Dr Hayley Reynolds
Position: Research Fellow, Physical Sciences department, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne. Field: Bioengineering.
When we first met Hayley Reynolds she was a PhD student with the Maurice Wilkins Centre, based at the Bioengineering Institute of the University of Auckland.
Hayley Reynolds at work
Hayley Reynolds working at her computer.
By 2008 her research has already received significant recognition and in June 2006, Hayley was awarded an esteemed MacDiarmid Young Scientist of the Year Award for excellence in biotechnology. In October 2006, she received the AIMES Award for excellence in information technology. Hayley has had her work published in various prestigious international journals, including the leading medical journal The Lancet Oncology.
Introducing Hayley Reynolds
Hayley Reynolds, a PhD student at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute, talks about her school background and her interest in using maths and science in research that could be useful in the real world.
We have one of the highest rates of melanoma in the world, so I knew that if I came up with something that was useful in the field of melanoma, it could be locally useful here in our country.
Hayley Reynolds
Hayley’s research focused on creating an interactive 3D computer model of skin and lymph nodes, to predict and visualise how melanoma spreads in the body after it has metastasised (spread) from the skin. She used data from over 5,000 melanoma patients of the Sydney Melanoma Unit to create this computer model.
Research design
Associate Professor Rod Dunbar (University of Auckland) talks about research design, beginning with a creative idea and culminating in a new and useful way of communicating this data easily.
The human body has 43 lymph node fields to which melanoma can spread – quickly and often in unexpected ways. In diagnosing and treating melanoma, it is important for doctors to know where a melanoma is likely to have spread from any area of skin on the body. Hayley developed a predictive software tool for this purpose, and a version of this tool has already been made available to doctors worldwide.
Hayley wants to use her skills in maths and science to do something to contribute to society, to achieve something that is clinically useful for doctors.
A PhD - what does it take?
Hayley Reynolds, a PhD student at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute, shares her views on the attributes needed to complete a PhD and talks about her own personal motivation.
Her work in the field of melanoma can certainly make a highly valuable contribution.
Hayley completed her doctoral thesis in 2008, after which she worked for the Auckland Bioengineering Institute’s Biomechanics for Breast Imaging group.
Bioengineering
This is a simple explanation of bioengineering and how it can improve quality of life.
This one minute animated video from TVNZ demystifies some of the scientific and technical language.
In 2011 Hayley took up a position at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Australia. Hayley is continuing her interest in the clinical application of bioengineering technology to improve the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and she is currently working towards improving radiotherapy treatment for prostate cancer patients.
Bioengineering
This is a simple explanation of bioengineering and how it can improve quality of life.
This one minute animated video from TVNZ demystifies some of the scientific and technical language.
This article is based on information current in 2008 and updated in 2018.
