Rowan Group
Synergy of material- and bio- sciences
The Material- and Biosciences Group, led by AIBN Director and ARC Laureate Fellow Professor Alan Rowan, brings together the seemingly distant disciplines of physics material- and bio- sciences to understand the intricacies of cell behaviour and their extracellular environments.
Comprised of scientists with backgrounds in cell biology, chemistry, physics and materials science the Biomaterials Group tackles the fundamental biophysical questions behind cell and extracellular matrix behaviour.
Research Areas
- Functional materials
- Biomimetic catalysis
- Extracellular matrices
- Regenerative wound healing
- Material and bio sciences
- Hybrid matrices
Research Approach
With access to state-of-the-art equipment within the group and in AIBN, we are taking the challenge of understanding how exactly the material properties of the extracellular matrices are translated into intracellular response and signalling. For this reason, we are focused on the synthesis of synthetic polymeric, well-defined natural and hybrid matrices and the development of methodologies on how to study the cell–material interactions in close detail.
Research Highlights
Collaborations
In the fields of biomimetic catalysis and functional materials, our group has had the privilege of working with some of world’s best departments and institutes: ISIS Strasbourg, Imperial College London, Cambridge University and Oxford University, Max Plank Mainz Germany and KULeuven Belgium, all renowned Centres of academic excellence. This includes collaborations with, and mentorship from, leading figures in the field such as Prof C.A. Hunter, Prof R.J.M Nolte, Prof R. Friend, Prof K. Muellen and Nobel Laureate Prof J.M. Lehn. Key international collaborators include; Prof. M. Stevens (Imperial College, London), Prof. F. Macintosh (UVA Amsterdam), Prof O. Ikkala (University of Helsinki), Prof J. Hofkens (KULeuven Belgium), Prof M. Mueller (Aachen Germany), Dr. Kerstin Blank (Max Plank Institute, Potsdam), Prof. Stefan Egelhaaf (HHU, Dusseldorf). In addition to academic collaboration our group is also involved in collaborations with industrial partners, NovioTech and NovioSense (Nijmegen, The Netherlands).
PhD opportunities
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Email us your ideas - open project applications
Talented undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral applicants are encouraged to apply with proposals for projects outside of the ones listed in this section. We are always happy to discuss future collaborations. We would love to hear from you.
