My story is about embracing a multidisciplinary approach to science. We are currently living with an ever-increasing focus on combining different scientific areas to come up with more powerful, more targeted, and client-centric solutions. The Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2025 was won by three scientists who combined different approaches with artificial intelligence to determine protein structure prediction. It is the ability to combine different areas of science and technology that now makes significant breakthroughs.

My personal interest is to combine engineering with the biomedical field, particularly in relation to animal rehabilitation.  Biosensors that can collect real-time emotional and physical data, the use of technology to quantify gait analysis to find gait issues before they become visible, improvements in medical equipment, and technologies to quantify acute and chronic pain are a few of the areas where engineering and technology intersect with the medical field, and this is where my personal interest lies. 

My background is engineering. I am both a professional civil engineer and an engineer with a major in Engineering in the Biomedical Field. Designing medical equipment requires studying both engineering and biomedicine. I studied biomedical electronics, human and animal anatomy, physics, biophysics, chemistry, biochemistry, modelling of biological processes and systems, diagnostic and therapeutic medical equipment, medical ethics and psychology, design of medical equipment, maintenance of medical equipment in healthcare facilities, and more.  

Seventeen years of studying various scientific subjects, doing research (PhD), and now being a Research Fellow at The University of Auckland in a multidisciplinary team, has taught me the power of combining various areas and not being tunnel-visioned. It taught me how to write good-quality scientific papers, be a reviewer for high-quality scientific journals, and be an editor of e-books. I have received an international award, The Best Scientific Paper of the Year, from a high-ranking international scientific journal. 

What is this to do with dogs, you may ask? I have always enjoyed interaction with dogs. I have been rescuing homeless dogs from the streets for as long as I can remember. I am taking my empathy for dogs further, especially for the ones that require help and rehabilitation. I am combining my in-depth engineering and science knowledge in medical equipment with the knowledge of canine anatomy and canine massage therapy. This requires skill and the ability to think critically.  

I do it because I care. This is my story.