2017 cohort
PhD
Fabiola Cardoso Delgado
Fabiola is originally from Querétaro, México and achieved her BSc in Physics, with a minor in Industrial Technology, at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, USA. Fabiola completed an internship in a Neurobiology lab in México, which led to an interest in life sciences. Her interests include travel, playing tennis, and reading.
Project title: Exploring photoprotection and enhanced photosynthesis in natural photonic chloroplasts
Primary supervisor: Tom Oliver
Ella Carter
Ella graduated from the University of Bristol with a Msci in Chemistry with industrial experience. She loved Bristol so much that she decided to stay and joined the BCFN cohort in 2017. During her placement year, Ella worked for Imerys in Cornwall, developing both rheology modifiers and non-woven materials. Her masters project was based in Professor Paul Bartlett’s group, where she studied non-aqueous microgels by fluorescence confocal microscopy. Ella wishes to expand her knowledge in soft matter chemistry but is also interested in exploring new areas of research, particularly biological applications of nanotechnology.
Project title: DNA-based diagnostics and therapeutics for the treatment of gonorrhea
Primary supervisor: Sean Davis
Andrea Diaz Gaxiola
Andrea studied a BSc in Nanotechnology and Molecular Engineering at the University of the Americas Puebla (UDLAP) in her home-country, Mexico. She participated in two research projects at the University of British Columbia (Canada). The first involved investigating the conditions for organized DNA deposition in gold electrodes, and the second involved studying the effect of different oxygen profiles on breast cancer cells in microfluidic devices. Before joining the BCFN she completed an internship at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Saudi Arabia) in the Integrated Nanotechnology Lab, characterising MEMS for marine life tagging. Her interests include microfluidic devices, nanomaterials for biomedical applications and bio-inspired materials. Andrea also enjoys volunteer work and travelling.
Project title: Fabrication of Light Responsive Hydrogels for Bio-hybrid Robotics
Primary supervisor: Michael Dicker
William Hoffman
Wil holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from North Carolina State University. His research experience prior to the BCFN involves surface science of polymeric, metallic, and zeolitic thin films for a variety of applications including biofouling reduction, energy storage and transduction, and crude oil cracking. Whilst obtaining his degree he worked at Sealed Air Corporation developing innovative plastic packaging technologies. His academic interests include 2D materials, self-assembly, and nanoelectronics. In his free time, he enjoys cycling, hiking, and reading.
Project title: Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy - How Are Crystal Pre-Nucleation Clusters Affected by Strong Magnetic Fields?
Primary supervisor: Henkjan Gersen
Agata Jakimowicz
Agata graduated in Biochemistry with Year in Industry from the University of Bristol. She spent her placement year at MedImmune, Cambridge, where she was visualising the secretory pathway of a recombinant protein by high-resolution imaging. During Agata’s final study year at Bristol, she worked in Dr Ross Anderson's group investigating oxygen binding properties and activation in de novo designed cytochromes. Agata’s areas of interest include biomaterials and tissue engineering, and in her spare time she trains for competitive ballroom dancing and enjoys reading.
Project title: A responsive, growth-factor-expressing bioink for tissue engineering
Primary supervisor: Adam Perriman
William Macalester
William graduated from the University of Bristol in 2017 with an MSci in Chemistry. For his final year project, he investigated the synthesis and self-assembly of amphiphilic block copolymers. Since joining the BCFN he has undertaken two short projects, exploring the use of optically addressable tools for transient microfluidics, and engineering swarm behaviours of nanoparticles. His PhD project, sponsored by GSK, aims to develop a novel functional in vitro model of a living human tooth to investigate the efficacy of antimicrobial treatments.
Project title: TBC
Primary supervisor: Adam Perriman
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Fergus Moore
Fergus joined the BCFN in September 2016 after graduating with a BSc in Physics from King’s College London in the same year. Fergus was drawn towards research after working in industry for QuantuMDx; a company developing a point-of-care device based on a nanowire biosensor. So far Fergus has spent time researching gels and thin-film solar cells. He is keen to continue working in fields where simulation and experiment are complimentary.
