Principal Investigator
Dr Susan Kelleher
Susan completed her degree in Medicinal Chemistry in Trinity College Dublin (2005), after which she carried out her PhD in Organic Chemistry with Dr Paul Evans (2009), as well as a short post-doc in biodegradable chewing gum with Dr Wilhelm Risse, in University College Dublin (UCD). In 2010, she moved to the Technical University Berlin, where she worked on the nano- and micro- surface patterning of biomaterials and investigated the ability of these surfaces to influence cell behaviour with Prof. Dr. Marga Lensen. In 2012, Susan joined Dublin City University (DCU), where she worked for 2 years on the functionalisation of surfaces and nanoparticles for use in point-of-care devices with Prof. Stephen Daniels and in 2014, secured independent funding to begin her own research projects in the areas of bioresponsive materials, nanopatterning and biomimetic engineering. In October 2016, Susan was appointed Assistant Professor of Soft Materials in UCD School of Chemistry and set up the Nanostructured Materials Group. In February 2021, the group moved to the School of Chemical Sciences in DCU. In October 2023, Susan was promoted to Associate Professor.
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Postdoctoral Researchers
Dr Graham Reid
Graham received his undergraduate degree from Dublin Institute of Technology, in Bio-Molecular Science, 2016. For his 4th year external project in Dublin City University, he worked with a research group on producing and calibrating nano-polyaniline electrochemical sensors, suitable for point-of-care, breath ammonia analysis. Following this, Graham completed his PhD under an Irish Research Council Enterprise Partnership Scholarship, in collaboration with Dr Kelleher and Mergon International. Graham is working as a post-doctoral researcher with the group on an SFI-funded project.
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Dr Purabi Bhagabati
Purabi received her PhD in the area of Polymer Science from Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, India (2016). Purabi received National Post-doctoral individual research grants from Science and Engineering Research Board, Government of India and worked on Bioplastic synthesis, processing & product development, sorting and segregation of plastics waste and composting process. In her project, she developed pilot scale technology for production of ultra-crystalline Poly(ԑ-caprolactone). After completion of her Post-doctoral fellowship, she worked as Senior Research Associate (2019) in the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India funded multi-institutional project. Purabi also worked as Project manager in 'NRL-Center of Excellence on Sustainable Material’ nearly for a year (2020). Later in October 2020, Purabi joined the EPA funded project BioPost as postdoctoral research fellow in Trinity College Dublin. Purabi joined the Kelleher group in February 2023, and is currently working as a postdoctoral researcher on SFI funded Grain-4-Lab. Her primary research focus is on biodegradable polymers and bioplastics.
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Dr Urbain Ndagano
Urbain received his undergraduate degree from the University of Cape Town in 2016, majoring in Biochemistry and Chemistry. He then went on to receive his Bachelor of Science with Honours degree with Distinction (2018), Master of Science degree (2021) and Doctor of Philosophy degree (2023) in chemistry at Rhodes University. During his PhD research, which was funded by the National Research Foundation, Urbain demonstrated the effective application of silica-supported sulfuric acid in three different one-pot reactions, providing a substantial library of compounds for potential pharmaceutical applications. Urbain is working as a postdoctoral researcher with the group on the PUreTex project.
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Postgraduate students
Meabh Kennedy (3rd year)
Meabh received her undergraduate degree in Medicinal Chemistry and Chemical Biology from University College Dublin (UCD) (2021). During her time in UCD she completed her final year research project with Dr Susan Quinn. While investigating the synthesis of luminescent carbon dots for use in trackable DNA hybrid probes, she realised her interest in applications of nanomaterials in medicine which led to her to the work of the Kelleher Nanostructured Materials group. She began her postgraduate degree with the Kelleher group in DCU in 2021. Her research, funded by the DCU Postgraduate Scholarship Programme and the Irish Research Council, is focused on created antibacterial/antibiofouling polymeric surfaces. She is co-supervised by Dr Ruairí Brannigan (DCU).
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Ciara Tobin (2nd year)
Ciara received her undergraduate degree in Analytical Science from Dublin City University (DCU) in 2022. In her final year, she completed a research project under the supervision of Dr Kelleher, which focused on the delivery of RNA into the body through the use of nanoneedle arrays. It was during her research project where she discovered her interest in polymer chemistry. She began her PhD in 2022 with the Kelleher Nanostructured Materials Group, funded by SFI, which focuses on antibacterial and anti-biofouling polymer membranes for water filtration.
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Emma Nolan (2nd year)
Emma graduated from Dublin City University with a BSc degree in Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences in 2022. As part of her degree she completed a research project investigating the preparation of microstructured polymer surfaces by replica moulding with the Kelleher Nanostructured Materials Group. From working with the group she developed an interest in materials chemistry and began her PhD on antibacterial and antibiofouling polymer membranes for the purpose of water filtration in 2022 funded by SFI.
