As it probably goes without saying, the past several months has been a difficult period. Due to the pandemic the lab where I was based at St James Hospital closed in mid-march for what was assumed to be only a few months. However, during the initial period of closure it...
As everyone, during the last few months I have had my ups and downs. I never imagined that the COVID situation could happen, however I was able to adapt to the new circumstances. The last few months have helped me grow and see the world from a different perspective. Even...
Having never run a marathon, I do wonder what it’s like to get to the last stretch? Would I wallow and drag myself over the finish line, or would I get a burst of energy and absolutely celebrate the journey?* If it’s analogous to the PhD process, then honestly, I’m...
The highlights of the past seven months of continuous struggle while working from home is that I passed my Master part of the integrated PhD and MSc programme, and that I also passed my transfer to become a full PhD student (Hurray!) Perhaps I can consider myself “lucky” because my...
My PhD project is on sensing in total hip replacements in particular, sensors that would enable condition monitoring of the implant’s performance and early indication of the need for revision surgery. Over the past 6 months I have been conducting a literature review on previous work in the field of...
Coping with Covid To put it simply – the last few months haven’t turned out quite as I’d imagined them to. Although I’d been warned by countless people about the ups and downs that come with doing a PhD, the lockdown has been an unprecedented situation that’s entirely new to...
Improvise, Adapt, Overcome Just as I think I’m getting used to balancing the different aspects of an MSc and a PhD the world enters lockdown. Fortunately, the lockdown has provided an opportunity for me to focus on my literature review, which I hope to be able to adapt and publish...
How much is too much coffee? Having spent 9 months out to go on maternity leave, I found myself returning back to work for a few months before lockdown hit. Now we’re here, I’ve been spending most of my time (when not looking after a baby or doing quizzes) trying...
Halfway through, but not half completed Getting to the halfway milestone of my PhD has suddenly made the reality of what I am undertaking sink in. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to do a PhD before I started it and in a way, that feeling of knowing I could leave at any...
Halfway Point and things are going well In general, I have loved doing a PhD so far. I’m approaching the halfway point and things are going fairly well. By the end I hope to have produced a workflow that others can use to repeat my analysis in clinical practice. I recently got a rough first version to work so that was a highlight...