Bioengineering

• BSc., MSc.R

• Instructor of MSc Course: Nanomaterials in Chemical and Biomedical Engineering

Synthetic Biology

The bottom-up approach to synthetic biology aims to create life-like artificial cells from non-living components. Our group specialises in creating synthetic cells that contain multiple sub-compartments (analogous to eukaryotic cell organelles). To do this, we use droplet microfluidics and giant lipid vesicles (or GUVs). Once created, we can setup multi-step enzymatic reaction cascades between the compartments.These synthetic cells can shed light on natural biological cell functions but can also be used for industrial applications like biofuel production or in biomedical applications for drug delivery.

Lipid Membranes

Cell membranes need to be structurally complex in order to perform a multitude of cellular functions. Studying individual components, like biomembranes, is typically performed using real cells. However, isolating biomembranes from the rest of the cell can be difficult or impossible. Therefore, as an alternative, our lab uses model membranes. Here, different aspects of the membrane, such as lipid composition, permeability, and membrane proteins can be studied in isolated under controlled conditions, free from other cellular influences. Different types of lipid membranes serve as our models including GUVs on the micron-scale, and nano-sized lipid vesicles down to 100 nm. In addition, we also use these model membranes systems to study membrane fusion as well as ligand-membrane interactions. Key to our success is the development of our cutting-edge lipid vesicle formation methods including microfluidics and bulk emulsions.

Microfluidics

Microfluidic technology is used throughout the different research topics in the Robinson lab. We current focus on using microfluidics for the following applications:

• Single cell handling and analysis (including cancer cells, and active swimmers).
• High-throughput production of monodisperse lipid vesicles (via double emulsion templating).
• Advanced handling, manipulation (flow, compression, electrofusion), and analysis of lipid vesicles.

Designing, fabricating, and testing novel microfluidic systems for new applications also makes up its own unique line of research.

• Microfluidics.
• Bottom-up synthetic biology.
• Lipid vesicles.
• Membrane fusion.
• Advanced microscopy: including FLIM, confocal, multiphoton, and high-speed capture.
• Single cell handling and analysis.

Katherine Dunn Research Group website

After completing the four year MPhys course at Oxford and achieving a First, I stayed on to carry out research for my DPhil, initially in the field of Terahertz Spectroscopy. After 18 months I changed direction and started a new DPhil in Biological Physics, submitting my thesis entitled ‘DNA Origami Assembly’ a little under three years later. In 2014, I went to York to take up an appointment as a Research Associate in the Department of Electronic Engineering, working primarily on synthetic DNA nanomachines in the context of bioelectronic computing.

I joined the School of Engineering at Edinburgh as a Lecturer in 2017. I am affiliated with the discipline of Mechanical Engineering and I am a member of the Institute for Bioengineering, where I carry out research in the area of Synthetic Biology.

• DPhil in Condensed Matter Physics (Biological Physics), University of Oxford, 2014
• Master of Physics, First Class, University of Oxford, 2009

I have been teaching since 2010, and have taught students at Oxford, York and Edinburgh, covering a wide range of subjects spanning physics, engineering, biology, nanotechnology, mathematics and industry matters.

At Edinburgh, I have been involved in various teaching activities within the Mechanical Engineering degree programme.

In 2017/18, I taught half of the fourth year Thermodynamics course, and for three years running (2017/18, 18/19 and 19/20) I was responsible for the practical work for the second year Thermodynamics course. From 2018 to 2020 inclusive, I organized industrial visits for all third year Mechanical Engineering students, and dealt with the associated coursework assignment, in which students analyse companies and their business-models.

In academic year 2018/19, I became the course organizer for a brand new course in 'Bio-Inspired Engineering', as a result of having formally proposed its introduction a few months earlier. As of 2020/21, my course is in its third year, and has proven to be very popular. It is taken by students on several degree programmes, including both Mechanical and Chemical Engineering.

In 2021, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, I introduced a new assignment to replace the original Industrial Visits coursework, as it was impossible for students to go on any external visits.

Alongside the above, I deliver some classes for second year Engineering Mathematics, on the subject of multiple integrals. I am also the 'personal tutor' for 35 undergraduate students, providing guidance and pastoral support as required, and every year I supervise 4 final year research projects.

Professor Pankaj obtained his undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, masters from Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee and PhD from University of Wales Swansea. He is the Deputy Head of the Institute for Bioengineering at Edinburgh University. He established and leads the Edinburgh Computational Biomechanics research group. He has research collaborations with universities around the globe and his research has been supported by international organisations, the industry and UK funding councils.

