Chemical Engineering

The antimicrobial coating industry is experiencing rapid growth as the need to prevent the serious challenges posed by bacterial adhesion and the subsequent formation of biofilms on device surfaces becomes increasingly critical. Biofilm formation can lead to chronic infections, device failures, and significant healthcare complications, making the development of effective antimicrobial coatings more vital than ever. At the Institute for Bioengineering at the University of Edinburgh, we are launching a cutting-edge project that combines advanced anti-adhesive strategies to prevent bacterial attachment with bactericidal methods to create highly effective antimicrobial coatings.

This innovative research aims to tackle the global issue of infection control by developing coatings that not only resist bacterial adhesion but also actively kill bacteria, offering a dual approach to ensuring safer, longer-lasting medical and industrial devices. By integrating state-of-the-art materials and technologies, our goal is to enhance the performance of antimicrobial surfaces and contribute to a healthier, more sustainable future.

We are seeking a highly motivated and skilled candidate with hands-on experience in materials science, nanotechnology, chemistry, or biology to join this exciting project. The ideal candidate will be passionate about advancing science and technology in the field of antimicrobial solutions and eager to make a tangible impact on public health. Join us at the forefront of this dynamic industry and contribute to groundbreaking research that could revolutionize infection prevention and device safety.

Chemical Engineering for Biology & Medicine website: https://xianfengchen.wixsite.com/biomaterials

The University of Edinburgh is committed to equality of opportunity for all its staff and students, and promotes a culture of inclusivity. Please see details here: https://www.ed.ac.uk/equality-diversity

Minimum entry qualification – an Honours degree at 2:1 or above (or international equivalent) in chemical engineering, chemistry, materials science, biomedical engineering, or cell biology.

English language requirements need to be satisfied by EU/Overseas applicants.  Further information on English language requirements for EU/Overseas applicants.

Applications are welcomed from self-funded students, or students who are applying for scholarships from the University of Edinburgh or elsewhere.

Further information and other funding options.

Approximately 2 million individuals globally suffer from kidney failure, necessitating treatment options such as transplantation and dialysis. Transplantation is limited by donor availability, forcing many to rely on HD. Whereas transplant recipients exhibit approximately 80% survival rates five years post-procedure, those undergoing HD have less than a 50% chance of surviving the same period due to what's known as “residual uremic syndrome” resulting from the incomplete removal of certain uremic toxins during HD, significantly contributing to the higher mortality observed in these patients.

Current HD technologies rely on membranes which are limited by size, thus unable to effectively eliminate larger uremic toxins from the patient's bloodstream. This approach lacks precision and effectiveness as it is designed on small molecules like urea and fails to address other, more harmful toxins.

The first crucial step is to clearly identify the metabolites associated with adverse effects. This task can be addressed using a combination of metabolomics and AI. Metabolomics can detect a wide range of metabolites, some of which may play critical roles in the health outcomes of patients with kidney failure.

Three studies have investigated the link between serum metabolites and mortality in patients with kidney disease, but they have yielded inconsistent results regarding which metabolites are implicated, underscoring the need for further research. The integration of metabolomics with AI may also enhance our understanding of the mechanisms: this deeper insight is essential for developing more effective HD treatments that can mitigate the adverse effects. A comprehensive AI-based analysis of the existing data is essential, laying the groundwork for future large-scale metabolomics research. However, identifying these metabolites is just the initial step. The ultimate goal is to leverage this information to enhance dialysis treatments by developing materials capable of efficiently capturing the most toxic molecules. AI has the potential to expedite the exploration of the vast materials space. Achieving both the identification of harmful metabolites and the development of effective materials is an ambitious task, given the multitude of toxins and materials involved.

Fortunately, AI technologies can greatly accelerate progress towards these dual objectives.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-67156562

Such study will allow to correlate specific materials features (e.g. chemical composition and porosity descriptors) to the ability of the filtering materials of removing toxic molecules correlated to mortality. This work will provide guidelines for material synthesis and/or selection in the design of more efficient and tailored HD treatment which can reduce patients’ mortality.

