MICROBIAL BIOTECHNOLOGY
Current Projects
Project title: ISOS-Implantable Ecosystems of Genetically Modified Bacteria for the Personalized Treatment of Patients with Chronic Diseases
Project aim: To develop engineered living hydrogel for the age related macular degeneration treatment
Funder: EIC
Duration: Dec 2023 to Nov 2026
Staff involved: Paul James
PIs: Meng Zhang
Post Doctorial Research Assistants: TBC
Project title: Fibre Fusion: Circular Manufacturing of Water Repelling Bacterial Cellulose Through a Biological Approach
Project aim: To develop a new, biologically based, efficient fabrication process for bio- based textiles.
Funder: BBSRC
Duration: Feb 2023 to Jan 2025
Staff involved: Paul James, Yunhong Jiang,
Jane Scott (Newcastle University)
PIs: Meng Zhang
Post Doctorial Research Assistants: Katie Gilmour
Project title: Feasibility study into methods for improving the scalability of MICP (Microbially Induced Calcite Precipitation) for the production of Low carbon Precast Tiles and internal cladding systems
Project aim: To develop an efficient fabrication process to produce low carbon precast construction materials through Microbially Induced Calcite Precipitation
Funder: Innovate UK
Duration: August 2023 to Jan 2024
Staff involved: Giovanni Pesce
PIs: Meng Zhang
Post Doctorial Research Assistants: Jamie Haystead
Project title: Engineered Living Pressure Responding Materials
Project aim: To develop engineered living materials sensing and responding to mechanical pressure changes in the environment
Funder: EPSRC and HBBE
Duration: Ongoing
Staff involved: Martyn Dade-Robertson, Paul James
PIs: Meng Zhang
Post Doctorial Research Assistants: Katie Gilmour, Polly Noble, Thora Arnardottir
Project title: Adventurous Manufacture Living Manufacture: Principles for a microbial 3D printer.
Project aim: To develop engineered living fabrication system to produce functional biomaterials
Funder: EPSRC and HBBE
Duration: Ongoing
Staff involved: Meng Zhang, Martyn Dade-Robertson
Post Doctorial Research Assistants: Katie Gilmour, Josh Loh, Thora Arnardottir, Sunbin Lee
Project title: Solar cement: carbon negative biocement
Project aim: To develop biocementation process to make carbon negative cementious materials
Funder: HBBE
Duration: Ongoing
Staff involved: Samantha Bryan (Nottingham), Magdalini Theodoridou (NCL), Paul James
PIs: Meng Zhang, Martyn Dade-Robertson
Post Doctorial Research Assistants: Thora Arnardottir, Jamie Haystead
Project title: Microbially Induced Calcium Carbonate Precipitation through CO2 Sequestration via an Engineered Bacillus subtilis
Project aim: To develop biocementation process to make carbon negative cementious materials
Funder: HBBE and BioFutures
Duration: Ongoing
Staff involved: Martyn Dade-Robertson
PIs: Meng Zhang, Paul James
Post Doctorial Research Assistants: Katie Gilmour, Prakriti Sharma Ghimire, Jamie Haystead
Project title: Fabrication of functional bacterial cellulose through engineering biology
Project aim: To develop functional bacterial cellulose for textile and construction industry through engineering biology approach
Funder: BBSRC and HBBE
Duration: Ongoing
Staff involved: Martyn Dade-Robertson, Paul James
PIs: Meng Zhang
Post Doctorial Research Assistants: Katie Gilmour, Josh Loh
Project title: Development of Biocataysis Platform for drug developments.
Project aim: To develop biocatalytic routes to produce novel drugs using ketoreductases and galactose oxidases from metagenomes samples.
Funder: Innovate UK and KETP
Duration: Ongoing
Staff involved: Warispreet Singh
PIs: Jose Munoz
Post Doctorial Research Assistants: Migkena Zoupali
Project title: A testable hypothesis for lipoprotein-driven bacterial outer membrane evolution
Project aim:
Funder: BBSRC Pioneer Award
Duration: 1 year
Staff involved: Paul James
PIs: Iain Sutcliffe
Post Doctoral Research Assistants: Mingaile Jackson
Project title: Enzymatic upcycling of textile waste into biodegradable mycelium leather
Project aim: To enzymatically convert waste textiles into a feedstock that can be used to support the growth of mycelium that can then be converted into a leather like product.
