Nanoscale & Nanoscale Advances Blog

Eoghan Courtney is a synthetic organic chemistry PhD student in University College Dublin (UCD). He received his bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from UCD in 2023, graduating at the top of his class and receiving the Hugh Ryan Memorial Medal. Under the supervision of Prof. Pat Guiry, his research focuses on the design of axially chiral P,N- ligands and their application in asymmetric catalysis.

Enrique Lozano-Sanchez is completing his PhD in Biotechnology at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV), working under the supervision of Dr. José-Antonio Daròs, leader of the Plant Virus Biotechnology group at IBMCP (CSIC-UPV). His research focuses on the design of plant virus-derived nanoparticles for nanomedicine purposes. His work integrates synthetic virology, molecular biology and protein-based nanomaterials, combining recombinant viruses with nanobodies to develop novel platforms for biotechnology purposes such as cancer targeting, diagnostic reagent and SARS-CoV-2 neutralization

Przemyslaw Pula is an Assistant at the Faculty of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, and a final-year PhD candidate at the Doctoral School of Exact and Natural Sciences, UW. He holds a Master’s degree in Nanostructure Engineering from the Faculty of Physics, UW. My research focuses on block copolymers, with particular emphasis on their self-assembly behavior and templating capabilities within the fields of polymer chemistry and nanotechnology. As presented at the Nanoseries conference, I investigate a scalable, one-step synthesis strategy for fabricating metal oxide nanowires, later used for the fabrication of functional core-shell nanostructures with enhanced capabilities for detecting volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Rajesh Chennuboina is currently pursuing a PhD in Materials Science and Technology at the University of Genoa, Italy. His research focuses on 2D Transition Metal Dichalcogenides (TMDs), particularly MoS₂ and WS₂. He is mainly involved in the growth, fabrication, and nano-structuring of 2D TMDs, with a special emphasis on studying their interaction with light for light-harvesting and optoelectronic applications.

Nurrahmi Handayani is a lecturer and researcher at Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), Indonesia. Her work focuses on analytical chemistry, particularly in developing functional materials like Molecularly Imprinted Polymers (MIPs), nanomaterials, and electrochemical sensors for environmental and biomedical applications. She is especially interested in sustainable and green chemistry approaches and enjoys collaborating with others to find creative solutions to analytical challenges.

Dr. Mone’t Sawyer is a biomedical scientist and recent Ph.D. graduate from Boise State University, where she conducted her doctoral research in the Advanced Nanomaterials Manufacturing Laboratory under the mentorship of Dr. David Estrada. Her work sits at the interface of nanotechnology, biofabrication, and regenerative medicine, with a specific focus on electroactive bioscaffolds for tissue engineering.

Dr. Sawyer’s research explores how nanoscale material properties can be leveraged to direct stem cell behavior and drive tissue regeneration. She developed and patented custom bioreactor systems capable of delivering scaffold-coupled electrical stimulation to three-dimensional cultures, uncovering new insights into how biophysical cues influence matrix formation, gene expression, and mechanical properties. Her interdisciplinary work combines advanced materials characterization, proteomics, and mechanobiology to address longstanding challenges in musculoskeletal repair.

Taieesa Peshkovsky (ETH Zurich)

Poster Prize Winner

Taieesa is a second year PhD student at ETH Zurich, in the Laboratory for Soft Materials and Interfaces under Prof. Dr. Lucio Isa. Her research focuses on using a custom built Fabry-Pérot interferometer for 2-dimentional imaging of refractive index in systems lacking optical contrast. By leveraging the phase shift of light she can quantitatively visualize concentration gradients and diffusive processes, and she aims to apply the technology to better understand the propulsion of active colloids as well as intercellular signalling. Prior to her PhD, Taieesa acquired her MSc degree from Wageningen University where she did a thesis project in the group of Prof. Dr. Joris Sprakel on mechanobiology. Taieesa also did an internship in biophysics in the group of Prof. Dr. Léa-Lætitia Pontani in Laboratoire Jean Perrin at Sorbonne Univeristé.

