Introduction
My name is Charles, and I have been
interested in electronics since high school. Being able to build a solution to
a problem, with my hands has always appealed to me. Because of this I went down
a scientific path through GCSE’s to A-levels and eventually university. There I
learnt the wider impact that my interests could have, and the importance of
sharing such knowledge and expertise beyond our realms. Today I am an engineer,
and this is my research…
In Depth
With the huge availability of food
today in the United Kingdom, it is very easy to forget that this is not the
case across the globe. Farmers in developing countries, such as India, lack the
fast-evolving knowledge required to manage their crops efficiently, and also
the technology required to implement it. This means that small issues such as
pests and disease, have a significant impact on their livelihood. This is an
age old problem that requires new age technology to help. At the e-Agri Sensors
Centre, we are developing a solution that will bring the power back into the
hands of local farmers, and reduce the current destruction to their crops. This
solution comes in the form of a low-cost attachment to their phone, which will
be able to scan for disease signatures. In the field it can be put in the hands
of field workers and charities.
Going Further
e-Agri Sensors Centre Website:
http://www.eee.manchester.ac.uk/our-research/research-groups/sisp/syngenta-sensors-uic/
My research project:
http://www.eee.manchester.ac.uk/our-research/research-groups/sisp/syngenta-sensors-uic/projects/e-agri-india/
Related research:
http://www.eee.manchester.ac.uk/our-research/research-groups/sisp/syngenta-sensors-uic/projects/nutrient-sensors/
Radio 4 interview with myself and
the centre’s Director:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0306gmn
Introduction
My name is Amelia Abercrombie and I am
currently in the final year of my PhD in Social Anthropology. My research is
about multilingualism among Roma in Kosovo. I aim to understand the way they
speak four languages (Albanian, Serbian, Turkish and Romani), and how this is
influenced by their ideas about these different languages.
How I got here
I studied Serbian & Croatian studies
at UCL for BA. This is a language degree, which also included modules in
literature, history and other areas, and as part of the course I studied in
Belgrade for one year. This sparked my interest not just in learning languages
and cultures, but also in travelling to places to learn first-hand how people
live. I went on to study East European studies with Romanian language for
Masters, and attended a summer school in Transylvania. This course focused on
area studies research and methods. After
that I spent some time working as a support worker for people with severe
learning disabilities before coming to Manchester to start my PhD in Manchester
in 2012. I decided to research ideas about language among Roma in Kosovo as
this group speak several languages from childhood, and I was already familiar
with some of the languages from my previous studies.
In Depth
My research is an ethnography, which means that I
spent an extended period (18 months) living with the people I am studying. My
method involved living and working with these people, and also learning to
speak Romani language. As a result my work focuses on a wide variety of issues
ranging from the language used in drama, to language standardisation in schools
and media. I also look at other issues which affect Roma in Kosovo, such as
poverty, ethnicity and multiculturalism.
Going Further
Farrah Jarral
has made a series of short radio programmes about anthropology. They provide a
good background to the discipline with interesting examples. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06zjhfx
The RAI (Royal
Anthropological Society) has website with Lots of details about the discipline
of anthropology, and various academic resources. https://www.therai.org.uk/
The RAI also
have a film on YouTube which introduces anthropology, and has been made by
lecturers from Manchester, as well as other universities. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DF51Ma1Voo4
Introduction
My name is Ben and I'm a 2nd year PhD student in
Aerospace Engineering at the University of Manchester. I have always been interested in aeroplanes
and space for as long as I can remember so studying Aerospace Engineering at
University was an easy choice for me having studied Physics, Chemistry, Maths
and Further Maths at A-Level. I
completed a four year integrated Master's at the University of Manchester in
2014 before beginning my PhD in 2015. My
research concerns the simulation of characteristics of blood flow through
diseased arteries. By modelling these
characteristics we can begin to understand why these diseases, such as the
growth of aneurysms, occur.
