Healthcare Nanomaterials have significant application in delivering therapeutic for a variety of diseases from cancer to vaccines. The mode of entry into the cell to give the biggest payload in an effective manner is not yet realised. Currently through liposome or surface protein interaction and endocytosis are non-specific and slow kinetic driven pathways. This project…
The gut microbiome forms one of the most intricate programmable microenvironments in the human body, where nutrient-dependent metabolic fluxes and microbial interactions generate signals that modulate epithelial barrier function, innate immunity, and T-cell differentiation. These immune-relevant metabolites e.g. short-chain fatty acids constitute a biochemical language linking microbial ecology to host physiology. This PhD will investigate…
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nanoscale particles that transport biomolecules between cells, with remarkable ability to cross biological barriers. EVs have significant therapeutic potential due to inherent therapeutic properties and/or drug delivery potential. EVs outperform lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) in cellular delivery of RNA. To fulfil their potential as future advanced and powerful therapeutics, EVs require engineering…
Intracellular pathogens infect and multiply in human cells. Conventional antibiotics are of little help and particularly against dormant bacteria that are phenotypically tolerant to antibiotic treatments. Compounded by the looming “silent pandemic” of antimicrobial resistance, this challenge prompts the development of innovative approaches for delivering antimicrobial interventions inside human cells without cytotoxicity. This project will…
Nano-encapsulation of essential oils facilitates their entry into bacterial cells, producing a new paradigm for antibacterial agents. The developed nano-encapsulation technologies will be adapted to facilitate the insinuation of drugs into human cells. This would be an extension of an already existing collaboration in the School of Food Science and Nutrition at Leeds between Povey,…
Our interests lie in the nuclear envelope’s and nuclear lamina’s roles in ageing and disease. For this, we generate and characterise models of cardiac myopathy and skeletal myopathies in cells and preclinical models (mouse and iPSC-derived cells).
Research in the group is focussed on creating new methods to precisely engineer proteins. O These methods are then applied to challenges across engineering biology including precision formation of biopharmaceuticals such as antibody-drug conjugates and vaccines, and the reengineering of cells. Current major projects include IMProGlyco, an EIC-funded project, to reprogramme cellular glycosylation and ACROPATH,…
We work at the intersection of AI and synthetic biology, creating DNA and protein designs that control expression, stability, activity, and cell fate. With strong computational and experimental capability, we build predictable biological components for biomedicine, supporting advances in biologics, cell therapies, and diagnostics. Prospective applicants will join a team driving data-driven engineering biology.
My research covers two technical domains. Firstly, our lab uses an in vivo high throughput assay in either a directed evolution or deep mutational scanning format to develop intrinsically stable and tractable proteins. Secondly, we have developed both specific assays and general frameworks to identify protein therapeutics with the critical quality attributes necessary to be…
Our research uses biophysical &analytical approaches to characterize supramolecular structure and biological assemblies, based on mass spectrometry (MS) and allied techniques. We develop structural MS methods for challenging questions such as structural heterogeneity, conformational dynamics and (self-)assembly, to gain unique insights into e.g. membrane protein/lipid &drug interactions, amyloid assembly and oligonucleotide higher-order structure.