Profile

I’m a person of many interests and probably fewer talents. In my free time, I enjoy finding creative ways to do talk about engineering and science (and my work). So far I have tried stand-up-comedy, using LEGO to explain how a microscope works, making balloon models of the intestine and writing STEM-inspired songs.

I secretly aspire to be a superhero. As an engineer, I try to solve problems and create new technology. My name is an anagram for “Inevitable Avenger”, that’s a pretty good sign, right?

An example of me using LEGO in my work: I created wells using LEGO-bricks as a mould.

“E” and “G” (from LEGO) through a microscope: I have grown cells inside the well I made with a LEGO-brick as a mould

I am part of a larger PhD project that explores the meeting point of physics, engineering and medicine. In my current project, I look at the biology and physics that happens during the onset and development of colorectal cancer. I use a range of different techniques, such as microscopy, ultrasound (similar to what is used in the clinics to monitor pregnancies), cell culture, and computer simulations to understand how the physical properties of cells and tissues change during cancer.

At the moment, I am using a computer programme to simulate an experiment I carried out a few months ago. I am trying to look at how sounds waves interact with tissue, and the simulation helps me better understand what is going on in a real-life experiment. I usually set up a new simulation to run that day (trying different situations), and while the computer does its job, I compare the results with the previous day with data from real-life experiments.

I take quite a few coffee breaks during the day with my colleagues. During these, we discuss what we are working on that day. This is really useful: talking about where we get stuck often helps us get unstuck. Sometimes we just talk about other things as well, but to be honest, it’s usually really geeky and about space or alternate realities or if we would upload our consciousness into a computer programme.

An example of one of the simulations: the red/blue colours are from a sound wave, the pattern is created by interacting with a group of cells. It looks quite psychedelic.

I have started creating a LEGO-microscope kit, and would like to expand this further, so it can be used in workshops, open days, and classrooms to explain the how we can get a magnification in microscopes. Some ideas would be to create a lesson plan to go along with the kit (that has enough LEGO bits to build the microscope, and a bunch more to be creative), and make an instruction video.

a LEGO microscope