My PhD research has focused on how we can use natural substances to help aid surface wounds healing, and these substances have been fatty acids from fish oil and Manuka honey. There’s been two main parts to this, first I looked at how well the substances can fight bacteria as it’s important to prevent infection of wounds in order to let them heal well and prevent complications, such as sepsis. I’ve then also looked at their effect on skin cells to see if they can speed up their growth, and to see if they release any molecules that can help to reduce scarring.
My PhD was part of an advertised project, so my supervisors had decided on a research area and then interviewed to find someone suitable. The project looked really interesting, and as parts of it are relatively novel ideas, Loughborough was the only place that was doing this work!
I did my BSc in Biomedical Science and then an MSc in Molecular Biology. I also had a few years after graduating where I worked as a Fermentation Technician in a research lab making recombinant proteins and I really enjoyed this job, but I really wanted to be a research scientist and most of the ones I knew had a PhD, so I decided that was the next step for me!
I’ve always found biology to be my favourite subject and Biomedical Science covers a very broad spectrum of human biology, and let me work our which bits are my favourites and I carried on from there. I really wanted to pursue something where I felt like my work would have a positive impact, and working with novel treatments that could one day make it into clinics definitely fits that.
Having a PhD will help me to get to the higher levels of research science, whereas previously as a technician somebody else planned the experiments and I just did the work they asked me to. As a Senior Research Scientist I’ll get to be one of the people that plans the experiments this time!