University of Sydney
Research Field: Biomedical Engineering
Children with bone, muscle and nerve conditions need specially made devices because they are smaller than adults and are still growing. However, child-specific devices are not always available, so doctors and clinicians have to either use nothing, make do or modify adult devices.
Tegan’s research focuses on developing two types of medical devices for these children: metal rods and plates for children with bone deformities and 3D printing personalized ankle-foot braces. Both of her projects involve teams with diverse backgrounds working together to help children with physical disabilities walk better, faster and pain free.
Tegan loves to tell people about her work and encourage them to pursue a career in STEM. She has presented at events like Sydney Science Week, is a Coach to a year 10 girl in the Curious Minds program, given talks to lots of school groups including through Power of Engineering, hosted lab tours for groups ranging from kids to boards, and runs the EPIC Lab Instagram account (@epic_lab_).
Tegan completed her PhD in 2016 through the University of Sydney and is currently an NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow at the University of Sydney.