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Dylan Doherty (1st year)
Dylan is a graduate of the BSc Applied Physics in DCU. As part of his undergraduate training, Dylan joined the Kelleher group as an intern. After completing his degree, Dylan worked on the Grain-4-Lab project under the supervision of Dr Jennifer Gaughran (DCU, School of Physical Sciences). In October 2023, Dylan started his PhD with the team and is co-supervised by Susan and Jennifer. His research is focused on the development of sustainable materials for use in point-of-care devices.
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Research Assistants
Siv Keating
Siv is a third year trainee on CE placement at the Rediscovery Centre. As part of this placement she works as part of a small team in the Rediscover Fashion social enterprise where textiles are diverted from landfill and repurposed into new products. She has received training in the use of industrial equipment, circular design and prototyping. Through this work and engagement with local community groups, students and public events she has found a real lack of practical sewing skills among younger people and the prevalence of fast fashion across most demographics. She is now focusing on designing and delivering sustainable fashion workshops, where participants can learn about alternatives to fast fashion and practice beginners sewing and repair techniques. She is also working as a part time research assistant on the PUreTex project, assisting with research into current second hand and end of life textile streams, and working with the Rediscovery Centre in the running of Relove Fashion 2024.
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Previous members
Dr Jessica McFadden (ASML, The Netherlands)
Dr Niamh Geoghegan (Intel Ireland)
Dr Aisha Khalifa (DCU)
Dr Mark O' Loughlin (Veeva, Spain)
Dr Lucia Podhorska (ICON Plc)
Dr James McCormack (Intel Ireland)
Mark Allen (Smurfit Business School)
Adam Atouani (Intel Ireland)
Dr Colm Delaney (Assistant Professor, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland)
Fatima Ba (HAN University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands)
Hannah Walens (Rowan University, NJ, USA)
Dr Samir Behout (University of Helsinki, Finland)
Dr Shauna Flynn (Zymergen, California, USA)
Owen Hickey (University College Dublin, Ireland)
Carl Scurry (Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland)
Sarah Boden (Moorhead State University, KY, USA)
Susan Mulanski (Technical University of Dresden, Germany)
Sebastian Stelzner (Technical University of Dresden, Germany)
Melanie Colditz (Technical University of Dresden, Germany)
Christine Dobie (Rochester Institute of Technology, NY, USA)
Cortney McArdell (Rochester Institute of Technology, NY, USA)
Lauren Goodwin (Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland)
Khalafalla Eltayeb (University of Limerick, Ireland)
Andrei Ciobanu (Dublin City University, Ireland)
Fabian Bayer (Technical University of Dresden, Germany)
Nick Alcorn (Moorhead State University, KY, USA)
Alyssa Banks (Moorhead State University, KY, USA)
Ash Sharma (University of Utah, UT, USA)
Catherine Goromonzi (Dublin City University, Ireland)
Shona O' Brien (Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland)
Dr Niamh Geoghegan (Intel Ireland)
Dr Aisha Khalifa (DCU)
Dr Mark O' Loughlin (Veeva, Spain)
Dr Lucia Podhorska (ICON Plc)
Dr James McCormack (Intel Ireland)
Mark Allen (Smurfit Business School)
Adam Atouani (Intel Ireland)
Dr Colm Delaney (Assistant Professor, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland)
Fatima Ba (HAN University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands)
Hannah Walens (Rowan University, NJ, USA)
Dr Samir Behout (University of Helsinki, Finland)
Dr Shauna Flynn (Zymergen, California, USA)
Owen Hickey (University College Dublin, Ireland)
Carl Scurry (Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland)
Sarah Boden (Moorhead State University, KY, USA)
Susan Mulanski (Technical University of Dresden, Germany)
Sebastian Stelzner (Technical University of Dresden, Germany)
Melanie Colditz (Technical University of Dresden, Germany)
Christine Dobie (Rochester Institute of Technology, NY, USA)
Cortney McArdell (Rochester Institute of Technology, NY, USA)
Lauren Goodwin (Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland)
Khalafalla Eltayeb (University of Limerick, Ireland)
Andrei Ciobanu (Dublin City University, Ireland)
Fabian Bayer (Technical University of Dresden, Germany)
Nick Alcorn (Moorhead State University, KY, USA)
Alyssa Banks (Moorhead State University, KY, USA)
Ash Sharma (University of Utah, UT, USA)
Catherine Goromonzi (Dublin City University, Ireland)
Shona O' Brien (Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland)