Chemical  Engineering  for Biology & Medicine

Our research programme lies at the interface of drug delivery, biomaterials, biomedical engineering, biophysics, and nanotechnology, with a central focus on creating transformative solutions for human health. 

We pursue a bench-to-preclinical pipeline, encompassing the design, synthesis, and characterisation of functional materials, their integration into advanced biomedical platforms, and mechanistic studies in vitro and in vivo to understand and optimise therapeutic efficacy. 

Our overarching goal is to develop next-generation drug delivery systems and diagnostic tools that address pressing challenges in cancer, infectious disease, and antimicrobial resistance. Specifically, our research is currently advancing along four strategic fronts: 

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(1) Lipid nanoparticles for RNA therapeutics – engineering novel formulations to enable efficient, targeted RNA delivery for the treatment of kidney injury, pulmonary infections, and corneal inflammation; 

(2) 3D-printed microfluidics and organ-on-chip platforms – developing precision diagnostic devices for sepsis and creating physiologically relevant models to accelerate translational research; 

(3) Local microdosing and biosensing – innovating minimally invasive technologies for site-specific drug administration to the lung and cornea, integrated with electrochemical sensors to monitor therapeutic response in real time (our MicroTex EPSRC Research and Partnership Hub);   

(4) Therapeutic hydrogels – designing multifunctional, stimuli-responsive hydrogels for localised and sustained release therapies.

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Current research grants

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1. RAID: Rapid assessment and integrated detection engineering suite for sepsis care, EPSRC IAA, £58k, 2025-2026, PI.

2. Research and Partnership Hub in Microscale Science and Technology to Accelerate Therapeutic Innovation (MicroTex), EPSRC (£11 million @ 80% FEC) and partner funding (£16.6 million), 2024-2030, Co-I, https://www.ukri.org/news/robotic-clothing-and-listening-for-cancer-among-new-projects/. 

3. Single cell and single molecule analysis for DNA identification, ESRC, £640k, 2024-2026, Edinburgh PI.

4. Local Oesophageal Cancer Treatment Engineering (LOCATE), MRC, £625k, 2023 – 2026, Edinburgh PI.

5. Facile and scalable fabrication of large-area metal-organic framework decorated reduced graphene oxide coatings for antibacterial applications, industrial funding, £258k, 2023 – 2025, Co-PI.

6. Integrated injectable hydrogel and metal organic framework nanomedicine for safe and effective cancer treatment, Industrial funding, £197k, 2021 – 2025, PI.

7. Commercial glucometer as a point-of-care device for early cancer diagnosis, Scottish Asia Partnerships Higher Education Research Fund (SAPHIRE), Royal Society of Edinburgh, £10k, 2023, PI.

8. Development of a self-powered dye sensitized solar cell sensor as a point-of-care (POC) device for portable and fast extracellular vesicles (EV)-based cancer diagnosis, University of Sydney – University of Edinburgh Partnership Collaboration Award, £12k, 2022 – 2023, Edinburgh PI.

9. Solid-Solid Phase Change Materials for Thermal Energy Storage Applications, EPSRC Network grant, £50k, 2023, Edinburgh PI.

10. Royal Society – National Natural Science Foundation of China (RS-NSFC) International exchange grant, High-throughput rapid detection and efficient removal of heavy metal ions and organic pollutants in electroplating wastewater using multifunctional carbon dots, £12k, 2023 – 2025, Co-I.

11. Engineering synthetic extracellular vesicles for anticancer therapy, Wellcome Trust Institutional Strategic Support Fund (ISSF), £11k, 2023, Co-I.

12. Fe-antibiotic Hydrogels as a Novel Antibiotic Treatment against Gram-Negative Bacteria, Cross-College (College of Science & Engineering and College and Medicine & Veterinary Medicine) EPSRC PhD Scholarship (supported by Biogelx Ltd), £67k, 2021 – 2025, PI.