Tag Archives: technology

Christina Lewis Halpern: The New York woman inspiring young men from minority backgrounds to code

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"It was an entirely new world, and IT opened my eyes to how few black and brown young men were active in the technology industry. " (Image courtesy of All Star Code)

“It was an entirely new world, and IT opened my eyes to how few black and brown young men were active in the technology industry.” (Image courtesy of All Star Code)

In the last instalment of our series celebrating prominent women in science and technology across the world, we speak to Christina Lewis Halpern, the founder of All Star Code, a charity which aims to prepare talented young men from minority backgrounds for careers in science and technology.

Christina Lewis Halpern is a social entrepreneur and award-winning journalist who is the founder of All Star Code, a unique, fast-growing non-profit education organization that attracts, prepares and places more young men of color in the technology sector. Christina is a board member of the Reginald F. Lewis Foundation, has been profiled in Fortune, Fast Company, Domino, and Vanity Fair and her work has been published in The New York Times Magazine and other publications. She has been recognized as a White House 2014 Champion of Change for STEM Access and has given talks at Harvard Law School, J.P. Morgan, the Wealth and Giving Forum, among others. She graduated from Harvard College and lives in New York City with her husband, son and dog. 

On a sign that adorns the premises of the vibrant New York technology charity, All Star Code, the bold messaging could not be clearer.  Displayed in large writing are the top ten principles that inspired the charity’s creation. Most prominently placed, and one that will ring true to many Americans, is number one. It reads: “Boys Matter: Young men of color are one of our nation’s greatest sources of untapped talent.” This is a sentiment echoed throughout the organisation’s activities, which primarily aims to prepare talented young men from minority backgrounds for careers in science and technology.

The west Chelsea offices have the look and feel of a traditional start-up. It is at once informal, accommodating and inclusive – the key ingredients that the charity, one year in, has thrived on. And yet, the protagonist behind its creation had until recently been very much an outsider to the technology community.

Wealth gap

Former Wall Street Journal business journalist, Christina Lewis Halpern, had a front row seat to observe and analyse the growth in income inequality and those with assets, who “reaped the seemingly ever-increasing rewards.” Through interviews with the upper echelons of the business world and covering real estate during both boom and bust, she became quickly attuned to the wealth gap. “The gap is very stark in the US with the average white household’s net worth of $110,000, compared to the average black household of around $6,000?” says Lewis Halpern. “It is a terrible problem. When I left the newspaper I was determined to see what I could do to make a difference.”

Lewis Halpern didn’t need to look far for inspiration, as the daughter of one of the most charismatic and powerful African-American businessmen in the US, the late Reginald F.Lewis. The month before her father died in 1993, she was named to the board of his foundation, aged just 12 years-old. The  Reginald F. Lewis Foundation had for many years funded grants of more than $10m to various non-profit programmes and organisations. It was dedicated to supporting youth, arts and education programmes that help minority communities.

Through writing a memoir on her father’s life, called Lonely at the Top, she was fortunate enough to speak to the professor who ran the access programme her father attended and which ultimately encouraged him to pursue law. “My father was one of the first African Americans to work in a white shoe law firm on Wall Street in the 1960s and 1970s, and was a pioneer in his field,” says Lewis Halpern. “He did this because of an access programme. Run by Harvard Law School, the programme would recruit college juniors from black colleges in the south and bring them to the city to introduce them to corporate law.”

Speaking to the now 85-year-old professor and Holocaust survivor, she felt immediately empowered and spurred on to create a prep programme that was as effective as her father’s. It was by chance that she attended her first ever technology conference, a world very different to the corporate environment she was used to reporting in. “It was an entirely new world, and IT opened my eyes to how few black and brown young men were active in the technology industry. It was clear this was the next economic opportunity and was where the wealth, innovation and job opportunities were,” declares Lewis Halpern.

She notes that if her father was a young man today, he would no doubt be working in technology. Through researching the industry and looking at what was available, it was clear there were some great programmes for young women, such as Black Girls Code, but a lack of opportunities for young minority men. “In honor of my father’s legacy – and everyone else who has fought for equal rights – I created this program to help the future generation of youth catch the next wave of opportunity,” remarks Lewis Halpern on her clear intentions for All Star Code.

"Many students we speak to have never heard of a hackathon or even knew there was such thing as a computer scientist. It’s clear we need more access in the pipeline.”

