m currently developing an activity where students need to design, build and test a device which will fix a broken bone. It will take students through the whole engineering process, from identifying the problem and developing ideas to solve it, to building their idea and testing it to see if it works. If I win I would use the money to buy some fake bones to be broken, and also lots of craft supplies for the students to build their devices with. I’d also like to buy a model of the spine which includes the different parts of an intervertebral disc, the vertebrae and spinal cord to show students why my research is important.

This is a photo of me and my friends running a Meet the Experts activity at the my local science museum, where I trialed my idea.