I am a 2nd year PhD student in the Rheumatology Research department based at RJAH, Oswestry. My research centres around umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell (UC-MSC) derived extracellular vesicles (EVs), with a particular focus on their anti-inflammatory properties. This work will comprise of three main research objectives:

1. The isolation and characterisation of UC-MSC EVs, to allow comparison between donors, to determine if MSC variability is reflected in their EV population, possibly contributing to minimal criteria for their clinical application.
2. Development towards an allogeneic strategy of EV production by pooling UC-MSC donors, to explore their cellular properties and detect potential immunogenic responses.
3. Achieve the large-scale production of allogeneic EVs from pooled UC-MSC donors, using the Quantum cell expansion system, and determine their therapeutic efficacy using T-cells isolated from patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Previously, I graduated from the University of Sheffield after completing a BSc in Biomedical Science. Following this, I was accepted on to a DTC programme in Regenerative Medicine, allowing me to undertake research projects such as ‘the generation of a polymer brush of different lengths and densities to characterise the behaviour of SYSY-5Y cells’ and ‘the characterisation of collagen VI from osteoarthritic-sourced cartilage and the effect of its addition on chondrocytes’, which ultimately led me to my PhD project being undertaken today.