“Many students we speak to have never heard of a hackathon or even knew there was such thing as a computer scientist. It’s clear we need more access in the pipeline.”  (Image courtesy of All Star Code)

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Oreoluwa Somolu: The Nigerian woman empowering young women in Africa to engage with technology

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"Lots of the girls who attend the centre have never seen or met a woman who is a computer scientist or engineer, so the prospect of becoming one, is not within the realms of possibility."

“Lots of the girls who attend the centre have never seen or met a woman who is a computer scientist or engineer, so the prospect of becoming one, is not within the realms of possibility.”

In the third of our five features celebrating Ada Lovelace Day and prominent women in science and technology across the world, we speak to Oreoluwa Somolu about empowering young women in Africa to engage with technology and pursue careers in science and technology.

Ada Lovelace Day, marked yesterday across the world, is an annual celebration of the achievements of women in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).

Oreoluwa Somolu Lesi is the Founder and Executive Director of the Women’s Technology Empowerment Centre (W.TEC). Somolu worked for several years in the United States at an educational non-for-profit organisation on a number of projects, which explored the interplay between gender and technology and which sought to attract more girls and women to study and work in science and technology-related fields. She has a Bachelors degree in Economics from Essex University, U.K, a Master’s degree in Analysis, Design and Management of Information Systems from the London School of Economics & Political Science and a Certificate in Applied Sciences from Harvard University’s Extension School. Her interests are the applications of technology in improving lifelong learning and also to raise the economic and social conditions of people (especially women and children) in the developing world.

Somolu also has some research experience, which includes working on the Gender Equity in Math and Science (GEMS) project, while working at the Education Development Center in MA, U.S.A from 2001 to 2003. She is a 2014 Vital Voices Lead Fellow, 2013 Ashoka fellow and a recipient of the Anita Borg Change Agent Award for her commitment to issues of women in computing in Nigeria.

It was while volunteering in a downtown Boston community centre and women’s shelter, that Nigerian-born STEM enthusiast Oreoluwa Somolu realised the severe lack of awareness around the benefits of using technology. Every day she would teach women and children from across different parts of the US city how to use computers, answering questions and offering guidance on web design and basic programming. It would often surprise her how “mysterious” computing was to many, but made her fully grasp the profound impacts technology could have on people’s lives.

“I naively expected everyone to be able to use a computer as this was America, but found that to be far from the truth,” remarks Somolu. “It was an eye opener to the real world, where more women and people from ethnic communities considerably lacked computer skills. Some had never turned on a computer before, let alone knew the benefits. It was so empowering to see women return to the centre a few months later to report they had found a job as a result. They had a new found self-confidence.”

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Distinguished South African Professor Tebello Nyokong on science, education and innovation

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"When I talk to schools or parents, the first thing I say, is let your children touch and explore, it’s the first path to science.” Image courtesy of Ettione

“When I talk to schools or parents, the first thing I say, is let your children touch and explore, it’s the first path to science.” Image courtesy of Ettione

In the first of our five features celebrating Ada Lovelace Day and prominent women in science and technology across the world, we speak to Professor Tebello Nyokong, an internationally renowned Chemist, on African science, education and innovation.

Ada Lovelace Day, which this year takes place on October 14, is an international celebration of the achievements of women in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).

Prof Tebello Nyokong holds a DST/NRF professorship in Medicinal chemistry and Nanotechnology at Rhodes University in South Africa.  She is also Director of the DST/Mintek Nanotechnology Innovation Centre (NIC)-Sensors at Rhodes University where she joined in 1992 after lecturing at the University of Lesotho for five years. She has been undertaking research on applications of phthalocyanines in healthcare: as photodynamic therapy (PDT) of cancer agents in combination with nanosized metal nanoparticles and quantum dots. In September 2009, a special motion was passed in the South African National Assembly acknowledging Professor Nyokong’s role in the transformation of science in South Africa. Nyokong has also been award the title of Distinguished Professor at Rhodes University and recognized by the Royal Society in Chemistry/Pan African Chemistry Network as a  Distinguished Woman in  Chemistry. 

“I keep telling people I’m no longer a role model, I’m too old, too straight and not hip enough,” asserts a hysterical Professor Tebello Nyokong in her own typically modest and charismatic demeanour. Of course, her defiance is far removed from the truth. The quick-talking, affable and extremely accommodating distinguished professor is today not only one of the most internationally respected scientists in the world, lauded for her pioneering research into photodynamic therapy for cancer treatment, but is a constant source of inspiration for students across Africa.

Brought up in politically unstable times in her home country of South Africa, she was sent to live with her grandparents in the mountainous terrain of Lesotho. As an eight-year-old, she would work as a shepherd on alternate days from school, learning the traits of a hard day’s shift. It was here where she found “much solace in nature’s beauty” and learned to appreciate the great science around her.

Challenging expectations

Initially dissuaded by her peers to study sciences at school, Nyokong was desperate for a challenge. After three years studying arts and humanities, she realised they had guided her in the wrong direction. “There were no role models to look up to back then. You just learned to follow your peers,” says Nyokong. “They told me science was too hard and way beyond me, but I was adamant I wanted to do it and with two years left switched courses.”

Nyokong pins much of her determination and steely resistance down to her upbringing and this is evident in her unerring enthusiasm for teaching as the director of the Nanotechnology Innovation Centre at Rhodes University in South Africa. “I was brought up to work hard, whether it was as a young shepherd or working long hours mixing cement and concrete for my father’s company. I was just used to touching things,” brims Nyokong. “Now when I talk to schools or parents, the first thing I say, is let your children touch and explore, it’s the first path to science.”

As an influential voice in South African education, she is not afraid to express her fearless views on the teaching of science and believes much needs to be changed. “In South Africa we have this system that constantly strives for 100% pass rates at schools. Many of the teachers themselves find science hard, as very few are trained in teaching the discipline, and therefore under great pressure, they discourage students from courses. It is a deeply flawed system,” notes Nyokong despondently.

“Science is not just part of our culture, it is part of our everyday life, and role models are crucial in promoting this." Image courtesy of Sophie Smith.

“Science is not just part of our culture, it is part of our everyday life, and role models are crucial in promoting this.” Image courtesy of Sophie Smith.

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MakerBot CEO Bre Pettis on 3D Printing and the DIY Spirit

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"3D Printing is a tinkerer's dream and it’s the DIY Holy Grail to make something that creates things."

“3D Printing is a tinkerer’s dream and it’s the DIY Holy Grail to make something that creates things.” Image courtesy of MakerBot.

Bre Pettis is the CEO of MakerBot, a company that produces 3D printers, which he co-founded in 2009. Pettis also co-founded the Brooklyn hacker collective NYC Resistor, where MakerBot technology was first created, tested, and proven.

In 2006, Bre started the popular “Weekend Projects” video podcast for Make: Magazine, where he taught millions of viewers to make things from pinhole cameras to bicycles to hovercrafts. He also introduced the blog at the popular online handcrafts marketplace, Etsy. Prior to both endeavors, Bre was an art teacher in the Seattle Public Schools system.

In 2012, Bre was honored with the Disruptive Innovation Award from the Tribeca Film Festival, for “creating an entire ecosystem for desktop 3D printing.”

Since its launch in 2009, MakerBot has positioned itself in the 3D printing community as a leader in DIY production. Co-founded by former public school art teacher Bre Pettis, MakerBot facilitates the dreams of tinkerers and the curious minded with nothing more than corn-based plastic and an idea.

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Emily Anthes discusses how biotechnology is shaping the future of our furry and feathered friends

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American science journalist and author Emily Anthes with her dog, Milo. Image Courtesy of Nina Subin.

American science journalist and author Emily Anthes with her dog, Milo.
Image Courtesy of Nina Subin.

Emily Anthes is a science journalist and author. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Wired, Scientific American, Psychology Today, BBC Future, SEED, Discover, Popular Science, Slate, The Boston Globe, and elsewhere.

Her book, Frankenstein’s Cat: Cuddling Up to Biotech’s Brave New Beasts, is out in paperback today published by Scientific American/Farrar, Straus and Giroux. It received the 2014 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books. 

Emily is also the author of the Instant Egghead Guide: The Mind (St. Martin’s Press, 2009).

Her blog post, “When a deaf man has Tourette’s,” was selected for inclusion in The Open Laboratory 2010: The Best of Science Writing on the Web.  

