Research group: Microbial biointerfaces in water engineering

Research Interest: My research aims to elucidate structure-function relationships of microbial biointerfaces in biofilms and bioprocesses of industrial and environmental significance. This understanding will lead to more precise biofilm and bioprocess control strategies, and may inform new approaches towards resource recovery e.g. from water reclamation bioprocesses.

Current Research Projects:

• Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) biofilms: what is the role of the dominant extracellular protein in promoting biofilm formation and can this inform new bioscaffolds? 
• Extracellular DNA: how does eDNA form viscoelastic biofilm matrices in terms of higher order structure transitions from chromosome to extracellular matrix
• Nanoplastics in the environment: how much of a problem are they (specifically regarding nutrient biotransformations) and how best to remove them by bioflocculation
• Biofilm control in domestic appliances through new formulations
• Improved biobutanol production titers through non-genetic means

Areas of Expertise

• Biopolymer processing (extraction, isolation, recovery)
• Molecular characterizations (structural using e.g. NMR techniques, biophysical, identifications, molecular dynamics)
• Bioprocess engineering