References: [1] The Kidney Project, University of California San Francisco, https://pharm.ucsf.edu/kidney [2] S. Al Awadhi et al, A Metabolomics Approach to Identify Metabolites Associated With Mortality in Patients Receiving Maintenance Hemodialysis, Kidney Int Rep 2024 9, 2718–26. [3] S. Kalim et al., A Plasma Long‐Chain Acylcarnitine Predicts Cardiovascular Mortality in Incident Dialysis Patients, J American Heart Association 2, 2013. [4] Hu, J.-R., et al Serum Metabolites and Cardiac Death in Patients on Hemodialysis, Clin J Am Society of Nephrology 14(5): 747-749, 2019. [5] https://nurturebiobank.org/, visited on 4th October 2024 [6] T. Fabiani et al., In silico screening of nanoporous materials for urea removal in hemodialysis applications, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2023, 25, 24069. [7] REDIAL, redefining hemodialysis with data-driven materials innovation, project https://www.suspromgroup.eng.ed.ac.uk/redial

https://www.suspromgroup.eng.ed.ac.uk/redial

https://www.ai4biomed.io/research/projects-2025/#cmsm

https://www.ai4biomed.io/

Application deadline: 20 January 2025

We offer fully funded 4-year studentships, covering tuition fees, stipend (£19,237 in 2024/25) and an individual budget for travel and research costs. There are also allowances for sick pay, maternity leave and other purposes. Funding has open eligibility regardless of your nationality and domicile.

The CDT offers additional funding for public engagement activities, evaluation experiments and research visits.

Each student will also benefit from state-of-the-art facilities, including unique data and computational resources. The CDT has access to EPCC facilities including the University’s HPC Centre of excellence offering unique AI capability (Cerebras CS-1/CS2, Graphcore Bow Pod), supercomputing (ARCHER2, DiRAC, Cirrus), and analytics platforms, assisted by over 100 technology experts. EIDF will provide research compute capacity for AI via a new cluster of 136 Nvidia A-100 GPU cards.

The University of Edinburgh is committed to equality of opportunity for all its staff and students, and promotes a culture of inclusivity. Please see details here: https://www.ed.ac.uk/equality-diversity

Minimum entry qualification - an Honours degree at 2:1 or above (or International equivalent) in a relevant science or engineering discipline, possibly supported by an MSc Degree. Further information on English language requirements for EU/Overseas applicants.

Tuition fees + stipend are available for Home/EU and International students

CDT AI in Biomedical Innovation Conditions

We offer fully funded 4-year studentships, covering tuition fees, stipend (£19,237 in 2024/25) and an individual budget for travel and research costs. There are also allowances for sick pay, maternity leave and other purposes. Funding has open eligibility regardless of your nationality and domicile.

The CDT offers additional funding for public engagement activities, evaluation experiments and research visits.

Each student will also benefit from state-of-the-art facilities, including unique data and computational resources. The CDT has access to EPCC facilities including the University’s HPC Centre of excellence offering unique AI capability (Cerebras CS-1/CS2, Graphcore Bow Pod), supercomputing (ARCHER2, DiRAC, Cirrus), and analytics platforms, assisted by over 100 technology experts. EIDF will provide research compute capacity for AI via a new cluster of 136 Nvidia A-100 GPU cards.

Further information and other funding options.

https://suspromgroup.eng.ed.ac.uk/

I joined the University of Edinburgh in 2020 as Chair in Thermodynamics of Materials and Processes after working 15 years at the University of Bologna, Italy‚ where I hold an Associate Professorship in Chemical Engineering. My international experience includes research stays at the North Carolina State University (USA), National Technical University of Athens (Greece), Universidad Nacional del Sur (Argentina), University of Melbourne (Australia). My work is focused on the study and development of materials, processes and simulation methods for fluid separations, CO₂ capture, biofuels upgrading, water purification, packaging, biomedical processes.   The research approach is problem-oriented and adopts a systematic strategy that encompasses experimental testing, molecular, macroscopic and multiscale modeling tools.  

