Committee

Dr Chiara Arno (Chair) is a Birmingham Fellow and Lecturer in Polymeric Biomaterials at the University of Birmingham. Chiara was awarded her PhD from King’s College London in 2015, where she worked with Dr Sukhi Bansal developing peptides for treating pathologies linked to a dysregulation in iron metabolism. After her PhD, she moved into the polymer chemistry research area taking up a Research Fellow position at the University of Warwick to investigate the biological interactions of polymeric nanoparticles and 3D scaffolds in vitro and in vivo with Prof. Andrew Dove. In 2018, the group moved to the University of Birmingham and she took up a Group Leader role in the Dove group, leading the Biomaterials research strand. In 2020 Chiara started her independent career at the University of Birmingham jointly between the School of Chemistry and the Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences. Her work focuses on the development of polymeric materials that can control and modify cell behaviour.

Dr Vincenzo Taresco (Secretary) is a Nottingham Research Fellow within the Department of Chemistry at the University of Nottingham. He studied industrial chemistry at Sapienza University of Rome (Bachelor and Master, both with honour from 2004-2010), and in the same institution, he was awarded a PhD in polymer chemistry in the Doctorate School of Chemical Science, Vito Volterra in 2014. After a short research period with Prof. Iolanda Francolini at Sapienza University of Rome, Vincenzo moved to his first PDRA position at the University of Nottingham in the School of Pharmacy under the supervision of Prof. Martin Garnett. Always remaining in the School of Pharmacy, in 2017, he moved to a second PDRA position in the group of Prof. Cameron Alexander. In 2019, he took a senior research officer position (group leader) in the group of Prof. Steven Howdle and at the end of 2022, he was awarded a Nottingham Research Fellowship. Taresco’s group research focuses on combining the differentiation of polymer backbone chemistries by adding moieties from bio-renewable sources to deliver more sustainable, chemically sophisticated and multi-responsive polymeric devices (chemical/bio/physical/responsive). These novel “green” and “smart” tools will have an impact in a variety of fields, such as additive manufacturing, agro-food (novel sustainable inks, multifunctional scaffolds, etc.), pharmaceutical and tissue engineering. (https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/chemistry/people/vincenzo.taresco)

Dr Calum Ferguson (Treasurer) has accepted taking the role of Treasurer. This section will be updated shortly with more information.

Dr Stephen Fielden (Website) is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow within the School of Chemistry at the University of Birmingham. He completed his MChem at the University of Oxford in 2015. He then undertook his PhD and a postdoc in the group of Prof. David Leigh at the University of Manchester. After this, he moved to Prof. Rachel O’Reilly’s group at the University of Birmingham in 2021. He was subsequently awarded a fellowship from the Leverhulme Trust to study polymersome fusion and is now a member of the academic staff at Birmingham. His interests include non-equilibrium chemistry, molecular machines and polymer nanotechnology.

Dr Matt Rymaruk (Industrial Rep) is a senior formulation chemist working within the materials science team at Syngenta. Matt completed an MChem degree at the University of Sheffield in 2014, followed by a PhD in the group of Prof. Steve Armes in 2018. Matt’s PhD focused on the use of controlled-radical polymerization for block copolymer synthesis. Matt remained at the University of Sheffield for two years conducting post-doctoral research in the same research group. In October 2020, Matt moved to Syngenta where he works on the application of polymer and colloid science to the formulation of agrochemicals. Website: https://www.syngenta.com

Dr Clare Mahon is Associate Professor of Organic Chemistry at Durham University. Clare was awarded her PhD at Newcastle University in 2014, where she worked with Dr David A. Fulton establishing new methods of ‘training’ synthetic polymers to recognise proteins and other macromolecules. She then spent two years at the University of Leeds on an EPSRC Doctoral Prize Fellowship, working with Prof. Bruce Turnbull to develop responsive synthetic polymers which interact with bacterial toxins. In 2017 she took up a Marie-Skłodowska Curie Global Fellowship, held at the University of Sydney, Australia, and the University of York, UK. During this time Clare worked with Dr Elizabeth J. New and Dr Markus Müllner-Bačvić, focussed on applying differential sensing approaches to the identification of carbohydrate-binding proteins. In October 2019, Clare moved to Durham to start her own group, working at the interface of polymer science and biological chemistry. Clare was awarded a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship in 2022. Research in the group ranges form the development of sensors and diagnostics for bacterial pathogens, to work with Procter and Gamble in improving cleaning performance of fabric care formulations under environmentally favourable conditions.  