Emily has a master’s degree in science writing from MIT and a bachelor’s degree in the history of science and medicine from Yale, where she also studied creative writing. She lives in Brooklyn, New York with her dog, Milo.

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Chief Scientific Adviser to the European Commission discusses evidence-based policy and nurturing and supporting a European scientific culture

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"The policy world very much mirrors what we do in science today." Image: (c) European Union

“The policy world very much mirrors what we do in science today.” Image: (c) European Union

Professor Anne Glover joined the European Commission as Chief Scientific Adviser to the President in January 2012, and is the first person to hold this position.

In this role she advises the President on any aspect of science and technology, liaises with other science advisory bodies of the Commission, the Member States and beyond, coordinates science and technology foresight, and promotes the European culture of science to a wide audience, conveying the excitement and relevance of science to non-scientists. She also chairs the recently established Science & Technology Advisory Council of the President.

Prior to her current appointment she was Chief Scientific Adviser for Scotland from 2006-2011. Professor Glover currently holds a Personal Chair of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of Aberdeen. Most of her academic career has been spent at the University of Aberdeen where she has a research group pursuing a variety of areas from microbial diversity to the development and application of whole cell biosensors (biological sensors) for environmental monitoring and investigating how organisms respond to stress at a cellular level.

Professor Glover holds several honorary doctoral degrees and is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the Society of Biology, the Royal Society of Arts and the American Academy of Microbiology. Professor Glover was recognised in March 2008 as a Woman of Outstanding Achievement in the UK and was awarded a CBE for services to Environmental Science in the Queen’s New Years Honours list 2009.

When Professor Anne Glover finished her five-year term as Chief Scientific Adviser for Scotland, the biologist was lauded for not only raising the visibility of science in Scotland and the UK, but for further increasing the role of scientific evidence in the policy-making process.

These fruitful five years led her to the challenging and geographically diverse role of Chief Scientific Adviser to the European Commission (EC), which she leaves after three years in the position, at the end of 2014. As the first ever scientist to be tasked with the responsibility of independently advising politicians and policy-makers governing more than 500m people across 28 member states, this was no easy assignment.

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Oscar-winning visual effects mastermind behind Gravity, talks Physics lessons, NASA imagery and defining the art of CG ‘weightlessness’ in space.

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Tim Webber

“It could have fallen flat as a fairly unusual film, largely focused on one person in space. We thought it may be a tough film to sell to the public”.
Image Courtesy of Framestore.

Tim Webber is a visual effects supervisor  who has worked on an array of critically acclaimed blockbusters. He joined British visual effects company Framestore in 1988 and has been the driving force behind the company’s push into digital film and television, developing Framestore’s virtual camera and motion rig systems. He has worked on The Dark Knight, James Cameron’s Avatar and was second unit director on the Hallmark production of Merlin. He has most recently taken charge as Warner Brother’s VFX supervisor on Alfonso Cuarón’s space epic, Gravity. He won the Bafta Award for Best Special Effects and the Oscar for Best Achievement in Visual Effects.

Tim Webber has become one of the most talked about people in film in recent months. In the past, he has been an ‘unsung hero’ of visual effects, who has wielded his magic on many memorable cinematic scenes. From his previous Oscar nod on Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight in 2008, to creating the CG baby in Children of Men with Gravity’s director Alfonso Cuarón ; Webber has been a visionary, who until recently, has shied away from the spotlight.

Thrust deservedly into the limelight with last night’s Oscar win (Best Achievement in Visual Effects) and the previous month’s Bafta success for space epic, Gravity, Webber and the influential team of visual effects artists from Framestore have taken filmmaking to a whole new level. Yet Webber, who had a passion for Maths and Physics at school, before completing a degree in Physics at Oxford, still finds the attention and acclaim surprising.

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Google Chrome’s security lead on STEM, women in technology and fighting cyber crime

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An ambassador for women in technology and STEM education.

An ambassador for women in technology and STEM education. Image courtesy of Brandon Downey.

Parisa Tabriz is Google Chrome’s security lead. She has worked on information security at Google for more than 6 years, starting as a “hired hacker” software engineer for Google’s security team. As an engineer, she found and closed security holes in Google’s web applications, and taught other engineers how to do the same.

