Student Name: Phoebe King
Institution: Ulster University
Project Title: Patient Specific Blood Sensing: Investigating the Relationship between Surface Topography and Platelet Activity
Supervisors: Dr Joanna Ward, Professor Raymond Bond
Clinical Mentor: Dr Aaron Niblock (NHSCT)
Originally from Derry, Northern Ireland, I graduated from Ulster University in July 2024 with a first class honours in Biomedical Engineering and a distinction in professional practice. I have experience working in the drug eluting stent department of Medtronic Ireland in Galway as a manufacturing engineer and my dissertation research area focused on biofilm formation on renal dialysis catheters.
Outside of research, my hobbies include dog training, horse riding, reading, hiking and exploring new places.
I am currently in Year 2 of this program, and my research area is in prognostic and diagnostic indications, specifically within haematology care. I will be combining the manufacturing of thin-film sensor surfaces, digital modelling for design optimisation, and image analysis in MATLAB to design reproducible microfluidic topographies that allow for platelet adhesion and mimic the in vivo coagulation system.
Videos of these platelet interactions will be analysed to assess differences in dynamic platelet behaviours between healthy and unhealthy individuals. The ultimate goal is to aid in the development of point-of-care diagnostics for bleeding disorders and screening tools for bleeding risk. I have also recently undertaken a side project, researching the optimisation of feto-maternal hemorrhage diagnosis.