PhD BEng(Hons)

Position

Research Fellow

Project Title

Novel Implant Design and Manufacture with Embedded Therapeutics (NIDMET)

Funding body

EPSRC

Project Description

This project aims to address two inherent problems with current metallic implant designs: 1) relatively high infection rates, and 2) lack of customisation of fit to the tissue deficit. The NIDMET project will use additive layer manufacturing technology to meet these clinical needs by utilising a system to design prosthetics that have both an optimised internal and external geometry. Implants will contain designed porosity within the body of the metallic, which will enable the infiltration of an in situ setting biologically functional material. The project levers facilities of three schools at the University of Birmingham, including the School of Chemical Engineering, the Advanced Materials Processing Lab (IRC in Metallurgy and Materials), and the School of Mechanical Engineering. To facilitate translation of the work a network of clinical experts as well as companies will contribute to the project.

NIDMET: EPSRC.ac.uk

School of Chemical Engineering: Birmingham.ac.uk

Advanced Materials Processing Lab: Birmingham.ac.uk

School of Mechanical Engineering: Birmingham.ac.uk

Personal Description

Sophie graduated from the University of Warwick in 2010 with a first class honours degree in Civil Engineering. Having developed a passion for biomaterials through a number of optional undergraduate modules Sophie began a PhD under the supervision of Dr Kajal Mallick at the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) in October 2010. She successfully submitted her thesis entitled ‘Synthesis and 3D printing of hydroxyapatite scaffolds for applications in bone tissue engineering’ in September 2013. Following this Sophie was awarded an Early Career Fellowship from the Institute of Advanced Study at the University of Warwick while also working as a Project Engineer in the composites group of the WMG. Sophie joined the Tissue Regeneration and Interface Lab as a postdoctoral researcher in September 2014 working on an EPSRC project entitled Novel Implant Design and Manufacture with Embedded Therapeutics (NIDMET).

Aside from her academic life Sophie is an individual who is passionate about sport, in particular Judo, and is currently a 1st Dan black belt.