Student Name: Phoebe King
Institution: Ulster University
Supervisors: Professor Dewar Finlay
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.
My research interests lie in the area of diagnostic and prognostic indications, in particular to develop innovative engineering solutions for issues in cardiovascular haematology healthcare.
Previous biomaterial research during my undergraduate degree focused on quantifying Staphylococcus Epidermidis and E.coli biofilm formation on haemodialysis catheters. This work explored dielectric barrier discharge plasma treatment as a potential method to reduce biofilm formation and produced promising results. This is a critical issue given that biofilm related bloodstream infections are the leading cause of mortality amongst dialysis patients.
I am interested in developing improved biomaterials for diagnostics and enhancing patient care as well as the use of programming and machine learning to advance these techniques; I enjoy using MATLAB so this is a tool I intend to utilise. I am taking modules in various areas to build my expertise and hope to undertake a project which will bridge the gap between biomaterials and digital solutions.