Grants to Support Knowledge Exchange – Luke Malone

Luke Malone, 2024 Grant to Support Knowledge Exchange recipient shares his experience on the process.

With the generous assistance provided by the IOM3 Grants to Support Knowledge Exchange, I was recently able to present at the World Biomaterials Congress (WBC) 2024 in Daegu, South Korea.

WBC occurs every four years and is the largest worldwide gathering of biomaterials scientists. This year over 4,000 delegates from 62 countries and regions attended, and it did not disappoint! A wide variety of topics were covered at the conference, from fundamental materials science research (a personal highlight included a discussion about advances in 4D printing) to recent clinical results surrounding medical devices being deployed in patients. The programme included several panel discussions.

Of personal relevance were discussions offering career advice to young researchers. It was encouraging to learn that even the most successful academics have faced numerous but highly relatable challenges throughout their careers. The discussions also provided practical advice on how to deal with many of the difficulties of academia.

It was a huge honour to speak at this conference, and the questions and discussions generated after my talk will be invaluable in shaping my future research and next steps. Thank you to the IOM3 for the generous assistance they provided.