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New beginnings – Mackenzie Brown

Written by Mackenzie Brown

Category
Blog - Innovation in Medical Engineering
Date

As I come to the end of my first year on the CDT, I’m finding myself overwhelmed with a whirlwind of emotions. I’m eager to begin my research yet equally apprehensive about (what feels like) an insurmountable amount of information I have to somehow absorb (and generate!) in the coming years. Despite the hard work that’s to come, I’m looking forward to my next few years at iMBE and that’s particularly due to the amazing start I’ve had so far.

My first year here has been a blur of modules, project selection, training, demonstrating and various other CDT commitments. If I had to pick a skill all CDT students shared in common, I would say ‘juggling’ because we sure do a lot of it! Some of the highlights of my first year include:

 

Now that my modules are complete, I can utilise this summer period to focus on the beginning stages of my project including writing a literature review and beginning my training. My research will focus on investigating the failure mechanisms of dual mobility hip replacements in order to create a suitable pre-clinical testing methodology for them.

As I see my peers beginning their own projects, I’ll admit that it’s been hard not to compare my progress with everyone else, but I know this is just a common PhD struggle I’ll grow to overcome. Alongside the daunting challenge of beginning a research project and feeling the overwhelming sense that I have so much to learn, I can sympathise with those who say, ‘the struggle is real.’ Nevertheless, I will endeavour to embrace ‘the struggle’ and look forward to an exciting and rewarding few years which lie ahead for me at iMBE!