“I’m currently partway through studying for a PhD in medical and biological engineering at the University of Leeds. Our institute researches and develops medical technologies aimed at providing people with 50 active years after they turn 50. My background is in chemistry however my work spans across chemistry, biology, and engineering. I enjoy the research process of understanding a problem, deciding how to tackle it and designing experiments to give me the information I need to make an informed decision. I’m about to start a placement at the Children and Young People MedTech Cooperative who help develop medical technology focused on child health.

“As a postgraduate student a placement is the perfect opportunity for me to gain skills that will enhance my research and build my experience of working outside academia as well as providing me with a platform to apply the skills and knowledge I’ve learnt during the course of my PhD to help progress the important work that is being done. I chose this placement for a few reasons. Firstly, I wanted to understand how the process of developing and translating medical technologies is different for technology designed for children and young people compared to the technology we develop for adults. There are some similarities however devices and technology for children and young people needs to be adaptable to meet their changing needs as they grow and mature. However, a lot of technology for young people is adapted from existing adult technologies rather than being designed specifically for children and young people.

“I’m also hoping to improve my understanding of how the NHS collaborates with academic and industry partners to help utilise the resources available and make the process of research as efficient as possible. By the end of the placement I’m hoping I will have a better understanding of the challenges associated with developing medical technologies for children and young people; an improved knowledge of how different partners collaborate to combine skillsets and resources to move the development of new medical technologies and devices forward as well as knowledge to share with my institute on the challenges affecting the translation of medical technology into the NHS.”