In his role as International Dean for South Asia he provides leadership in the development of a strategy to shape activities, partnerships and priorities to enhance the University’s engagement with the region.

Research supervised by him has received a number of awards:

• Best PhD thesis in In silico Medicine awarded by Virtual Physiological Human institute (VPHi) (Belgium) to PhD student F. Levrero-Florencio (2018)
• DePuy Best Medical Engineering PhD, runners-up prize awarded by Institution of Mechanical Engineers (UK) to PhD student F. Levrero-Florencio (2018).
• British Orthopaedic Research Society's International Travelling Research Fellowship for Young Investigators awarded to Alisdair MacLeod for his PhD research (2016).
• Best presentation award from the Scottish Committee for Orthopaedics and Trauma at their annual meeting to MD student C Scott (2015).
• British Orthopaedic Association's Hip and Knee Reconstruction Fellowship awarded to MD student C Scott (2015).
• Best Poster Award at the 2016 British Orthopaedic Research Society Meeting, for the study entitled \the changing microarchitecture of trabecular bone with high strain" (authors: Wallace, Manda, Sales, Simpson and Pankaj).
• IMechE/Vicon prize for the best Medical Engineering Project awarded to MD student C Scott (2013).
• Best Paper Award at the 2011 International Conference of Systems Biology and Bioengineering for the paper entitled “Computational Modelling of Magnetic Resonance Elastography Shear Wave Behaviour through Atherosclerotic Plaque with Disease Development" (authors: Thomas-Seale, Pankaj, Hoskins and Roberts).
• Robertson Medal for the best research proposal from Carnegie Trust awarded to PhD student FE Donaldson (2008).
• IMechE/Orthopaedic Research UK award for the best thesis in Medical Engineering awarded to PhD student ATM Phillips (2007).

• PhD University of Wales Swansea
• ME Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee
• BTech Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi

• Finite Element Methods for Solids and Structures
• Structural Mechanics 2B
• Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering

• Mathematical Simulation of the Mechanical Behaviour of Materials
• Solid Mechanics
• Orthopaedic Engineering
• Computational Biomechanics
• Finite Element Analysis
• Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering

• Dean International (South Asia) for The University of Edinburgh
• Deputy Head of the Institute for Bioengineering, School of Engineering, The University of Edinburgh

I am a Chancellor’s Fellow in Engineering Biology. My research focuses on the development and use of cybergenetic platforms to model and control complex biological phenomena, with applications in engineering biology and precision medicine. In particular, I am interested in using data-driven approaches to understand and stear the behaviour of biological networks in dynamic environments. I hold a PhD in Bioengineering. I am an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA).

I started my studies in biomedical engineering at the University of Bologna (Italy), in 2007. Having developed an interest in cellular and molecular engineering, in 2010 I joined the MSc programme in biomedical engineering offered by the same university. In 2013 I pursued my PhD in Bioengineering, where I undertook mathematical modelling and in vivo-studies of bacterial genetic programmes operating through transcriptional or post-transcriptional control.

To improve my skills in quantitative, single-cell assays, in 2015 I visited Prof. Peter Swain's laboratory at the Centre for Synthetic and Systems Biology, University of Edinburgh. One year later, I joined the lab as a PDRA to investigate phenotypic variability in the budding yeast’s galactose metabolic network and consolidate my expertise in quantitative microscopy and microfluidics.

Having being awarded an EPSRC Postdoctoral Fellowship, in 2017 I joined the School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh. In the following three years, I researched technologies to automate the development and use of mathematical models of synthetic gene networks.

In 2021, I received a tenure track fellowship to establish my research independence.

I am the Deputy Head of Graduate School (Postgraduate Experience) (2024 -).

I am the Deputy Biological Safety Officer and the Genetic Modification Biological Safety Officer (2021 -).

I was the Postgraduate Academic Adviser for Institute for Bioengineering in the School Postgraduate Progression Committee (SPPC) and the School Postgraduate Experience Committee (SPEC) (2021 - 2024).

I was the organiser of the seminar series for the Institute for Bioengineering (2021-2024).

• PhD in Bioengineering, University of Bologna (Italy), 2013-2016
• MSc in Biomedical engineering, University of Bologna (Italy), 2010-2012
• BSc in Biomedical engineering, University of Bologna (Italy), 2007-2010

Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA), 2020

• Engineering Principles 1 (SCEE08012)
• Lab-on-Chip Technologies (ELEE11097, PGEE11042) - Course organiser

• mathematical modelling
• optimal experimental design
• microfluidics