After passing a Baccalauréat in Science, Laura Jay entered ENISE and specialised in Physical Engineering which includes Sensory Engineering. During her last year in the Engineering cycle, Laura also enrolled in a Master's degree course in Mechanical Engineering, with the specific curriculum of Biomechanics, which was a way for her to combine her two main interests - medicine and engineering.
"I always wanted to study medicine but I was also interested in studying engineering. When I chose ENISE, I knew that I would study Biomechanics" said the young doctor.

When she did an internship for her master's degree at the Laboratoire de Tribologie et de Dynamique des Systèmes, she discovered research while working on the development of in vivo and in vitro characterisation methods of the bio-physical and mechanical properties of the tongue, in the presence of astringency.

She therefore quite naturally seized the opportunity to continue working on a thesis project within a PhD course at Ecole Centrale de Lyon. Her project was carried out in partnership with Tohoku University, in Japan, directed by Professor Hassan Zahouani and she became the first PhD student to benefit from a double agreement, under joint supervision.

Her thesis subject is a study of hydrogel with a double polymer network to be used as artificial cartilage, in order to avoid friction between hard materials (metals, ceramics, etc.) in prostheses. Her research has allowed her to characterise this new type of hydrogel, a substance consisting of over 90% water. Its double polymer network makes it more resistant mechanically, which plays a role in the reduction of friction on the interface, thanks to a modification in the structure of one of the two networks.

During her 3 years of thesis work, Laura spent a year in Japan, in a tribology laboratory. Her Japanese experience, which she says was wonderful, gave her the opportunity to discover both the culture of the country and different ways of working.

Her PhD years taught her some new working methods, maturity and autonomy in solving problems, and skills which she has already put to good use on the labour market. Today, she is a research engineer at an SME in Lyon which specialises in medical devices. She continues to explore her areas of expertise: engineering and medicine.