In Depth
The main focus of my research is improving the criteria for
when preventative surgery should take place for patients with an Abdominal
Aortic Aneurysm (AAA). An aneurysm
occurs when the artery begins to expand and swell, weakening the artery wall
and can lead to a rupture. Due to the
amount of blood travelling through the aorta, 90% of patients who have a
ruptured AAA die. As a result, it seems
sensible to perform the preventative surgery even if there is only a low risk
of rupture. However, AAAs mostly occur
in men over the age of 65, for who surgery is more dangerous than the average
person and shouldn't be taken lightly.
Therefore a compromise must be found between the two risks.
The current criteria for surgery is based upon the maximum
diameter of the aneurysm, found using ultrasound similar to that used for pregnancy
scans, is greater than 5.5cm for men and 5.0cm for women. However, this isn't patient specific as it
does not take into account the weight, height or family history of the patient. My research, working with Wythenshawe
Hospital and the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences at the University of
Manchester, is looking to improve this criteria by taking the images obtained
from the ultrasound, building a 3D geometry from them and then simulating the
blood flow through the aneurysm to assess the risk of rupture for the
patient. The aim is to have the entire
process automated so that it can be done quickly by the doctor to give a very
fast decision which will hopefully reduce the number of patients who have
unnecessary surgery while also reducing the number who die from the aneurysm
rupturing. We have a lot of work to do
before it becomes clinical practice but the results so far have been promising.
The research I have been working on during my PhD isn't what
is normally associated with an Aerospace Engineer at first glance. However, I am able to use a lot of the same
theory I learnt during my first degree and apply it to a new application,
showing the diversity of career available to an Engineer.
Going Further
For updates on my research activities, follow me on Twitter:
@b_owen92
Or visit my website www.about.me/benowen
More information on Aerospace Engineering can be found at www.aerosociety.com
Or general engineering at www.theiet.org/
Here is a fun video of the type of projects you will be
involved in if you study Aerospace Engineering at the University of
Manchester: www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZUHunTmMV8
Introduction
My
name is Helene Gleitz and I am a 2nd year PhD student in Medicine.
After getting my international baccalaureate in Switzerland, I studied
Biomedical Materials Science in Manchester and graduated in 2013. I then
applied for a research master’s degree (MRes) in Tissue Engineering for Regenerative
Medicine, where I spent 8 months working in a gene therapy lab. In fact, I
enjoyed my master’s project so much that I applied for a PhD in the same lab to
study gene therapy.
My
PhD investigates a rare paediatric genetic disease called mucopolysaccharidosis
type II, or Hunter syndrome, that occurs almost exclusively in males. I am
looking to develop a gene therapy through the use of haematopoietic stem cells,
which are cells involved in the immune and blood systems.
In Depth
Hunter
syndrome is caused by mutations in the IDS gene present on the X-chromosome and
different mutations affect the severity of the disease. Mutations in the IDS
gene affect the IDS enzyme, which is involved in the degradation of complex
sugars called glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). When degradation and recycling of
large molecules are altered, complex sugars accumulate in every organ in the
body and things start to go haywire.
In the most severe form, young children show
signs of neurodegeneration, behavioural problems and cardiorespiratory complications
amongst many other symptoms. Lifespan is also significantly reduced, with most
patients dying in teenage years. Unfortunately, there is currently no cure for
the severe form and replacing the missing enzyme (known as enzyme replacement
therapy) has no impact on the brain.
The
goal of my PhD is to design a therapy that will replace the missing enzyme
through a single procedure and provide a long-term cure for the brain. We
currently do this by modifying the patient’s own haematopoietic stem cells, which
are the cells that differentiate into your blood and immune systems. Haematopoietic
stem cells are extracted from the patient’s bone marrow, modified in the lab
and re-infused into the patients. This process is known as a bone marrow
transplant.
During
the first year of my PhD, I developed a lentiviral vector, which is a therapeutic
virus derived from HIV-1, to carry the correct ‘version’ of the IDS gene. The
lentivirus can be added to the haematopoietic stem cells in the lab, where the
virus integrates into the genome and delivers the correct gene. This method allows
haematopoietic stem cells to produce the right enzyme.