Dr Bernhard Schmidt is a Lecturer in Polymer Chemistry at the University of Glasgow. His research deals with polymer and colloid chemistry with a particular focus on three topics: Polymers in aqueous environment (block copolymer self-assembly and aqueous multi-phase systems), polymer-metal organic framework hybrid materials (metal-organic framework catalysts and tailored crystal morphology) and reinforced hydrogels (tailored mechanical properties for biomedical applications). Group website: www.schmidt-lab.com

Dr Matt Derry (Social Media) is a Lecturer in Chemistry at Aston University. Matt completed his MChem degree in Chemistry with a Year in Industry at the University of York in 2012, and his industry (Lubrizol) sponsored PhD research in 2016 on the synthesis and self-assembly of block copolymers under the supervision of Prof. Steven P. Armes FRS at the University of Sheffield. Matt then continued at the University of Sheffield as a post-doctoral researcher with Prof. Armes, Prof. Anthony J. Ryan OBE and Dr Oleksandr O. Mykhaylyk, looking further into self-assembly mechanisms using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). In December 2019, Matt moved to Aston University, where his group's research is focused on sustainable polymer materials science for a range of applications. 

Dr Seb Sprick (LinkedIn) is a Chancellor’s Fellow and Lecturer in Polymer Chemistry within the Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry at the University of Strathclyde. He completed his PhD with Prof. Michael L. Turner at The University of Manchester in 2013 working on new catalytic systems for the synthesis of poly(triarylamine)s. Following this, he joined Prof. Andrew I. Cooper’s group at the University of Liverpool as a Postdoctoral Research Associate. In 2015 he took up the role of a Research Lead in the same group, primarily focusing on the development of new conjugated polymers that act as photocatalysts for water splitting and carbon dioxide reduction. In June 2020 he moved to the University of Strathclyde where he focuses on the development of polymer photocatalysts for a range of different applications.

Dr Dan Lester (Virtual Seminars) is a Polymer/Materials Analysis Research Platform Manager at the University of Warwick. He completed his PhD at the University of Sussex with Dr John Turner and Dr Qiao Chen in the field of photocatalysis. He then moved to Warwick in 2014 as a Research Technician in the group of Prof David Haddleton, running the analytical equipment, predominantly SEC instruments. After building a portfolio of equipment and clients they formed the Polymer Characterisation facility as part of the Research Technology Platforms Department. Dan has been manager of the Polymer RTP since 2017 building a large collection of analytical instrumentation relevant to Polymer and Materials characterisation. These instruments and associated expertise are provided for those internal to the University of Warwick but are also offered externally via a number of access routes, such as pay-to-play or collaborations. For more information please visit: https://warwick.ac.uk/services/ris/impactinnovation/impact/warwick-scientific-services/polymercharacterisation

Dr Amanda Pearce is a Lecturer in Chemistry at Loughborough University. Amanda completed her Honour’s degree in chemistry at the University of Queensland, where she stayed to obtain her PhD in 2015, under the supervision of Assoc. Prof. Kristofer Thurecht and Prof. Andrew Whittaker, focusing on the synthesis of hyperbranched polymers for in vivo prostate cancer applications. She then moved to the University of Nottingham, UK in 2016 as a Research Fellow working with Prof. Cameron Alexander in an EPSRC Biomaterials Discovery Programme Grant to further her research on the design, synthesis, and characterisation of novel synthetic polymers for cancer drug delivery. In 2019, Amanda was promoted to Group Leader with Prof. Rachel O’Reilly at the University of Birmingham, where she was the lead researcher of the polymers and self-assembly subgroup, where she worked on projects using fluorescence lifetime as a tool to monitor particle self-assembly and biological behaviours. In September 2022, Amanda started her independent career at Loughborough University, where her group’s research is highly interdisciplinary, focusing on the synthesis and application of fluorescent polymer nanoparticles in a range of healthcare applications. Group website: https://akpearce.wixsite.com/pearce-polymer-group

Dr Will Brittain is an Assistant Professor of Organic Chemistry at Durham University. Will conducted his PhD studies (awarded 2018) at the University of Birmingham with John Fossey and Ben Buckley (Loughborough) in asymmetric copper catalysis. During this period, Will spent two spells at the University of Texas at Austin in the group of Eric Anslyn where he studied three-component boronic acid assemblies for rapid determination of enantiomeric excess. In 2017 Will moved to Durham University to take up a PDRA position with Steven Cobb, where he worked across multiple peptide/synthesis-based projects before being awarded a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship in 2021. Will is also currently the Secretary of the RSC Fluorine Interest Group. Will’s research interest focus on the use of fluorine in organic synthesis, peptide catalysis and synthetic methodology including the development of new polymer architectures. Group website: https://www.wdgbchem.com/

