Our Principal Investigators (PIs)

Meet Our Principal Investigators

We have a team of internationally-recognised Principal Investigators with extensive research and mentoring experience, covering all of our research themes. More information about Call 1 supervisors can be found by clicking on the green arrows.

Prof. Gavin Walker Bernal Chair of Pharmaceutical Powder Engineering Prof. Gavin Walker Bernal Chair of Pharmaceutical Powder Engineering Contact: gavin.walker@ul.ie PROCESS Research Theme: Bulk Solids Processing Research Interests: Pharmaceutical Powder Engineering Granulation and agglomeration processes Particle Technology and regime map analysis Bioengineering materials and drug delivery Environmental materials engineering and adsorption modelling Superhydrophobic materials and liquid marble granulation Hybrid Processing Heat and Momentum Transfer Mass Transfer Processes Process Modelling, Control and PAT Short Bio: Professor Walker was appointed as the Bernal Chair of Pharmaceutical Engineering at the University of Limerick in 2012. He is also a Visiting Research Professor of Chemical Engineering at Queen’s University Belfast (UK). Professor Walker has been awarded >€27m in research funding from SFI, EI, EPSRC (UK), TSB (UK), EU FP7, H2020 and industry sources. He is currently a principal investigator in the SFI Investigators Programme, the Synthesis and Solid State Pharmaceutical Centre (SSPC), the EI Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Technology Centre (PMTC) and the EI Dairy Processing Technology Centre (DPTC). His research interests include particle/powder technology, process modelling and pharmaceutical engineering and currently has 40 researchers within his group. He has published over 170 international journal papers (>6700 citations, h-index 38) on various aspects of chemical and process engineering and is associate editor of Chemical Engineering Journal and Chemical Engineering Research and Design (focusing on material processing). Professor Walker has been awarded two Royal Academy of Engineering (UK) fellowships: the ExxonMobil Fellowship in 2002 and the Leverhulme Trust Senior Research Fellowship in 2009. In 2017 he was appointed Scientific Director of SFI funded Synthesis and Solid State Pharmaceutical Centre (SSPC). He is currently the Associate Editor of Chemical Engineering Journal and Chemical Engineering Research and Design (focusing on material processing). In 2017, he helped spin out “IP2 Innovative Particle Processing” for cross-sectoral powder engineering consultancy with the University of Limerick. Prof Walker’s research group was awarded the National Pharmaceutical Lab of the Year, Chemical Lab of the Year and Overall Academic – Research Lab of the Year in the 2017 Irish Lab Awards. Publications: ORCiD Researcher ID Download CV Qualifications: B.Eng, Queens University Belfast (QUB), 1992 (Chemical Engineering) Ph.D, Queens University Belfast (QUB), 1995 (Chemical Engineering)	Prof. Mike Zaworotko Bernal Chair of Crystal Engineering Prof. Mike Zaworotko Bernal Chair of Crystal Engineering Science Foundation Ireland Research Professor PROCESS Research Theme: Bulk Solids Processing Contact: xtal@ul.ie Research Interests: Bulk solids processing Short Bio : Dr. Mike Zaworotko currently serves as Bernal Chair of Crystal Engineering & Co-Director of the Synthesis & Solid State Pharmaceutical Centre, a Science Foundation of Ireland (SFI) Research Center hosted by the University of Limerick, Ireland. He was born in Wales in 1956 and received his B.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from Imperial College (1977) and the University of Alabama (1982), respectively. He previously served as a faculty member at Saint Mary’s University, Nova Scotia, Canada, from 1985-1998, at University of Winnipeg, Canada from 1998-99 and at the University of South Florida, USA, from 1999-2013. Research activities have focused upon fundamental and applied aspects of crystal engineering since 1990. Currently, metal-organic materials, especially ultramicroporous adsorbents to address energy sustainability (including carbon capture) and multi-component pharmaceutical materials to make better and cheaper medicines, are of particular interest. He serves as Associate Editor of the American Chemical Society published journal Crystal Growth & Design and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Learned Society of Wales and of the Institute of Chemistry of Ireland. In 2017 he was named SFI Researcher of the Year. Publications : Professor Zaworotko has published over 390 peer reviewed papers, review articles and patents