Christina Puijk (University College London)

Poster Prize Winner

Christina obtained her Master’s degree in Chemistry from Nottingham Trent University in 2018, where her research focused on the synthesis, characterisation, and application of nanoparticles. She went on to work in industry for several years, specialising in the continuous flow synthesis of nanomaterials for a variety of applications. Christina is now pursuing a PhD at University College London under the supervision of Dr Guido Bolognesi. Her research investigates microfluidic approaches for the characterisation and separation of colloidal particles in continuous flows by utilising the chemical energy stored in electrolyte solutions. The project combines elements of colloid and interface science, physical chemistry, and materials science for use in diagnostic applications

Dr. Virgil Andre (University of Cambridge)

Best Talk Prize

Dr. Virgil Andrei was born in Bucharest, Romania. He obtained his Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in chemistry from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, where he studied thermoelectric polymer pastes and films in the group of Prof. Klaus Rademann (2014–2016). He then pursued a Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of Cambridge (2016–2020), where he developed perovskite-based artificial leaves in the group of Prof. Erwin Reisner, working closely with the optoelectronics group of Prof. Richard Friend at the Cavendish Laboratory. He was a visiting Winton Fellow in the group of Prof. Peidong Yang at the University of California, Berkeley, and is currently a Title A Research Fellow at St. John’s College, Cambridge. His work places a strong focus on material design and practical applications, introducing modern fabrication techniques towards low-cost, large-scale solar fuel production.

George Creasey (Imperial College London)

Best Collaboration and Best Talk Runner up Prize

George is a third year PhD student at Imperial College London, based in the Electrochemical Systems Laboratory in the Department of Chemical Engineering and supervised by Dr Anna Hankin and Dr Andreas Kafizas. His research addresses the engineering challenges of up-scaling solar hydrogen production. Through photoelectrochemical reactor design, scalable photoelectrode fabrication and outdoor field testing under operational conditions, George’s research is the cutting edge of future deployment of photoelectrochemical systems. Prior to his PhD, George completed a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Bath, with a year in industry at the UK government.

Dr Amit Sil (University of Liverpool) 

Collaboration prize

Amit obtained his M.Sc in Chemistry from Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur in 2012. He was awarded a PhD (2018) from the same institution focusing on developing mixed-valence compounds and emissive polymers for near infrared (NIR) absorbing materials, sensors and optoelectronics. In 2019, he moved to Durham University (UK) with a postdoctoral (PDRA) position in Prof J. A. Gareth Williams group where he worked on developing functional luminescent Pt(II) and Ir(III) complexes for the application in NIR–OLEDs. In 2021, he joined as a PDRA in Prof. Andrea Vezzoli’s group at University of Liverpool (UK) and worked in the field of single molecular electronics and to investigate the piezoresistive properties of molecular devices. In 2024, he was promoted to Research Coordinator of the group and now his research interest is developing stable organic diradicaloids for single molecular electronics.

Eliott Studholme (University of Cambridge)

Best poster prize

Eliott received his master’s degree in chemistry from Swansea University in 2023, where he was supervised by Dr Emrys Evans in his final year project. His project focussed on the spin dynamics of chromium complexes for their application to photon upconversion systems. Inspired by the potential of photophysical processes like upconversion to contribute to green technologies, he is now a 2^nd year physics PhD student at the Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge. Under the supervision of Professor Neil Greenham, his research focuses on the synthesis, and structural and spectroscopic characterisation of silver chalcogenide quantum dots. His goal is to develop a hybrid inorganic-organic material capable of boosting the efficiency of silicon solar cells via the photophysical process of singlet fission.

Yuchen Liu (University of Manchester, UK)

Poster Prize Winner

Poster Title: “Novel Hetroatom-rich 2D Covalent Organic Frameworks: Synthesis and Characterization”

As a 3rd year undergraduate from the University of Manchester, Yuchen Liu has been working as a Henry-Royce intern in Keerthi’s group from summer of 2023. He designed his own project and successfully synthesized two-dimensional Covalent Organic Frameworks (2D-COFs) with full proof from morphological and topological characterizations. His current interests include applications in heteroatom-based supercapacitors and designs of crystalline cyclohexanone-based materials. He is also particularly interested in computational simulations, which can be a versatile tool for electrochemical methodologies. Throughout his bachelor studies, Yuchen has demonstrated both research aptitude and exceptional academic performance, earning the “Best Chemist” award in both his first and second years. He also holds the positions of student representative and ambassador for the Department of Chemistry.