Project title: Three-dimensional dynamics of mesoscale active matter in complex porous environments
Primary supervisor: Paddy Royall
Rafael Moreno Tortolero
Rafael obtained his BSc in Materials Engineering from his native country, Venezuela. He has experience in polymers and his interest spans across many disciplines. More specifically, he is interested in the use of macro-biomolecules as scaffolds to grow hierarchically organized inorganic materials, to confer improved or new properties (i.e. optical, mechanical, electronic). Rafael has previously worked in the synthesis of hydrogels for drug delivery applications, but more recently he has been working in synthetic biology and mesostructured materials for CO2 capture and storage. In his free time, Rafael likes to go to the gym, watch movies and spend quality time with his friends.
Project title: A novel composite of silk and calcium phosphate for clinical application
Primary supervisor: Sean Davis
Matthew Skeats
Matthew studied chemistry with a year in industry at the University of York, graduating with an MChem(industry) in July 2016. He undertook his Master’s project at Merck in Southampton, working on liquid crystal polymer films for display applications. Following further work at Merck after graduating, he joined the BCFN in September 2017. He is an iCASE student working in collaboration with Pertinax Pharma, supervised by Dr Michele Barbour in Oral and Dental Sciences. His project concerns the mechanism, efficacy, biocompatibility, durability, and applications of a sustained efficacy antimicrobial nanomaterial. His other scientific interests include energy and sustainability. In his spare time, he will inevitably be found on a bike. He is a keen road and off-road cyclist who enjoys training and competition with the University cycling club.
Project title: Mechanistic aspects of chlorhexidine polyphosphates and application in anti-infective orthopaedic bone cements
Primary supervisor: Michelle Barbour
Yushi Yang
Yushi graduated from Wuhan University of Technology in China in 2016 with a Master's degree in material science and engineering. His projects focus on the synthesis and characterization of ceria nanoparticles. He joined the BCFN in 2017 as a PhD student. He is currently working on his first THETA project and working on 3D image segmentation of confocal microscope images of the zebrafish.
Project title: Understanding the collective behaviour of zebrafish in 3D
Primary supervisor: Paddy Royall
Nouf Zaghloul
Nouf graduated from the University of Leeds in 2017 with a BSc in Nanotechnology. During her final year, she investigated microfluidic flow simulated using COMSOL and ANSYS Fluent. In 2016, she visited the University of Alberta in Canada to undertake a 12-week summer internship under the supervision of Prof. Michael Serpe. In Canada, she investigated synthesis routes for gold and copper fluorescent nanoclusters and their sensing properties. She is currently trying to gain as much skills and knowledge as possible.
Project title: Scribe-on: writing wearable, flexible and stretchable electronics
Primary supervisor: Charl Faul
Pongsathon Boonrod
Pongsathon finished her undergraduate study in 2015 and received a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Mahidol University, Thailand. Her undergraduate project involved chiral resolution of natural-occurring compounds. Her two THETA projects at the BCFN involved synthesis of metal oxide for energy applications and computer simulations of nanoantenna systems. Her areas of interest are organic synthesis and modification of responsive nanomaterials for use as sensing and indicating materials. In her free time, she enjoys board games, puzzles, and translating educational YouTube video subtitles.
Project title: Towards the design of nitrogen-rich functional porous organic materials
Primary supervisor: Natalie Fey
Niall Mulkerns
Niall studied for his Undergraduate and Masters (MSci) course in Physics at the University of Bristol before joining the BCFN. Broadly, his interest lies in the overlap between physics and biology, especially in the application of physics to medical problems and the computational aspects. His Masters thesis focused on the dynamics of micro-/nano-scale bubbles and droplets using total internal reflectance microscopy under the supervision of Dr Massimo Antognozzi and Dr Natasa Vasiljevic. In his spare time, he enjoys football, baking and playing his guitars.
Project title: Development of a novel optical system for measuring kinetic parameters of synthetic lectin systems.
Primary supervisor: Henkjan Gersen