Biomedical engineering and Nanomedicine (PhD) - In Progress

Developing plasma-activated dressings to stimulate healing and infection control in burn wounds

This PhD project is investigating plasma-activated hydrogels as an alternative to traditional silver-based dressings in burn wound treatment. Literature reports that reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) produced by plasma interact in a number of healing processes and have shown some efficacy against bacteria in vitro. In this project, a range of plasma-activated hydrogels will be developed to create a hydrating dressing with easy-to-deliver, consistent and quick-application doses of therapeutic RONS. Thus far, plasma-activated PVA dressings have been tested in mouse wound models, where they were found to reduce inflammatory markers in the wound. New formulations have also been tested against on common skin pathogens Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and antibacterial efficacy has been recorded in many of the dressings thus far. More plasma-activated dressings will be developed and characterised, and further tests performed to evaluate healing stimulation and biocompatibility

Biomedical Science (Masters by Research) - Complete 

Manipulation of GPX1 in HaCaT and cancer cells and its potential use as a theranostic target for cancer

The aims of this project were to better understand the effect of GPX1 activity on cancer development and patient survival and determine the efficacy of a novel inhibitor. This work combined bioinformatics, cell culture techniques and biochemical analyses, and found that GPX1 overexpression is common across many cancer types and can increase lethality. Additionally, I found that both a novel inhibitor and selenium supplementation were able to significantly modulate GPX1 activity, in some cases altering drug resistance in cancer cells.