By
correcting the cells and infusing them back into patients, we expect blood
cells to be able to reduce the amount of complex sugar molecules that are
stored throughout the body. Most importantly, we know that certain blood cells
called monocytes can cross into the brain and have an impact there.
The rest of my PhD will
involve evaluating this therapy in the mouse model of severe Hunter, where I
analyse enzyme levels in the brain, sugar accumulation, neurodegeneration and
behaviour 6 months after the transplant. Ultimately, we are hoping to put this
through to clinical trials and get the therapy to Hunter patients as quickly as
possible!
Going Further
If you’d like to know more
about our research lab and the work that we do, visit our page: http://www.manchester.ac.uk/research/brian.bigger/research
If you are keen to know more
about gene therapy in general, visit: http://www.bsgct.org/
or http://www.asgct.org/
For updates on MPS disorders
in the UK, please visit: http://www.mpssociety.org.uk/en/
Introduction
My name is Hannah Burton and I’m currently studying for a
PhD in theology and music. As an undergraduate I studied Music at the
University of Liverpool, and then moved back to Manchester where I completed a
Masters in Religions and Theology. I enjoy the diversity of this subject –
especially in a city such as Manchester where a people from a wide variety of
religious backgrounds live, work, and have an impact upon the city’s culture.
I’m particularly interested in the ways in which people feel they experience
religion, or God, in their lives, and my research tries to understand how music
can enable this experience for individuals.
In Depth
Music plays a prominent and important role in many religions
as part of prayer and worship, and so it seems reasonable to explore how it
might create an experience of and a direct connection with something
transcendent, or God. To do this, it is useful to have a case study of
attitudes toward both religion and music, and examine the similarities and
differences therein. Therefore, my research analyses the writings of several
early nineteenth-century scholars from the fields of theology, philosophy, and
music criticism. Most prominent are FDE Schleiermacher and ETA Hoffmann.
Schleiermacher was a theologian writing at the turn of the
nineteenth century. His ideas about religion were radically new at that time –
he encouraged his readers to concentrate less on religion’s rituals and
doctrine (the in-depth beliefs and ‘rules’ of religion) and to focus instead on
having a religious intuition and feeling. He rejected the idea that having a
great knowledge of religion was key, and argued, on the other hand, that the
essence of religion is being able to perceive, recognise, and feel and presence
of the transcendent (or God) in the world around us. However, because the
transcendent is not of our world, we can never fully reach or understand it.
Nevertheless, Schleiermacher maintains that we must continue to strive to
intuit and feel transcendence by engaging closely with everyday objects and
experience in our lives.
ETA Hoffmann was a theatre director, composer, and music
critic writing at around the same time as Schleiermacher. Some of his
best-known writing about music includes interesting ideas about how music
reveals an ‘unknown realm’ of ‘spirits’ that is outside of our world. Though
music creates a glimpse of this realm, Hoffmann claims that it does not reveal
it completely, and so music’s listeners often feel a sense of ‘yearning’ for
what Hoffmann notably calls ‘transcendence.’
So there are certainly parallels between these two theories
of religion and music! I hope to be able to show, through my research and by
looking at some musical examples, that there are particular features in music
that enable us to experience, intuit, feel, and yearn from, transcendence. I
also hope that this case study might shed some light on how music might
continue to evoke an experience of God and transcendence today, particularly
across different genres and contexts.
Going Further
Some faith communities and organisations blog about their
perspective on the place of music within religion and theology, such as these
examples:
https://www.rca.org/resources/theology-and-place-music-worship
http://www.theworshipcommunity.com/theology-of-music-part-one/
To find out more about how music affects us, have a look at
this blog post written by a neuroscientist: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-graziano/why-is-mozart-a-religious_b_875352.html
If you want to know more about studying Religions and
Theology at the University of Manchester, have a look at our department’s
webpage: http://www.alc.manchester.ac.uk/subjects/religionstheology