Today, Parisa manages Google’s Chrome security engineering team, whose goal is to make Chrome the most secure browser and keep users safe as they surf the web. In late 2012, she was selected by Forbes as one of the 30 under 30 pioneers in technology. When she’s not hacking, she likes to make things (art, food, miscellaneous DIY projects) or escape Silicon Valley to go hiking and rock climbing in the mountains.

“Good code is marked by qualities that go beyond the purely practical; like equations in physics or mathematics, code can aspire to elegance,” author Vikram Chandra recently exclaimed in an article in the Financial Times.  In an environment where statistics in US education make for grim reading in the numbers of young people, especially women, that are going into programming and computer science, this “beautiful art form” needs to be embraced – and fast.

Column inches have been filled with critics condemning the state of technology education in the US and all the while increasingly more jobs are now reliant on computer and coding across all sectors. A 2010 report from both the Association for Computing Machinery and the Computer Science Teachers Association found that more than two-thirds of US states had little or no literacy in computer science at secondary school level. It is a problem, which the report suggests, has left the US “woefully behind in preparing students with the fundamental computer science knowledge and skills they need for the future.”

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Bioinformatics what is it and how it can bring prehistory to life?

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ivan.JPG

Ivan Karabaliev joined Eagle Genomics located at the Babraham Research Centre in Cambridge, UK, a bit more than a year ago and has been discovering the essence of bioinformatics. Coming from a business marketing background, Ivan likes to explain the complex world of bioinformatics to new audiences and the general public.

Explained in just one sentence, bioinformatics is the science of managing, analysing, storing and merging biological data (DNA sequences, proteins, etc.) using advanced computing techniques. Put another way, it is the application of computer science and information technologies to solve biological questions. Simple questions include asking what a specific region of given DNA is responsible for, or how closely related one organism is to another by comparing their genomes.

The genome is the entirety of an organism’s hereditary information; the genetic make-up of all living organisms. It contains the instructions needed for a living organism to grow and function. When we know the sequence of a gene, the role it has in an organism and the diseases caused by malfunctioning copies of the gene, this information can be used to improve life for the organism. This is where bioinformatics comes along, to better interpret and understand genetic messages.

The genomes of organisms, some of which can be several billion DNA base pairs long, can be stored in biological databases. The data stored may include gene function, structure, localization (both cellular and chromosomal), physiological or clinical effects of genetic mutations, as well as similarities of biological sequences and structures.

In 1990 the Human Genome Project was formally given a green light, encouraged by the need to understand and help cure human diseases – the genomic revolution started to take its first steps. The project was led by Dr. Francis Collins, head of the International Human Genome Institute. The whole human genome, which is 3 billion base pairs long, was sequenced in 2000. The news was proclaimed by Bill Clinton:

Humankind is on the verge of gaining immense, new power to heal. It will revolutionize the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of most, if not all, human diseases!

You can watch a YouTube video of the announcement here. During the announcement a very important fact was neglected: the sequence was not truly complete, but a mere first draft. About 10 percent of the human genome had not been read.

It wasn’t until 2003 that the human genome’s sequencing was officially completed. Since then, along with the constant improvement of bioinformatics, genetic investigations have enabled the development of new tests, drug targets and have given fresh insights into the basis of human disease. However, these pioneering investigations have also revealed just how complicated human biology is and how much remains to be understood.

The human genome project is a great example of the application of bioinformatics. The project stores huge amounts of genetic data in a database that analyses and maintains human genome sequences. The database is able to write complex, biologically-aware algorithms to analyse the massive amount of information and to compare it to other related data. This enables the efficient sequencing and identification of all three billion chemical units in the human genetic instruction set, helping to find the genetic roots of diseases. But, this is just one example of how bioinformatics can be used. Below is an overview of some of the other interesting applications of bioinformatics:

• The Microbial Genome Project where scientists are determining the DNA sequence of C. crescentus, one of the microorganisms used for sewage treatment. Genomes of highly resistant bacteria are sequenced and analyzed to aid the waste treatment industry. Some bacteria can reduce levels of uranium in water. Other bacteria species like the Geobacter are capable of breaking down petroleum compounds so polluted waters can be treated.

• Climate change can also be aided thanks to bioinformatics. How? Well the Department of Energy in USA launched a program to decrease atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. One method of doing so is to study the genomes of microbes that use carbon dioxide as their sole carbon source.

