Research
Research groups
Research interests
- The demographic of populations worldwide is changing. People are living longer but with more years with affected by disability in the last two decades of life. The societal and economic consequences of this change are not being well managed at either individual or community level. We need greater recognition and mitigation of the detrimental effects of living with poorly or unmanaged hearing loss and greater impetus to enhance existing interventions such as cochlear implants and uptake of hearing aids. The negative consequences of poor or limited management of common conditions such as hearing loss are typically greater for people in poorer economic situations and associated with more comorbidity in later life.
- Hearing loss and dementia: I lead multidisciplinary research focussed on hearing loss, the use of cochlear implants to restore hearing in otherwise deaf people and the interaction between hearing loss and dementia.
- My focus is on understanding biological factors that affect hearing outcomes with cochlear implants, with the aim of being able to predict and manage these factors to improve outcomes for more people with implants. As strand of this work in collaboration with Mary Grasmeder (USAIS, FEPS), Simant Prakoonwit (Medicine) and Mehtap Ozbey Arabaci (Software Research Group, FEPs) of this work is to develop a tool for rapid objective measurement of implant performance, which can be used easily across the life course from infants to older adults. I am driving the implementation of data science methodologies for improved management of people who hear with cochlear implants and for the identification of early indicators of cognitive decline. I am championing the engagement of patients in research and as ambassadors to increase awareness of healthcare interventions amongst hard to reach and marginalised communities.
- Nanomedicine: Drug efficacy is affected by the way the drug is delivered to its site of action. Packaging, at the nanoscale, within biocompatible polymers can increase efficacy, reduce off-target effects and enable delivery across biological barriers such as those that limit drug access to the cochlea, or inner ear.
- My research in collaboration with Nick Evans (Medicine), Seung Lee (Chemistry) and Adam Wheelan (DSTL) is to determine whether exisiting antimicrobials, repackaged within polymersomes, show improved efficacy against hard to treat persistent bacterial infections.
Research projects
Active projects
Completed projects
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Sponsor: EPSRC
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Sponsor: Gerald Kerkut Charitable Trust
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Sponsor: Alzheimers Research UK
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Sponsor: Wessex Medical Research
Y Cheong Infertility Research Trust Enhanced detection of endometriosis using targeted nanoparticles
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Sponsor: The Infertility Research Trust
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Sponsor: Leverhulme Trust
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Sponsor: Med-El Elektromedizinische Gerate Gesellschaft m.b.H.
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