Zhané Murrell-Smith

Profile

I have been a postgraduate researcher in the Faculty of Biological Sciences since October 2022, completing a project titled “Biomechanical effect of rehabilitation exercise on the knee joint in early knee surgical interventions”. I graduated from the University of Leeds in 2021 in Sport and Exercise Sciences, followed by an MSc in Applied Sport and Exercise Science from Sheffield Hallam University (2021-2022). During my undergraduate degree I took an industrial placement as a Biomechanist at the Sports Surgery Clinic in Dublin. 

My PhD project is based across both the School of Biomedical Sciences and Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, investigating knee biomechanics during rehabilitation exercise. The project aims to begin quantifying differences in knee motion during lower limb exercise between healthy people and those with a history of ACL surgery. These data will be used to simulate exercise in the natural knee joint to observe the mechanical effect of exercise in the knee. 

Besides my PhD, I have an interest in equity, diversity and inclusion, and have worked on various projects at Leeds, including assessing Athena Swan data for the Faculty of Biological Sciences, acting as the Chair of the PGR Diversity Steering Committee and sitting on the student data self-assessment team for the Race Equality Charter working group. 

Research interests

To find out more about the Institute of Medical & Biological Engineering's research visit imbe.leeds.ac.uk/research/.

Qualifications

• BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Sciences (Industrial)
• MSc Applied Sport and Exercise Science