Dr Ruth Mackay
Senior Lecturer

Research area(s)

Organ on a Chip

Low cost diagnostics

Microfluidics

Prosthetics

Soft Robotics

Research Interests

Dr. Mackay directs her research efforts towards Organ-on-a-Chip (OOC) technology. Within her research group, she delves into the intricate development of microfluidic devices, explores innovative manufacturing methods, cell scaffold facbrication and electronic control of the systems.

At Brunel University London, the OOC group thrives as a multidisciplinary team, uniting toxicologists, engineers, life scientists, and bioinformaticians. Their collective mission revolves around pioneering alternative systems for investigating critical women’s health issues, including cancers, pregnancy outcomes, and sexually transmitted infections. Currently, their focus lies in creating systems that faithfully replicate female organs—vagina, ovaries, placenta, and breast—to unravel the complexities of initiation, progression, diagnosis, and treatment of women’s diseases and disorders.

Beyond her OOC pursuits, Dr. Mackay’s research interests extend to low-cost, point-of-care diagnostics, prosthetics, and the fascinating world of soft robotics.