Funder: BBSRC – Towards a circular economy for technology relevant metals and textiles
Duration: 2 years
Staff involved: Meng Zhang, Gary Black and Jane Scott
PIs: Paul James
Post Doctoral Research Assistants: Zak Towle
Project title: Microbial division of labour for enhanced carbon dioxide utilization by electricity-eating microbes
Project aim: To divide labour between two microbes to convert CO2 to multi-carbon products.
Funder: The Royal Society
Duration: 1 year
Staff involved: To be confirmed
PIs: Shafeer Kalathil
Post Doctorial Research Assistants: To be confirmed
Project title: A living bionic leaf to produce solar chemicals and fuels from carbon dioxide
Project aim: To rewire photosynthesis to produce solar chemicals from bacteria, CO2, water and sunlight.
Funder: Johnson Matthey
Duration: 4 years
Staff involved: to be confirmed
PIs: Shafeer Kalathil
Post Doctorial Research Assistants: to be confirmed
Project title: Bio-fabrication of sustainable functional bacterial cellulose aerogel for building insulation
Project aim: To develop sustainable high-performance bio-based insulation bacterial cellulose aerogels with improved multiple functions.
Funder: EPSRC
Duration: June 2023 – May 2025
Staff involved: to be confirmed
PIs: Yunhong Jiang
Post Doctorial Research Assistants: Rashi Gusain
Project title: Plant nanobionic for photosynthesis in energy harvest
Project aim: To provides an innovative approach to improve photosynthesis through enhancement of light capture and electron transport rates in plants using novel plasmonic intercalation compounds of selected low-dimensional transition metal oxides.
Funder: Leverhulme Trust
Duration: October 2022 – September 2025
Staff involved: Warispreet Singh
PIs: Yunhong Jiang
Project title: Development of sustainable and biodegradable inks for e-textile printing
Project aim: To develop new biodegradable polymers inks based on renewable sources.
Funder: Innovate UK
Duration: June 2023 – November 2023
Staff involved: Rashi Gusain
PIs: Yunhong Jiang
Project title: PICASSO – Bioprocessing waste into reuseable products
Project aim: To develop and refine technology to biologically treat waste aviation fuel.
Funder: Royal Air Force Air Innovation Fund (RAF)
Duration: Sept 2022 to Nov Sept 2023
Staff involved: David Pearce, Michael Deary
PIs: David Pearce
Post Doctorial Research Assistants: Pedro Jesus Fernandez Julia
Project title: BIOICE - Blue Ice oases and the revival of microbial life
Project aim: To characterize the microbial community in Antarctic Blue Ice Oases.
Funder: Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Duration: Sept 2020 to Nov Sept 2023
Staff involved: David Pearce
PIs: David Pearce
PhD students: Rosalia Calvo Ryan
Externally funded interns: Laure Newby
Project title: BOLTS - Bioprocessing waste into reusable products
Project aim: To develop and refine technology to biologically treat waste heavy oils
Funder: Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA)
Duration: Sept 2021 to Nov Sept 2022
Staff involved: David Pearce, Michael Deary
PIs: David Pearce
Post Doctorial Research Assistants: Andrew Zealand
Project title: The Home Biome Project (DUST). Dusty Secrets: characterising, communicating and capitalising on the hidden world within our homes
Project aim: To investigate microbial composition and AMR content of domestic house dust
Funder: Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
Duration: Sept 2021 to Sept 2022
Staff involved: Jane Entwistle, David Pearce
PIs: Jane Entwistle, David Pearce
Post Doctorial Research Assistants: Jonathan Thompson
Project title: BIOAIR - Aerobiology over Antarctica
Project aim: To investigate microbial composition distribution functional and colonization potential around Antarctica
Funder: Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL)
Duration: Sept 2019 to Nov Sept 2020
Staff involved: David Pearce
PIs: David Pearce
Post Doctorial Research Assistants: Lucie Malard
More events
Upcoming events
Supporting Survivors of Sexual Violence and Abuse Conference 2026
CCE1 - City Campus East 1
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Broken Bonds: New Perspectives on Marital Breakdown
The Great Hall
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