Meet the Team: Ed
So, team captain Dimitra Blana has asked me to introduce myself on the blog, so when you come and see us in person at The Exhibition, you’ll know a bit about us. My role in this project is Chief Biomechanist (ok, I might have just invented that title…). I’m currently a Senior Lecturer at Keele University, where I run our MSc course in Biomedical Engineering, and carry out research in Healthcare Technologies. This includes work in the area of assistive and rehabilitation technology such as prosthetic hands. That’s a lot of long words, so how did I get here?
I started out at university (Nottingham) studying Mechanical Engineering, which I enjoyed, but didn’t love. Towards the end of that period, I came across the field of medical engineering — basically the application of engineering principles to solving problems in medicine and healthcare. This would allow me to use my engineering skills in a more human context that I felt I had been lacking during my Mechanical Engineering education. So without further ado I applied for a PhD position at the University of Strathclyde, and that was that. (I still love Glasgow by the way!)
The work I did during my PhD time has set me up for the rest of my career to date: I carried out research into the biomechanics of the arm, and used mathematical modelling to try to understand the complex relationship between muscles, forces and movement. Following my PhD I went to the Netherlands for a 4-year postdoc position (ja, ik spreek ook Nederlands), where I worked on improving our understanding of shoulders. After that, I ended up in Cleveland Ohio for a few years (yes, ended up about captures the process — I was lucky enough to be asked to go and work there after a fairly casual chat at a conference). Cleveland is awesome too by the way.
And now I’m back in Britain, a bit more diversified in terms of my work, but still with a passion for biomedical and biomechanics. Our current work focuses on prosthetic hands (but you’d guessed that by now, right?), and in particular, how computer models can help us develop better devices (but more about that another time).
So, the things that are important to me are: exciting engineering, working with people, making a difference, the international aspect, and job satisfaction!
