IHE Impact Fellows: Science Showcase

The UCL Institute of Healthcare Engineering (IHE) exists to improve lives through technology. From 3D-printing prosthetics limbs to developing AI that can spot cancer, our scientists are focused on making a real-world impact.

Enter our Impact Fellows! A band of early-stage scientists who want to share their life-changing work with the world.

Join us for two afternoons of fascinating talks! More details to follow soon.

Meet the Impact Fellows

15 June, 3 – 5 PM

Rupy Matharu

I'm a researcher working across engineering, science, materials and innovation. For many years I've investigated integrated solutions to address global healthcare issues. I channel my passion for STEM through public engagement and outreach activities (including rambling about my work after a couple of drinks).

Elizabeth Edwards

I’m a PhD student in the Department of Biochemical Engineering at UCL. I’m working on a technology that will aid the development of biosimilars – copies of drugs which are coming off patent. Biosimilars make treatments for diseases like cancer cheaper and more accessible to a greater proportion of the population.

Karen Lloyd

I'm a medical sociologist in the Institute for Global Health at UCL. I study how smartphones and other Internet-enabled devices can help people to use at-home sexually transmitted infection and HIV testing. I enjoy wild swimming, chasing after my small children and pet ducks, and dreaming about travelling.

Nazia Mehrban

I am a senior scientist at UCL Ear Institute and my job is to engineer living tissue to implant into patients. Essentially I take some cells from the patient and use chemistry to convince them to grow into something that can patch up damaged tissue while also trying to convince the body not to reject it. A tricky task!

Anika Kaura

I am a surgeon in training, researcher, and award-winning presenter. My research is all about blocked noses! I am developing and testing a new medical device to revolutionise the diagnosis and treatment of nose diseases.

Julia Bailey

Julia Bailey is a sexual health doctor in South-East London and senior researcher at the UCL eHealth Unit. Julia's research focuses on mobile phones and the internet for sexual health promotion (e.g. the Contraception Choices website). Julia is passionate about science communication, and on bringing social science perspectives into medical research and teaching.

17 June, 12 – 2 PM

Matthew Wilson

I'm a trainee anaesthetist currently two years into a PhD programme at UCL. My research focuses on developing methods of learning from data we routinely collect as part of normal patient care. This involves combining data science, statistics and behavioural science. Outside of work, I'm kept busy looking after my three-year-old son, and chasing fading dreams of ultramarathon running!

Neel Desai

I am a pharmacist/PhD candidate at UCL School of Pharmacy. My work aims to improve the design of medicines using existing and new techniques to collect lots of relevant data. I'm also an exercise enthusiast and will be taking on something crazy this summer for charity (find out more at: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/neeldesai)

Emma Wilson

I’m a global health researcher at the Institute of Child Health, and I work on projects to improve the care of newborn babies in low income settings. My job is challenging but amazing; I’m constantly learning.

Sara Abad

Fascinated by robots and nature, my research brings them together to improve the performance of robots for tasks such as outdoor mobility, touch sense feedback, and farming. Since my PhD in robotics, I have integrated my fascination for nature and my knowledge from industry, AI ( MSc), and Electronics (BEng).

Helen Matthews

I'm a cell biologist who studies how cancer cells divide. I mostly spend my time torturing cancer cells by squashing and stretching them in an attempt to measure their mechanical properties.

Peter Wijeratne

I studied physics at the University of Manchester, then did a PhD in physics at UCL and the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. I’m now a research fellow at the UCL Centre for Medical Image Computing, where I use machines and maths to improve healthcare.

Reza Motallezadeh 

I am kidney transplant surgeon and scientist based at Royal Free Hospital and UCL. My research aims are to understand why and how transplants get rejected by the body’s immune system. I have teamed up with UCL engineers to develop a novel device that recipients can use at home to monitor the function of their transplant. This will allow earlier treatment of rejection and hopefully lead to longer survival of patients with a working kidney transplant.