Most cases of retina conditions that require surgery (vitreoretinal surgery) rely on visual acuity charts to measure success but for some conditions eye charts fail to fully capture patient's symptoms. This is particularly true for conditions such as epiretinal membrane (ERM) or macula pucker; these are scar tissues that grow as a result of ageing on the surface of the central part of the retina. They are very common and are present in about a quarter of all people over 60 years. In about 1 in 20 people, ERM affects the very central bit of the retina called the macula and can contract and pull the retina out of shape. This can result in reduced and distorted vision. Surgeons commonly remove the ERM with an operation called vitrectomy and membrane peeling. This operation is usually successful in removing the scar tissue but exactly how much the vision improves is variable. The operation also carries some risk and usually causes cataracts. Often the affected eye can be improved as measured by the number of lines read on the chart but vision in the treated eye may constantly interfere with the good vision in the other eye. Distortion is not something that can be easily quantified, but can be so troublesome that it often severely affects the patient's quality of life. There are also a host of other symptoms including micropsia (objects are perceived smaller) and diplopia (double vision). This can happen to the extent that some patients need to wear a patch to cover the good eye. Quality of life is currently measured mainly on visual function and less on patients' reports of their own well-being so we need to determine which outcomes patients value most. Patient-reported outcomes are important to them. Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are increasingly being used to measure the success or failure of treatment, how to manage a patients' treatment and care, and are also part of how healthcare is funded. PROM-tools are a series of standardised and validated questions to gain patients perspectives of their own health. A recent review by our group found that there were no specific PROMS available for retina surgery. This research will bring together clinicians and patients (including carers of those with significant impairments) to meet face-to-face and on a virtual platform to reach consensus on what outcomes are important to measure and what tools, are already available to measure these outcomes. We will ask patients if these tools are specific enough to measure their experiences or if specific PROMS need to be developed. We will set up a working group with 20 participants, the majority from different centres in the UK, including patients, nurses and doctors, but a few international consultants will also attend. The group will meet for discussions via teleconferences but there will be the option to dial in or join in by video to make it inclusive to all patients. Clinicians and patients will meet separately to make a list of outcomes important to be measured when patients present with this condition. Once it is drawn up, the list will be refined through 2 rounds of independent voting (online survey) and group discussions. We will also set up 2 focus groups with patients from St Paul's Eye Department to encourage open discussions on the PROMS that are available to measure patient-reported outcomes (for example quality of life) and see if we need to develop any new questionnaires in another project. This set of outcomes will reflect agreement by all participants. This research will produce recommendations for measures to be used by vitreoretinal surgeons and researchers and it will ultimately help to improve clinical practice, patient pathways and outcomes. Pilot studies will then follow to test strategies to relay data back to clinical teams and patients. Having these measures will also help more accurately quantify and compare the benefits of different treatment options at a global scale.

Microtubule (MT) associated protein EB1 plays key roles in recruiting other proteins to MTs to facilitate their repair in neurons. We aim to define the age-dependent changes in the phosphorylation of EB1 and its binding partners, and establish contribution of phosphorylation into the MT repair mechanism in Drosophila neurons. We will define the phosphorylation pattern of EB1 in aged neurons and investigate effect of phosphorylation on EB1 structure and interactions. We will develop a suite of mutations that either enhance or disrupt specific interactions, test them in cells and introduce into the Drosophila ageing models.

This PhD project focuses on the experiences that young, childfree women face when they seek surgical sterilisation in England and Wales. The project combines doctrinal, bioethical and qualitative research to analyse women's rights to sterilisation and experiences requesting the procedure. The right to sterilisation will be discussed with reference to the National Health Service (Family Planning) Amendment Act 1972, NHS guidance and international conventions that protect a woman's right to reproductive freedom. Still, sterilisation requests are party to a paradoxical healthcare culture that undermines women's reproductive choice in consideration of hypothetical outcomes. Young, childfree women are often denied the procedure in their 'best interests', as they may eventually decide that they want children and regret their decision to be sterilised. The project utilises Feminist theory, Law-and-Emotion scholarship and Medico-ethical principles under a conceptual framework to analyse the presence of pronatalism, paternalism and concerns of regret in discourse with physicians. Pronatalist culture is a core focus of this project, which analyses the strong emphasis placed on women fulfilling their obligation of motherhood. Furthermore, the potential for regret is a strong concern of physicians when women seek sterilisation. This project explores the role of emotion in medico-legal decision-making to analyse whether regret should be dominant in healthcare discourse. A woman's younger age can also cause concern when requesting sterilisation. Physicians often reinforce the stereotype that wisdom accompanies older age, whereas it is debatable whether age necessarily correlates with better decision-making. As a result of age and childfree status, young women are often told to request sterilisation again when they are older, have had children, or, if single, when they have found a partner and have re-evaluated their situation. Such standards are most prevalent in procedures that remove one's fertility; seeking Assisted Reproductive Technologies such as IVF, or deciding to have cosmetic surgery are both not party to anxieties from physicians about regret or one's age. The treatment of young, childfree women seeking sterilisation is underreported in academic literature and is woefully neglected in empirical research. Therefore, this thesis also includes a qualitative strand, conducting semi-structured interviews with young, childfree women. It intends to gain an original and deep understanding of women's first-hand experiences with seeking sterilisation; it also has the potential to uncover themes from participants' responses that have not yet been apportioned academic attention. Although physicians may deny sterilisation to prevent long-term harm to the patient by avoiding regret, disappointment, and other accompanying 'negative' emotions from remaining childfree, the impact on women who are refused sterilisation is significant. Conducting this project will allow for an in-depth analysis of the impact that sterilisation refusals have had on women. The thesis concludes that denying sterilisation undermines reproductive autonomy and simultaneously represents a concerning rise in paternalistic healthcare practices. The project proposes clearer regulatory guidance concerning surgical sterilisation and specific training for healthcare professionals on how to handle requests for treatment that they believe may be regrettable or ill-advised.

There has been little scholarly analysis of the barriers to elected office for disabled people and a lack of interest within political parties, councils and governments to increase the number of disabled politicians (Evans and Reher, 2022). As this research is limited, this project aims to fill a gap by addressing voters' perceptions of candidates and exploring the lived experiences of disabled candidates.

Developing a new way of rapidly making high-quality metal parts by Additive Manufacturing, often referred to as 3D printing. This work, if successful, will lead to faster, cheaper and more environmentally-friendly production of functional parts to be used in the UK's leading industries. It will help maintain the competitive advantage of manufacturing industries in the UK and result in enhanced industrial output and lead to improved exports.