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Alexa, define multidisciplinary research - Matthew Culbert

Written by Matthew Culbert

Category
Blog - Innovation in Medical Engineering
Date

Alexa, define multidisciplinary research

My project

I’m currently in the second year of the CDT and have recently started my research project which is looked at using self-assembling peptides to treat degeneration of the intervertebral disc, one of the main causes of lower back pain. My project allows me to work in biology, chemistry and engineering labs and has therefore been a fast-paced start to PhD life.

So far, so good…

One of the highlights so far has been getting results from my cytotoxicity assays in biology. This has been assessing the effect that different self-assembling peptides have on cell behaviour and viability. I’ve used two different methods so far, contact and extract, which helps to provide a mixture of quantitative and qualitative data to assess different variables. Before starting the PhD, as a chemist, I had never worked with cells before so learning about and understanding the methods of assessing their viability has been great. One of the main challenges with this work (aside from being a chemist in a biology lab) has been applying the cytotoxicity methods, which are designed around using pieces of animal tissue, to my soluble peptides.

Looking forward

As I continue with my research I am also finishing the MSc component by doing some taught modules. I have also recently started demonstrating in the same chemistry undergraduate labs where I spent my time as an undergraduate, which has been great experience from a teaching perspective.