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 multi-scale modelling of soft solids including biological tissues, cardiovascular biomechanics and constitutive modelling. I am also involved in delivering various modules on topics of Solid Mechanics and Fracture Mechanics, from L4 to L7. 

Research interests

Multi-scale biomechanics of soft tissues

 • Experimental analysis and mathematical modelling of:

(i) Tissue-level behaviour

(ii) Micromechanics of the Extra-Cellular Matrix (ECM)

Continuum mechanics

 • Developing new hyperelastic strain energy functions for modelling nonlinear elastic finite deformations of soft solids. 

 • Developing new strain-energy functions for soft tissue modelling.

 • Modelling the rate-dependent (viscoelastic) mechanical behaviour of heart valves.

Arterial haemodynamics

 • Experimental modelling and in vitro investigation of pulsatile arterial flows in healthy and atherosclerotic arteries.