Category: Research Staff

Professor Molly Stevens, Professor of Biomedical Materials and Regenerative Medicine, Departments of Materials and Bioengineering

Celebrating our community during COVID-19

“In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, my research group has continued to work with determination to support the development of game-changing technology to address the urgent need for reliable, cost-effective and fast COVID-19 diagnostic tests.”

I am Professor of Biomedical Materials and Regenerative Medicine in the Departments of Materials and Bioengineering. I lead a dynamic multidisciplinary research group that develops innovative materials-based approaches to tackle healthcare challenges including disease diagnostics. We have previously developed a lateral flow immunoassay for fast detection of HIV p24 biomarker with sensitivity in the low femtomolar range, and our Ebola serological test has been validated in Uganda with 91 survivors. Our work on smartphone enabled diagnostics capitalises on the ubiquity and technical capabilities of mobile phones and networks to bring advanced technology to the point-of-care, connect patients to health centres and monitor epidemics. (more…)

Dr Joseph Sherwood, RAEng Research Fellow, Department of Bioengineering

Celebrating our community during COVID-19

“JAMVENT has successfully overcome both the technical challenges that have hindered many other emergency designs, and the supply chain bottlenecks that limit manufacturing capacity of established ventilators.”

I am a Bioengineer with a Mechanical Engineering background. I joined Imperial in 2012 and focus on blood flow and eye pressure, with applications in glaucoma and diabetes research. I also do consultancy work building custom pressure/flow systems.

One week before the lockdown, Dr Jakob Mathiszig-Lee, an anaesthesiologist working with COVID-19 patients at the Royal Brompton Hospital, emailed us looking for anyone interested in building a ventilator to help with potential shortfall. I offered to help, along with Professor James Moore, an expert in medical device design, and Dr Michael Madekurozwa, who I have been working with for five years. (more…)

Dr Eleonora D’Elia, Strategic Teaching Fellow – Outreach, Department of Materials

Celebrating our community during COVID-19

“Having gained access to the spookily empty campus, I have been producing face visors: more than 3,000 to date. Together with Helpful Engineering UK, we have delivered more than 24,000 visors and are currently making gowns, masks and ear savers which are going to hospitals, care homes and GPs.”

I was born and raised in a small town near Rome, and I graduated in Materials Science and Physics at the University of Rome Tor Vergata. I moved to London and joined Imperial in 2010 to complete my Masters in Biomaterials and then began my PhD in Smart Materials (such a cool subject, let me tell you!). I now work as a Teaching Fellow in the Department of Materials and am the Head of Outreach in the department. I teach undergraduate courses, deal with undergraduate labs and have been carrying out lots of public engagement activities for nearly 12 years now. (more…)

Rob Floyd, Director of the Central Biomedical Services Department

Celebrating our community COVID-19

“My heroes are those that are caring for the animals, the animal technicians who cannot work from home and must be at work to carry out their role every day of the week so that research at the College can continue. Their commitment and dedication is outstanding.” 

Before joining Imperial, I worked for a global pharmaceutical company and had the opportunity to travel and work in challenging roles. These included the management of animal research facilities, quality assurance and compliance, risk management and building projects, to name a few. (more…)

Abigail Ackerman, Research Associate, Department of Materials

Celebrating our community during COVID-19

“The wardening teams across all halls have reacted exceptionally to the crisis. My students are particularly upset that we no longer can do Sunday breakfasts!”

I came to Imperial five and a half years ago to start my PhD in the Department of Materials, and am now a Research Associate in Corrosion. In my first year here, I also started as a subwarden in Wilkinson Hall. Since then, I have become an Assistant Warden at Parson House and Pembridge Gardens, living onsite at Parsons House. Other than the Boathouse, Parson House is the smallest of all of the Imperial halls, with only 42 residents. This means that we create an incredibly tight knit community within the hall, by weekly Sunday breakfasts and other activities such as theatre trips and pizza nights. (more…)

Dr Marian Blokpoel, Biological Safety Officer, Health and Safety Services

Celebrating #OurImperial community during COVID-19

“We really want to support everyone to do the research, not just for the sake of their own research project, but for the wider community. That’s what will make the impact.”

I’m originally from the Netherlands, but I came to Imperial 25 years ago as a Master’s student and have been at the College ever since – through my PhD and postdoc positions, and now in the Safety team. I love science, and while today I don’t work in the lab, my job lets me see lots of the research that’s going on across the College, which is really exciting. (more…)

Chris Timmerman, Research Assistant, Department of Brain Sciences

“I feel very passionate about my work because it enables us to explore realms of human experience which have gone relatively unnoticed in scientific research.”

I studied Psychology in Santiago, Chile, my home country. After working for a couple of years there, I enrolled for a Master’s in Neuroscience at the University of Bologna in Italy, where I did some experimental work on the mechanisms associated with time perception and learning. (more…)

Dr Rebecca Bell, Senior Lecturer, Department of Earth Science & Engineering

“My research involves investigating how continents rip apart to form new oceans, and what controls the size and style of earthquakes at subduction zones.”

My road to Imperial started with a childhood interest in picking up pebbles on the beach and making plaster cast fossils with my dad. At school I enjoyed maths, physics and chemistry, but did not enjoy any of them enough on their own to commit to doing them at university!

Fortunately, one day I sat in my school’s library and discovered a subject called Earth Science in a university prospectus. I had never heard of it before, but it fit all of my interests perfectly, and I have never looked back. (more…)

Jack Elkes, Clinical Trials Statistician, School of Public Health

“I appreciate the flexibility, the work attitude and opportunities for development at Imperial. I am very proud to work for Imperial, a university at the forefront of research.”

Before joining Imperial, I worked as a biostatistician at IQVIA on a large scope of projects in various disease areas and trial phases. I have always enjoyed using an analytical approach to problem solving, which is why I studied for an MSc in Medical Statistics at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. I have always been interested in healthcare, so before I became a statistician I undertook a BSc in Biomedical Sciences at Brighton University.

At Imperial I have two roles. Firstly, I work as a clinical trials statistician, working collaboratively with other researchers to set up, run and analyse novel interventions to evaluate their benefit in patient care. My day can include designing a new study, writing analysis plans and programming statistical analysis. (more…)

Dr Thulasi Mylvaganam, Lecturer in Control and Multi-Agent Systems, Department of Aeronautics

“Being Norwegian, I have a great love for the outdoors and I will search for any excuse to be on a mountain! I like to spend my time hiking, running, rock climbing and traveling… and I absolutely love snow – it’s magical!”  

I first came to Imperial to complete my undergraduate degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) back in 2006. I’ve always had a special interest in mathematics, so once I got my first introduction to control engineering in my second year, I was smitten. I completed my PhD in nonlinear control with Professor Alessandro Astolfi in EEE, and I am now a lecturer in the Department of Aeronautics.

My job involves doing and supervising research on various topics in control engineering. We follow an abstract approach: we describe a system (any system!) with a mathematical model and develop systematic methods to design feedback to make the system behave in a desired manner. The abstract approach makes control engineering very powerful, which is why it is everywhere! (more…)