Eleanor Stride facts for kids

Eleanor Phoebe Jane Stride is a British scientist and engineer who works in medicine. She is a Professor of Biomaterials (special materials used in the body) at the University of Oxford. Professor Stride is known for her amazing work with tiny bubbles, called microbubbles, which can be used to deliver medicine to specific parts of the body.

Education and Early Career

Eleanor Stride studied Mechanical Engineering at University College London. At first, she thought she might work for the car company Aston Martin. However, she became fascinated with using ultrasound (high-frequency sound waves) to see microbubbles. This new interest led her down a different path.

After finishing her PhD, she received an award to continue her research. She began exploring how ultrasound and microbubbles could be used to deliver medicine directly to where it's needed in the body.

Using Bubbles to Improve Medicine

Professor Stride's research is focused on creating new ways to treat illnesses. She designs special microbubbles that act like tiny delivery trucks for medicine.

How Do Microbubbles Work?

Microbubbles are so small they can travel through your bloodstream. When doctors use an ultrasound machine, these bubbles show up very brightly on the screen. This allows doctors to see exactly where the blood is flowing in the body.

Stride's idea was to fill these bubbles with medicine. The bubbles carry the medicine safely through the body until they reach the right spot, like a tumour. Then, doctors can use ultrasound to pop the bubbles, releasing the medicine exactly where it needs to be. This method is called a drug delivery system.

This is very important for powerful treatments like chemotherapy. By targeting only the sick cells, it can help reduce the side effects on healthy parts of the body.

Guiding the Bubbles

To have even more control, Professor Stride's team has used special magnets to guide the bubbles to a specific area. They have shown that they can trap the bubbles in tissue several centimetres deep inside the body.

She also found that she could fill the bubbles with oxygen. This can help make other treatments, like Sonodynamic therapy, work better. Because of her groundbreaking work, she has created several patents for her inventions and started a company called AtoCap to help treat serious infections.

Inspiring Future Engineers

Professor Stride is not just a top researcher; she also works to get young people excited about science and engineering.

• In 2016, she was named one of the Top 50 Influential Women in Engineering.
• She has appeared on BBC Radio 4 to talk about her work.
• She has made videos with the Royal Institution to explain science to the public.
• She helped create a science revision series for students with BBC Bitesize.

Awards and Honours

Professor Stride has received many awards for her important contributions to science and engineering.

• 2009: She won the Philip Leverhulme Prize, which is given to outstanding young researchers.
• 2013: She received the Lindsay Award from the Acoustical Society of America.
• 2015: She was awarded the Institution of Engineering and Technology Harvey Prize for her engineering research.
• 2017: She was made a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, a high honour for UK engineers.
• 2021: She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her services to engineering.