Bioengineering

Alan Murray is Professor of Neural Electronics and Assistant Principal, Academic Support. He introduced the Pulse Stream method for analogue neural VLSI in 1985. Alan’s interests are now primarily in implanted silicon chips for biomedical applications.

He led the £5.2M IMPACT (Implantable Microsystems for Personalised And-Cancer Treatment) project, funded by an EPSRC Programme Grant and enjoys teaching first year engineering/electronics and third year Electromagnetics courses. IMPACT produced proof-of-concept results that will be taken forward in two areas – cancer and wound-healing, as "OPTIMIST" (Optimised, Personalised Treatment & Intervention: Microsystems, Implanted Sensors & Therapeutics).

Alan is a Fellow of IET, IEEE and the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Principal Fellow of the HEA and has published over 360 academic papers. Alan’s degrees are in Physics (BSc and PhD – both from the University of Edinburgh). Subsequently, he has done this...

• 1978-80: Research Fellow, Solid – State Physics, Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories: supported by SERC NATO and Canadian NERC fellowships
• 1980-81: Research Fellow, Department of Physics, University of Edinburgh, leading the Light Scattering section of the Condensed Matter group
• 1981-84: VLSI Designer, Wolfson Microelectronics Institute
• 1984-91: Lecturer, Department of Electrical Engineering
• 1991-94: Reader, Department of Electrical Engineering
• 1994-present: Professor of Neural Electronics
• 2002-2008: Head of the Institute for Integrated Micro and Nano Systems
• 2008-2012: Head of the School of Engineering
• 2012-2015: Dean of Students, College of Science and Engineering
• 2015-2018: Head of the Institute for BioEngineering
• 2015-present: Assistant Principal, Academic Support

• B.Sc. Ph.D

• F.I.E.E., F.I.E.E.E., F.R.S.E., C.Eng., P.F.H.E.A.

• Fundamentals of Electronics, Electromagnetism,

• Outside interests : Music (especially folk music - writing, playing and listening) and wood-carving

Alan Murray is Professor of Neural Electronics and Assistant Principal, Academic Support. He introduced the Pulse Stream method for analogue neural VLSI in 1985. Alan’s interests are now primarily in implanted silicon chips for biomedical applications.

He led the £5.2M IMPACT (Implantable Microsystems for Personalised And-Cancer Treatment) project, funded by an EPSRC Programme Grant and enjoys teaching first year engineering/electronics and third year Electromagnetics courses. IMPACT produced proof-of-concept results that will be taken forward in two areas – cancer and wound-healing, as "OPTIMIST" (Optimised, Personalised Treatment & Intervention: Microsystems, Implanted Sensors & Therapeutics).

Alan is a Fellow of IET, IEEE and the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Principal Fellow of the HEA and has published over 360 academic papers. Alan’s degrees are in Physics (BSc and PhD – both from the University of Edinburgh). Subsequently, he has done this...

• 1978-80: Research Fellow, Solid – State Physics, Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories: supported by SERC NATO and Canadian NERC fellowships
• 1980-81: Research Fellow, Department of Physics, University of Edinburgh, leading the Light Scattering section of the Condensed Matter group
• 1981-84: VLSI Designer, Wolfson Microelectronics Institute
• 1984-91: Lecturer, Department of Electrical Engineering
• 1991-94: Reader, Department of Electrical Engineering
• 1994-present: Professor of Neural Electronics
• 2002-2008: Head of the Institute for Integrated Micro and Nano Systems
• 2008-2012: Head of the School of Engineering
• 2012-2015: Dean of Students, College of Science and Engineering
• 2015-2018: Head of the Institute for BioEngineering
• 2015-present: Assistant Principal, Academic Support

• B.Sc. Ph.D

• F.I.E.E., F.I.E.E.E., F.R.S.E., C.Eng., P.F.H.E.A.

• Fundamentals of Electronics, Electromagnetism,

• Outside interests : Music (especially folk music - writing, playing and listening) and wood-carving

Professor Guangzhao Mao

Head of the School of Engineering | Chair Professor of Materials Engineering 

Professor Guangzhao Mao is a leading innovator in nanotechnology and materials engineering, shaping the future of nanomedicine and advanced sensor systems. As Head of the School of Engineering at the University of Edinburgh, she spearheads cutting-edge research that bridges engineering and medicine, unlocking groundbreaking possibilities in drug delivery and nanoscale material applications.

Her pioneering research focuses on two transformative areas:

Electrocrystallization & Nanosensors. Her research unravels the fundamental processes of nucleation and crystal growth in electrodeposition, applying these insights to develop next-generation gas sensors. Her work enhances sensor scalability, with impactful applications in medical diagnostics, environmental monitoring, and industrial automation. Her breakthroughs in integrating nanosensors into larger systems are redefining their real-world potential.

Nanotechnology & Neuroscience. Merging nanotechnology with neuroscience, Mao’s team is developing revolutionary drug delivery systems targeting the central nervous system. Her protein-drug nanoconjugates offer a novel way to bypass the blood-brain barrier (BBB), a long-standing challenge in treating neurological disorders. This innovative approach has already shown promising results in enhancing respiratory function for spinal cord injury, with significant implications for neurodegenerative disease treatments. Her latest advancements include a microfluidic cell-based assay that accelerates drug screening and preclinical evaluations.

Global Recognition & Leadership

Before joining the University of Edinburgh, Professor Mao led as Head of the School of Chemical Engineering at UNSW Sydney, where she continues as an Adjunct Professor. Her global influence is reflected in prestigious accolades, including:✔ Fulbright Senior Scholarship✔ Visiting Professorship at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces✔ Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)✔ Career Award from the U.S. National Science Foundation

With an impressive track record of driving scientific innovation, Professor Mao continues to push the boundaries of chemical & materials engineering, shaping the next generation of engineering solutions with real-world impact.

B.Sc., Ph.D.

Soft Systems Group website

• BEng(hons), MRes, PhD

• Member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Young Academy of Scotland (MYAS)

• Programme Director: MSc Electronics

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