I am investigating the use of mediated-reality technologies as an alternative to conventional and pharmacological therapies for treating pain and impaired movement following serious injury, such as stroke, amputation, or traumatic brain injury.
I hope that my research can help people who have had serious injuries resulting in pain and reduced movement, especially those for whom other types of rehabilitation have not been effective.
Often amputations result in pain which standard analgesics do not ease, so I hope that I can make a difference for these individuals using non-pharmacological therapies – by rehabilitating the brain’s mental representation of the body.
Benefiting from world-leading expertise
The expertise of my supervisor and the department drew me to Loughborough University. My PhD contains the ideal blend of clinical, educational outreach and research work for me.
As a doctoral researcher at Loughborough, I will gain a breadth of technical and transferrable skills, which will enable me to become a competent researcher and navigate through the world of academia. I will gain a depth of information about rehabilitation and body representations, whilst broadening my knowledge of neuroscience, physiology, education, and psychology.
My supervisor and everyone that I have met in SSEHS have been friendly, welcoming and helpful in my first few weeks as a PhD student. Finding out about the equipment available and studies taking place to aid rehabilitation has been really exciting.
Access to the experience and expertise of academic staff and facilities at the National Rehabilitation Centre, as well as the opportunity to work with people who require rehabilitation, will be greatly beneficial for my projects and experiments.
Creating impactful research
In the future I would like to continue to contribute to the scientific community through well-designed, clinically relevant studies. I love to see the difference that research can have on individuals’ lives.
The advice I would give to someone thinking of undertaking a PhD at Loughborough is once you become a doctoral researcher, the opportunities for personal and professional development are vast. It’s a great opportunity, so if you find a topic that you are genuinely interested in, go for it.
