[5] This came after her school art teacher encouraged her to pursue the course, even though her careers advisor had discouraged her from studying engineering, which was perceived as a predominately male area.

[6] She became involved in project management for technical products which included the development and design of a thin film pressure sensor for anti-lock braking systems in BMW road cars.

Her primary research is damage assessment inspections using acoustic emission (AE) applied across several industrial applications, including bridges, aerospace landing gear and composite materials, concrete and metals.

[9] Holford and her team later focussed on the improvement of AE damage location techniques, energy harvesting and embedded sensors aimed at the development of autonomous structural health monitoring systems.

She also served as the faculty advisor for Cardiff University's Formula Student team, an UpRising ambassador, and a Director of the Compound Semiconductor Centre.

Holford is a leading advocate of engineering and is part of several committees and organisations that actively encourage young people to consider a career in the field.