Go to the  Group SusProM Website 

-PhD in Chemical Engineering, 2002, University of Bologna -Master Degree in Chemical Engineering, 1998, University of Bologna

-Chair of the Working Party on Thermodynamics and Transport Properties, European Federation of Chemical Engineers (EFCE) , 2022-present 

-Treasurer and Vice President, European Membrane Society Council, 2019-2023  

Associate Member of IChemE Member of AIDIC (Italian Association of Chemical Engineering) Member of European Membrane Society Member of AIChE

-Member of the Editorial Board of Membranes

-Editor of the Special Issue "Fundamentals of Transport in Polymers and Membranes—Honorary Issue for Professor Giulio C. Sarti" 2022 

-Editor of the Special Issue "Gas Transport in Glassy Polymers" 2020-2021

-Watch my webinar “Membranes for CO₂ Capture: Thermodynamic aspects” given during the EFCE Spotlight Talks, December 3rd 2020.  Organized by the European Federation of Chemical Engineers. -Host of the European Membrane Society Live Webinars Series, watch them on Youtube 

https://blogs.ed.ac.uk/weili-group/

I joined the University of Edinburgh (UoE) in 2021 as a Senior Lecturer in Chemical Engineering. I studied chemical engineering at the Nanjing University of Technology, obtaining a BEng with Highest Distinction in 2003 and PhD in 2008. In the last year of my PhD, my first employment started at The University of Hong Kong (Department of Chemistry). The next position was at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (Department of Physics) from 2010 to 2013 a. Early 2013, I moved to the University of Liverpool (Department of Physics) and assisted to set up a new research group. Before I joined UoE, I had a four-month spell working in the National Graphene Institute, University of Manchester, and five-year experience as Lecturer in Chemical Engineering, Aston University.

2016              Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching for Higher Education in the UK. 2003-2008     Nanjing University of Technology (NJUT), PhD in Chemical Engineering. 1999-2003     NJUT, BEng (1st Honours) in Chemical Engineering.

IChemE, RSC, EPSRC Associate Peer Review College

Chemical Engineering Design 4 (CHEE10010) - Course Organiser

Supervising students' projects in various chemical engineering courses: Study Project 4, Research Project 5, etc.

1.    Over 10 years’ expertise in nanomaterials, photocatalysis, greenhouse gas removal, reaction engineering,  electrochemistry and physical chemistry. 2.    Extensive practices on preparation and characterization of nanomaterials, design and evaluation of photocatalytic reactions/photoreactors, antimicrobial properties of nanomaterials.   3.    Leading multidisciplinary projects involving both academic and industral resources, comprehensive collaboration and interpersonal skills in a team environment. 4.    Skills in electron microscopy, time-resolved spectroscopy, thermal analysis, chromatography, atomic force microscopy, X-ray crystallography and synchrotron radiation spectroscopy

https://blogs.ed.ac.uk/weili-group/

I joined the University of Edinburgh (UoE) in 2021 as a Senior Lecturer in Chemical Engineering. I studied chemical engineering at the Nanjing University of Technology, obtaining a BEng with Highest Distinction in 2003 and PhD in 2008. In the last year of my PhD, my first employment started at The University of Hong Kong (Department of Chemistry). The next position was at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (Department of Physics) from 2010 to 2013 a. Early 2013, I moved to the University of Liverpool (Department of Physics) and assisted to set up a new research group. Before I joined UoE, I had a four-month spell working in the National Graphene Institute, University of Manchester, and five-year experience as Lecturer in Chemical Engineering, Aston University.

2016              Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching for Higher Education in the UK. 2003-2008     Nanjing University of Technology (NJUT), PhD in Chemical Engineering. 1999-2003     NJUT, BEng (1st Honours) in Chemical Engineering.

IChemE, RSC, EPSRC Associate Peer Review College

Chemical Engineering Design 4 (CHEE10010) - Course Organiser

Supervising students' projects in various chemical engineering courses: Study Project 4, Research Project 5, etc.

1.    Over 10 years’ expertise in nanomaterials, photocatalysis, greenhouse gas removal, reaction engineering,  electrochemistry and physical chemistry. 2.    Extensive practices on preparation and characterization of nanomaterials, design and evaluation of photocatalytic reactions/photoreactors, antimicrobial properties of nanomaterials.   3.    Leading multidisciplinary projects involving both academic and industral resources, comprehensive collaboration and interpersonal skills in a team environment. 4.    Skills in electron microscopy, time-resolved spectroscopy, thermal analysis, chromatography, atomic force microscopy, X-ray crystallography and synchrotron radiation spectroscopy