Personal statement

Dr Melanie Jimenez is a Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellow and Chancellor's Fellow working on microfluidic and sensory systems (or “lab-on-chips”) for medical and environment sciences. Her profile is interdisciplinary, at the interface of engineering, physics and biology and her goal is to develop new tools to manipulate cells and fluids at the microscopic scale. More specifically, her research could be summarised as “finding the needle in a haystack”, where micro- and nano- technologies are engineered to characterise, detect and/or isolate small targets of interest (e.g., pathogens, cancer cells, proteins, etc). These technologies can be used for a wide range of applications; she worked for example in collaboration with Scottish Water to isolate waterborne pathogens from drinking water and she has ongoing projects to improve the detection of pathogens in blood, endometriosis and neglected tropical diseases. A particular focus in her current research is to develop technologies that will improve patient outcomes. She also has a passion for engagement across disciplines and science communication. She was the recipient of a Wellcome Trust Frontiers Innovator Award (2015), a finalist for the title of Young Woman Engineer of the Year (2020) and currently is one the eight internationally recognised ISAC innovators for advancement in the field of cytometry. She co-led in 2018 a programme in collaboration with physics teachers to challenge the perception of engineering in schools and currently collaborates with charity Sepsis Research FEAT to increase awareness of sepsis in schools (https://sepsisresearch.org.uk/seps_is/). More information: https://jimenezmelanie.weebly.com