Laura Shallcross

Project: Synthesis of polymer-hydroxyapatite composites.

Funding: EPSRC Doctoral Training Centre in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine

Co-supervised by Prof. Paul Hatton

Research

My research focuses on creating nanocomposites of ceramics coated or embedded with functionalised polymers to create an enabling technology with applications in the medical and dental sector.

Biography

I graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2012 with a Masters degree in Chemistry. My masters project looked at using the fluorescent dyes, Nile Red and Rose Bengal, as probes to determine whether small molecules could be encapsulated in linear, branched and highly branched poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) going through the LCST and cloud point of the polymer for the purpose of creating a fluorescent sensor for bacterial infections in a wound bed. Having worked with polymers intended for medical applications, I became interested in the research behind medical practices and joined the Doctoral Training Centre for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine as a PhD student in 2012.

Prizes

Prize for Best Presentation at the 5th Annual Postgraduate Symposium on Nanotechnology.

Destination

Laura is now a polymer chemist at Scott Bader.