• In the food industry, researchers anticipate that understanding the physiology and genetic make-up of Lactococcus lactis bacteria used in the dairy industry (buttermilk, yogurt, cheese, also used to prepare pickled vegetables, beer, wine and breads) will prove invaluable for food manufacturers as well as the pharmaceutical industry. Similar advances are expected in forensic science where bioinformatics tools are used to compare crime-scene samples to existing databases to see if they are present there or if they are related to other microbes.

• Another and potentially controversial application of bioinformatics is in defence. Scientists have built the virus poliomyelitis using entirely artificial means. They did this using genomic data available on the Internet and materials from a mail-order chemical supply. The research was financed by the US Department of Defence as part of a biowarfare response program to prove to the world the reality of bioweapons. The researchers also hope their work will discourage officials from ever relaxing programs of immunization.

• In agriculture, sequencing of the genomes of plants and animals has enormous benefits for the field. Bioinformatics tools are used to search for potentially useful genes within these genomes and to elucidate their functions. The gathered genetic knowledge could then be used to produce stronger, more drought-, disease- and insect-resistant crops, or to improve the quality of livestock making them healthier, more disease-resistant and more productive.

Future uses of bioinformatics

• Medicine will become more personalised with the development of the field of pharmacogenomics, which is the study of how an individual’s genetic make-up affects the body’s response to drugs. At present, many drugs fail to make it to the market because a small percentage of patients show adverse affects to a drug often due to sequence variants in their DNA.

• Enhancement of gene therapies. Gene therapy is the approach used to treat , cure or even prevent disease by changing the expression of a person’s gene. Currently this field is in its infancy. There are currently many ongoing clinical trials for different types of cancer and other diseases.

• And finally my favourite example for potential use of bioinformatics is in sequencing dinosaur DNA. Remember Spielberg’s movie Jurassic Park based on the book by Michael Crichton? Scientist Mark Boguski read the book and decided to do a simple experiment to replicate the movie’s premise of dinosaur DNA having been preserved inside an amber-encased mosquito. He found out that the genetic sequence quoted in the book and movie had nothing to do with dinosaurs, so he wrote a journal article about his findings. Crichton came across this manuscript and approached Boguski to provide him with a real DNA sequence for his second book: The Lost World. (Read the full story here.) This is the actual paper where Boguski wrote his findings:

Conclusion

Bioinformatics isn’t going to replace lab experiments any time soon. For now it is best used to help “focus” and complement scientific research. In most cases, bioinformatics helps to eliminate false positives, saving time and money pursuing false leads. However, with the ever-increasing volumes of data, bioinformatics has become an important part of all genomic research projects and the future is bright. As developments in genomic and molecular research technologies improve, in line with developments in information technology, bioinformatics is becoming a major player in the understanding of biological processes and disease.

Engineering improvements in surgical technologies

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peter.bmp

Dr Pete Culmer is a Senior Translational Research Fellow in the School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Leeds (UK). He has a background in medical engineering, with a PhD and subsequent post-doc work developing technology for rehabilitation assessments and interventions. He was awarded his current position, funded by the Biomedical Health Research Centre (BHRC), in 2010 and works with a growing team of researchers including engineers, surgeons and psychologists, conducting research in Surgical Technologies._

I’m at a large white console that wouldn’t be out of place in a games arcade, staring into a 3D display and carefully manoeuvring two hand-held controllers. Across the room, the other half of the surgical robot looms over the operating table, its arms mirroring my movements. It gives me a helping hand, ironing out the slight shake in my hands and scaling things so the small instruments it holds move more delicately than I could ever manage on my own. I’m trying to tie off a knot, yet despite all this technological help I mess up, miss the loop of thread and instead plunge the needle into the soft mass beneath. Oops…

It sounds like science fiction, but this robot system, the da Vinci, is widely used for minimally invasive surgery in healthcare systems around the world. This one is in the heart of Leeds General Infirmary where I’m sitting with colleagues, currently laughing at my lack of surgical prowess. Luckily this is just a practice using silicon models rather than people and I’m an engineer, not a surgeon.

