Academy grant for Kumar

A Royal Academy of Engineering product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Feb 7, 2005

The Royal Academy of Engineering is helping to send Imperial College PhD student, Robin Kumar, to Austria later this month to present his research into sickle cell anaemia.

The Royal Academy of Engineering is helping to send Imperial College PhD student, Robin Kumar, to Austria later this month to present his research into sickle cell anaemia.

It is estimated that there are over 6000 adults and children with sickle cell disease in Britain at present, with most of those affected being of African and Caribbean descent.

The disorder affects the red blood cells which contain the oxygen-carrying protein, haemoglobin, which carries oxygen from the lungs to all parts of the body.

People with sickle cell disorder need regular medical attention, but with the right care can lead relatively normal lives.

Continued research is imperative.

The blood cell "factory" where the red blood cells are made is the bone marrow; the spongy tissue in the cavities of bones.

Healthy bone marrow releases blood cells into the blood stream when they are mature and when required.

While bone marrow transplants have been carried out on sickle cell patients, little attention has been paid to developing a means of measuring the oxygen content of new red blood cells within human bone marrow.

Kumar, a PhD student in the department of chemical engineering under the supervision of Dr A Mantalaris, has developed a model which could change this, and he will present his novel and groundbreaking research in Austria this month, traveling to the International Conference in Biomedical Engineering in Innsbruck with help from The Royal Academy of Engineering's International Travel Grant Scheme.

Ian Bowbrick, Manager, Postgraduate and Professional Development at the Royal Academy of Engineering says: "The Royal Academy of Engineering exists to support excellence in engineering and to offer opportunities to our engineers".

"The International Travel Grant scheme is one way of doing this".

"This superb work in a fascinating, novel and worthwhile area of technology demonstrates not just great innovation but also how engineering application can affect lives".

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