Orla gained her MRes in Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering from University College London in 2020. Her research involved designing a novel detector for use in particle range determination in proton beam therapy and boron neutron capture therapy.
She graduated with a first class honours in Theoretical Physics from her four year undergraduate degree at University College Dublin, where she was both an Ad Astra academic scholar and a Naughton scholar. Over the course of her degree Orla studied a diverse range of topics across mathematics and physics, including modules in fluid mechanics, electronics, condensed matter physics and biophysics. Her final year project had a focus on radiation physics in particular, as it involved evaluating the use of Electron Gamma Shower software (EGSnrc), a Monte Carlo software, in computing detector efficiencies.
Her previous work experience covers a wide variety of industries, from an internship with Huawei in China to a Data Analytics internship at PwC, as well as a research internship in Geophysics at the Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies. A HBX Harvard Business School CORe certification, a primer course on Business Analytics, Economics for Managers and Financial Accounting, gives her an additional understanding of the commercial aspect of patent applications.
Orla joined Kilburn & Strode as a Trainee Patent Attorney in the Tech group in September 2020 and is currently training to become a UK and European patent attorney.