It might seem unusual for an engineer, but this is part of my job in the Surgical Technologies research group at the University of Leeds. The group, led by Anne Neville (Prof. of Engineering and next up at the da Vinci’s controls) and David Jayne (Prof. of Surgery, watching on amused), focuses on developing new technology to improve modern surgery, with a particular emphasis on laparoscopy (minimally invasive surgery (MIS) on organs such as the bowel within the abdomen). For engineers it’s a challenging and fascinating task, but with systems like the da Vinci already in use, is new technology still necessary and beneficial? Understanding this question takes clinical expertise and experience and this is why our group comprises both surgeons and engineers working closely together. The answer, by the way, is a definite ‘yes’; laparoscopic surgery is sometimes described as being like trying to tie your shoelaces using a pair of long chopsticks….we need to give surgeons all the help we can to improve this situation.

As a researcher I’m fortunate in having a 5 year fellowship position which has been incredibly valuable in helping me establish a career in academia. It provides me with the opportunities, resources and crucially the time to develop my own research. My interests focus on developing ‘smart’ surgical tools that integrate sensors, data analysis and feedback systems to improve the surgeon’s operating experience. But there’s way too much work for one person alone so a key part of my job involves developing our research group by working with colleagues to obtain funding for new PhD students and post-docs. This gives us more hands on deck but also a wider set of skills to better tackle the multidisciplinary work, from robotics specialists to trainee surgeons with clinical expertise.

One interesting area we’re looking at is how human tissue can be damaged by surgical tools – and how we can help prevent it. In laparoscopy, organs and tissues are manipulated by grasping them with plier-like tools. However, the tools are on long levers (the chopsticks) which pass through the abdominal wall and their mechanisms are affected by friction – factors which make it extremely difficult for the surgeon to ‘feel’ and regulate the forces that they apply to the tissue. This can result in tissue damage through excessive force, like getting a bruise but with potentially far more serious consequences for the patient. So we need to understand how the damage is caused; how much force is too much and how long a ‘grasp’ is too long? Our approach highlights the multidisciplinary nature of this work; using computer controlled lab equipment we grasp tissue specimens with precisely controlled forces. Then we relate this to clinical measures of tissue damage through histological analysis – looking at small sections of the tissue under a microscope and assessing how structures and cells have been deformed or destroyed. Using this information we’re working to develop improved tools that minimise tissue damage. The solutions have come from a range of different engineering fields; tribology: new bio-inspired materials with surfaces that reversibly adhere to tissue (think bio-velcro), mechanics: computational models of how tissues react to forces; robotics: tools that can actively and automatically regulate the forces they apply to prevent damage.

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The other side of my work here involves teaching, something I’ve gradually moved into and really enjoy. We have an emphasis on linking our research with teaching here at Leeds. I think (hope!) this keeps things interesting and relevant for the students, it definitely does for me. I teach a 1st year computing course and the material could be quite abstract so it’s important to ground it with real-world examples – from controlling equipment at CERN to autonomously recording high scores on Guitar Hero, both important in their own way! One part I particularly enjoy is running projects for 3rd and 4th year students; it gives them a bite-sized taste of research and the opportunity to apply the engineering skills they’ve learnt without the normal constraints of lab-classes etc. This year I ran a project with my colleague Rob Hewson. Hatched over a strong coffee or two, we thought it might have been a touch ambitious…the idea was to investigate how palpation could be applied to laparoscopic surgery. It’s commonly used by clinicians (e.g. in breast examinations) to detect and assess lumps, which could potentially be cancerous, by feeling the tissue and its mechanical properties (tumours are typically much stiffer than healthy tissue). However, in laparoscopic surgery the surgeon cannot directly touch the tissue so an alternative approach is needed. The student team surpassed all our expectations, developing a proof-of-concept system that uses a computer model to simulate liver tissue (including a tumour) and then allows you to feel, and virtually palpate the tissue using a ‘haptic’ interface. They worked hard to achieve a lot in a short space of time and it was great to see this recognised when they were runners up in the Global NI student design competition, receiving some attention in the press which they took in their stride! We’ve now submitted the work for publication – certainly a tough act for this year’s students to follow!

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It’s the end of a long week; over the last few days we’ve run a conference on Oncological Engineering which has had some fascinating talks, I’ve started teaching our new intake of first year students and there’s been lots going on in our research projects. It’s a mix that constantly keeps me on my toes and reflects the challenge of working in modern day academia with its often competing demands. I’m not looking for sympathy though, it’s stimulating, rewarding and involves working with a great bunch of people, I wouldn’t have it any other way -already looking forward to next week!