Dr Dan Day is a Lead Research Scientist in the Sustainable Polymers team at Croda. Dan completed an MChem degree at the University of Leicester with an industrial placement year in the composites team at Scott Bader. He then went on to study for a PhD in Prof. Lian Hutchings’ group at Durham University, with industrial sponsorship from Synthomer and Croda. Following this, Dan spent 3 years working at the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence at the University of York under the supervision of Dr Thomas Farmer on the CHAMPION project with industrial partnership from Unilever, Scott Bader, Stahl, and Orineo. In October 2023, Dan joined Croda where he works on the synthesis of sustainable polymers for applications in consumer care and life sciences.

Dr Anders Aufderhorst-Roberts is a Lecturer in Soft Condensed Matter Physics at Durham University.  He undertook his PhD in the group of Prof. Dame Athene Donald at the University of Cambridge, working in collaboration with Unilever R&D on peptide derivative hydrogels.   He carried out postdoctoral work at the University of Leeds and at AMOLF, Amsterdam, working on biomaterials, bioinspired materials, and reconstituted cytoskeletal networks. The group he leads at Durham spans research in Physics, Engineering and the Biosciences and is focussed on the rheological properties of living materials, biopolymer composites, and developing instrumentation in shear rheology and microrheology.

Dr Maciek Kopeć is a Lecturer at the University of Bath. He received his MEng degree in Polymer Chemistry and Technology from Cracow University of Technology in 2009, followed by a Ph.D. in Materials Science from Jagiellonian University and Polish Academy of Sciences in Krakow, Poland in 2014. During his Ph.D. he spent six months as a Fulbright Scholar at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA working with Kris Matyjaszewski and Tomek Kowalewski, where he returned as a postdoc in 2014. From 2016 to 2018 he was a Research Fellow in the Materials Science and Technology of Polymers department at the University of Twente in Enschede, the Netherlands. Next, he spent three months at the University of Bristol in the UK before starting his current position at Bath in 2019. His research interests involve polymer gels/networks, degradable and reversible thermosets, controlled radical polymerisation, polymer topology, and polymer-derived carbon materials.

Dr Robert Nixon is a senior PDRA working within the De Bo Research Group at the University of Manchester. He completed his MChem at the University of Manchester in 2016 where he stayed to then acquire a PhD under the supervision of Prof. Guillaume De Bo before carrying on as a PDRA since 2020. His work has primarily focussed on the investigation of using polymer mechanochemistry for the purpose of generating and releasing active molecules from latent species.

Dr Pratik Gurnani completed his MChem at the University of Warwick in 2014 and then went on to complete his PhD at the same institution under the supervision of Prof Sebastien Perrier in 2018, researching new biocompatible nanoparticles for biomedicine applications. Following this, Pratik joined the Prof Cameron Alexander’s group as a Research Fellow at the School of Pharmacy at the University of Nottingham, developing new manufacturable materials for mRNA vaccines to respond to rapidly respond to global pandemics within the EPSRC Future Vaccines Manufacturing Research Hub. Following the successes of his research in this area, Pratik co-led the formulations stream at the University of Nottingham within a new Wellcome Leap research programme in collaboration with Kings College London, Imperial College London and several SME’s to develop a modular ‘biofoundry-in-a-box’ for mRNA synthesis and formulation. In May 2023 Pratik was appointed as a Lecturer in Pharmaceutical Science at the UCL School of Pharmacy where his research programme is focused on developing novel polymer formulations for RNA therapeutics and vaccines.

Dr Julia Rho is a Lecturer in Organic Chemistry at University College London. Julia undertook her MChem degree in Chemistry at the University of Warwick and continued at Warwick to complete her PhD in 2019 under the supervision of Professor Sébastien Perrier. Following this, Julia started her postdoctoral research at the University of Florida under the supervision of Prof. Brent Sumerlin, working on cyclic polymers, complex coacervates and photo-initiated polymerisation. Upon returning to the UK in 2021, she joined the Warwick Medical School to develop new sustainable gene delivery vectors to target agricultural insect pests. In 2023, she joined the University of Birmingham as a Group Leader for Prof. Rachel O'Reilly, covering a broad range of projects from polymer self-assembly, crystallisation, fluorescent dyes to DNA. In 2024, Julia joined the Department of Chemistry at UCL to start her independent research group. Her group focuses on using advanced microscopy to better understand polymeric nanoparticles for gene/drug delivery.