Sierra Sparks

DPhil Engineering Science 2021

As a DPhil in Engineering Science candidate, Sierra has been fortunate to be shaped by the Keble community and the opportunities that it has given her—specifically in championing equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), and in developing as a leader through rowing.

Supported by a Rhodes Scholarship, Sierra’s research is at the intersection of engineering and medicine. Based in the Biomedical Image Analysis cluster of the Institute of Biomedical Engineering, her research focuses on investigating the pupil’s response to light as a tool to obtain information about brain health, to identify early indicators of dementia and potentially help with screening and targeted interventions. Sierra is particularly interested in incorporating an intersectional lens into health research, including assessing sex-specific factors and their relation to Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

Informed by her experiences as a racialized woman in engineering, Sierra is a passionate advocate for EDI—something she believes strengthens any discipline. As the Equality and Diversity representative for the College MCR for two years, Sierra implemented a new EDI Training for Keble graduate students, and co-created and chaired an EDI subcommittee to engage more graduate students in EDI initiatives across the College.

Alongside her studies, Sierra took up the classic Oxford activity of rowing, first learning to row with the Keble College Boat Club (KCBC). She instantly felt at home with the club and loved the social, collaborative, and competitive atmosphere it provided. She became Women’s Captain in her second year where she led the largest racing women’s squad at Torpids in the Club’s history, and was President in her third year. Her positive experiences and support from KCBC led to her trial with the Oxford University Boat Club, where she represented Oxford and won in the 2024 Women’s Spares Race against Cambridge.