Get to know IPRI and University of Wollongong PhD candidate Nuwan Hegoda Arachchi.
Nuwan sits down with us to share his story on why he decided on a PhD, what he is researching and also gives some advice to those thinking of a similar career.
Nuwan’s PhD research focuses on understanding the fundamentals of protein adsorption on biomaterial surfaces. Unspecific protein adsorption on implanted blood contacting devices is a significant challenge in the biomedical industry. As a result, these medical devices often fail and create several health risks, such as inflammation and thrombosis. He uses High-Speed Atomic Force Microscope to image real-time protein adsorption on different surfaces at single-molecular level. These observations assist in discovering protein adsorption mechanisms and the role of structural dynamics of adsorbed proteins. This project would be beneficial in engineering new biomaterials to minimise the challenges associated with unspecific protein adsorption.
Watch the full interview here.