Michael Berthaume is a Research Associate in the Department of Bioengineering
Tell us about your role at Imperial
I’m a Research Associate working in the Bioengineering department.
I am interested in the intersection of anthropology and engineering (anthroengineering), and am currently focussing on research into the design of biomedical devices for low- to middle-income countries, working primarily with Sri Lanka.
What were you doing before joining Imperial?
I was working in the anthropology department at Durham University, looking into teeth and human evolution.
What do you like about working at Imperial?
Imperial is supportive in every sense of the word. I work in a very diverse environment with colleagues from all over the world. We also have a lot of women working in our department, which, being an engineering department, is often dominated by men.
It’s brilliant working in London and I love the social spaces available for us to build strong relationships with our colleagues.
I’m a keen swimmer and I also love the pool at Ethos – having a 25 metre pool nearby is great.
I also really appreciate the Early Career Researcher Institute which gives you help from writing grants to offering mentors for extra support. It’s a great resource.
As a bisexual man with a husband, I don’t want my sexuality to ever define me, and at Imperial, I feel this doesn’t happen: everyone treats each other like equals, and people aren’t defined by factors out of their control.
My advisor and our department overall is very concerned with equality and that really makes working here all the more better.
What would you change at Imperial?
I would love to have more space!
Are you inspired by any LGBT+ role models?
I can’t think of any one person. Anyone who fights for equality and what is right is a role model to me!
If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?
It’s okay to be bisexual. You don’t have to be one or the other! Personality is what matters.