Rachel Wong
MPharm 2012
Rachel has recently achieved second place at the National Young Persons' Lecture Competition (YPLC). Sponsored by the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, with support from The Worshipful Company of Armourers & Brasiers, the competition invited students and professionals up to the age of 28 to deliver a short lecture on a materials, minerals, mining, packaging, clay technology and wood science related subject.
The talk that won Rachel second place at the competition was about the Effect of Photoinitiator Concentration on the Properties of Unmedicated Hydrogels.
She said: “I felt thankful for the opportunity and the ability to prove myself. I am pleased with how far I have progressed and getting a second place at the national final is a bonus.”
Rachel started her PhD within the department of Pharmacy Health and Wellbeing at the University of Sunderland in October 2013. Her area of research focuses on developing a novel polymeric hydrogel film for dermatological application. The delivery of drugs across the skin has always been a challenge due to the stratum corneum (outermost layer of skin) acting as a formidable barrier to limit the entry of water and foreign substances from the environment into the body. She hopes her work will contribute to new knowledge in the formulation of polymeric hydrogels and ultimately to optimised drug delivery via the skin.
Prior to that, she graduated with an MPharm degree from the University of Sunderland in 2012 and completed her pre-registration training with Boots before qualifying as a Pharmacist. Alongside her PhD studies, Rachel also currently works as a demonstrator in undergraduate laboratory classes and occasionally works as a Locum in community pharmacies on weekends.
The 25-year-old would like to finish her PhD on time and is now considering working in an academic capacity.
“I think the University's support to students and the feedback from academic staff have helped me to improve and mould me to become the person I am today. My experience here has been life changing,” Rachel added.
Director of Rachel’s studies, Dr Kalliopi Dodou said: “Rachel is one of my PhD students and being an alumna myself I am very proud to direct the PhD of a successful younger alumna. Achieving a second place at the National YPLC final was an excellent result”.