Aidan Graham (University of St Andrews, Scotland)

Poster Prize Runner Up

Poster Title: “Systematic Solvent Optimisation for the Synthesis of Dynamic Covalent Nanoparticles”

Aidan Graham received his MChem degree from the University of St Andrews in 2023. He is currently in the second year of his PhD studies under the supervision of Dr. Euan Kay and Prof. Russell Morris. His current research focuses on combining dynamic covalent gold nanoparticles with metal-organic frameworks towards the design and synthesis of remote-controlled hybrid nanomaterials. His focus is on the use of dynamic covalent chemistry for the design and synthesis of hybrid nanomaterials using a bottom-up approach

Poster Prize Runner Up

Poster Title: “Engineering Silica-Coated Gold Nanorods for Photothermal Therapy Applications.”

Sarah Alshehri is a PhD student in Physics at the Molecular and Nanoscale Physics (MNP) group at the University of Leeds, where she also obtained an MSc in Physics. She completed her BSc in Physics at the University of Bisha in Saudi Arabia. Her research focuses on the engineering and application of silica-coated gold nanorods for photothermal therapy and advanced sensing applications. She investigates their tunable structural and optical responses to laser irradiation, aiming to enhance their performance in biomedical and optical techniques.

Shannon Martello graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a BS and MSE in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in 2017 and 2018, respectively. She then joined the lab of Dr. C. Norman Coleman at the National Cancer Institute as a post-baccalaureate Cancer Research Training Award Fellow. Under the direction of Dr. Coleman and Dr. Molykutty Aryankalayil, she studied blood-based miRNA signatures for radiation biodosimetry across different strains of mice and established a human liver-on-a-chip model to aid development of radiation countermeasures and of organ-specific radiation injury biomarkers. Shannon continued in the field of radiation biology at Vanderbilt University, where she is currently a PhD candidate in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Under the direction of Dr. Marjan Rafat, she is studying neutrophilvasculature crosstalk in radiation-damaged mammary adipose tissue, with the goal of using 3D in vitro models to identify targetable interactions that contribute to breast cancer recurrence. Among other recognitions, Shannon received the Vanderbilt Russel G. Hamilton Fellowship and the AIChE Women in Chemical Engineering travel award. She has co-authored eleven peer reviewed publications and is first-author on three publications and four conference presentations and proceedings.

Shannon received an award for her poster entitled ‘Neutrophil-Vasculature Interactions Promote Pre-Recurrent Niche Formation Post-Radiotherapy’

Born in Florida, raised in Nashville, Lillie Cate Allen’s love of science started as an obsession with animals and parents who let her watch unlimited episodes of Wild Kratts on PBS. Homeschooled K-8th grade, it was the ISR program at Hillsboro that helped her handle the culture shock of high school and discover her love of research. She will graduate with honors in May of 2025 and (fingers crossed) begin her undergrad at Vanderbilt that fall, where she’ll pursue her Biomedical Research degree. She is giddy about the years and degrees in her future and can’t wait to see what research opportunities come next.

Lillie Cate was awarded a prize for her poster entitled, ‘Optimizing the Porosity Different PVDF Castings’

Daniel Woods is a PhD student in the Biomedical Engineering Department at Vanderbilt University, working under Dr. Daniel Gonzales. His research focuses on developing innovative probes for neural recording in nonhuman primates, with a particular interest in integrating optogenetic stimulation during working memory tasks. He holds both a B.S. and M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Daniel received an award for his poster entitled ‘Flexible, transparent electrodes for acute recordings in non-human primates’

Harrison was awarded a prize for his poster entitled, ‘Polar-Topology-Mediated Phonons in Ferroelectric Superlattices’

Hayden Pagendarm is a 5^th year graduate student in Dr. John Wilson’s laboratory at Vanderbilt University. His research goals include designing novel vaccine platforms for both cancer and immune tolerance applications using approaches including both protein and extracellular vesicle engineering in combination with synthetic chemistries.

Hayden was awarded a prize for his poster entitled, ‘Albumin-binding nanobody-antigen fusions enhance antigen presentation and improve vaccine responses through pharmacokinetic modulation.’

Emanuela Riglioni is a first-year graduate student in the Interdisciplinary Materials Science PhD program at Vanderbilt University. Originally from Italy, she graduated summa cum laude from Xavier University of Louisiana with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. During her undergraduate studies, Emanuela worked on developing polymers for Li-ion batteries and performed computational analyses of 2D MXenes for catalytic applications. Currently, her research focuses on exploring the intersection of semiconductors, photonics, and 2D materials. Emanuela’s interdisciplinary approach aims to drive innovations in materials science and contribute to addressing global challenges through cutting-edge technology.

Emanuela was awarded a prize for her poster entitled, ‘Optimization of Etch, Release, and Transfer of GaN HEMTs Devices’