Biography

Having studied Mechanical Engineering for my BSc and Biomechanics in my MSc, I obtained my PhD in Medical Engineering from Queen Mary, University of London in 2012. The subject of my PhD research was the experimental investigation and mathematical modelling of the structure-function relationships in the aortic heart valve. I then took a postdoctoral research associate position at University College London (UCL) and subsequently joined the University of Portsmouth as a lecturer. I am currently a member of the Biomedical Engineering research group and lead the Cardiovascular Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL). My research interests centre on continuum mechanics and constitutive modelling of the mechanical behaviour of soft solids, including biological tissues, and cardiovascular biomechanics. I am the course leader for Biomedical Engineering, and am also involved with delivering various modules on topics of Solid Mechanics, Biomechanics Modelling and Fracture Mechanics, from L4 to L7. 

Research interests

Continuum mechanics and constitutive modelling

• Developing novel hyperelastic strain energy functions for modelling nonlinear elastic finite deformations of soft solids.
• Modelling inelastic mechanical behaviours in soft materials including softening/damage, rate-dependency and viscoelasticity.

Cardiovascular biomechanics

• Multiscale characterisation and mathematical modelling of the mechanical behaviour of cardiovascular tissues.
• Developing new strain-energy functions for modelling hyperelastic/viscoelastic behaviours of soft tissues.