that have been cited >32,000 times. In 2011 Thomson-Reuters listed him as the 20th highest impact chemist since 2000 and in 2014, 2015 and 2016 he was listed as a highly cited researcher also by Thomson Reuters. Google Scholar ORCiD Researcher ID Download CV Selected Publications Qualifications: B.Sc., ARCS, Imperial College, London, UK, 1977 Ph.D, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, 1982	Dr Damien Thompson Lecturer Dr Damien Thompson Lecturer Contact: damien.thompson@ul.ie PROCESS Research Theme: Bulk Solids Processing Research Interests: Computer-aided materials design Design of thermally stable protein formulations Design of non-biofouling surfaces Design of excipient formulations High-performance computing Molecular dynamics simulations Electronic structure calculations Short Bio Dr Thompson’s group design novel architectures and assemblies based on the directed self-assembly of nanoscale building blocks (small molecules, biomolecules, monolayers, and nanoparticles) in collaboration with leading experimental and industry partners in European Framework, Science Foundation Ireland and Enterprise Ireland funded projects. Thermodynamic modelling of assemblies from the atomic to micron scale is performed using workstations at the Bernal Institute UL, the Irish Centre for High End Computing and supercomputing centers throughout mainland Europe. He has graduated four PhD students and supervised eight postdoctoral researchers, and currently supervises three PhD students and three postdoctoral researchers. Publications: Google Scholar Researcher ID: G-6138-2015 CV Qualifications: 2003: PhD in Computational Chemistry at University of Limerick (Supervisor: Prof Kieran Hodnett)	Dr Jakki Cooney Lecturer Dr Jakki Cooney Lecturer Contact: jakki.cooney@ul.ie PROCESS Research Theme: Hybrid processing, process modelling Research Interests: Dr Cooney's research interests focus on the exploration of structure and function of proteolytic enzymes produced by bacteria, and the host-microbe interactions impacted on by proteolytic activity. Her research also includes development of matching-strategies for tailored immobilization of active enzymes on solid surfaces. The panel of techniques deployed in her group include bioinformatics, molecular biology, recombinant protein expression, protein isolation, enzyme kinetics, surface plasmon resonance, protein modelling, protein crystallography and molecular dynamics. Short Bio: Dr Cooney is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Biological Sciences, and Course Director for the BSc Bioscience. Dr Cooney is a member of the Bernal Institute at University of Limerick and SFI funded research centres SSPC, APC Microbiome Institute and CÚRAM. She is a co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Cala Medical, whose mission is to develop life-saving therapies for sepsis. As an SSPC-funded investigator, she is leading a project entitled, Production, Isolation and Characterisation of Protein Active Ingredients, which investigates and implements innovative process and product solutions for the production of biologicals with a focus on the development of novel protein and peptide drugs. She has previously lived and worked in Sweden, Canada, New Zealand and the US. Publications: ORCID ResearcherID: B-7975-2015 Selected Publications: Bioinformatics: Sun Z, Harris HM, McCann A, Guo C, Argimón S, Zhang W, Yang X, Jeffery IB, Cooney JC, Kagawa TF, Liu W, Song Y, Salvetti E, Wrobel A, Rasinkangas P, Parkhill J, Rea MC, O'Sullivan O, Ritari J, Douillard FP, Paul Ross R, Yang R, Briner AE, Felis GE, de Vos WM, Barrangou R, Klaenhammer TR, Caufield PW, Cui Y, Zhang H, O'Toole PW. Expanding the biotechnology potential of lactobacilli through comparative genomics of 213 strains and associated genera. Nat Commun. 2015 Sep 29;6:8322. doi: 10.1038/ncomms9322. PMID: 26415554 WOS Highly cited paper Thornton RF, Kagawa TF, O'Toole PW, Cooney JC. The dissemination of C10 cysteine protease genes in Bacteroides fragilis by mobile genetic elements. BMC Microbiol. 2010 Apr 23;10:122. doi: 10.1186/1471-2180-10-122. PMID: 20416045 Protease structure: Kagawa TF, O'Connell MR, Mouat P, Paoli M, O'Toole PW, Cooney JC. Model for substrate interactions in C5a peptidase from Streptococcus pyogenes: A 1.9 A crystal structure of the active form of ScpA. J Mol Biol. 2009 Feb 27;386(3):754-72. doi: 10.1016/j.jmb.2008.12.074. PMID: 19152799. Kagawa TF, Cooney JC, Baker HM, McSweeney S, Liu M, Gubba S, Musser JM, Baker EN. Crystal structure of the zymogen form of the group A Streptococcus virulence factor SpeB: an integrin-binding cysteine protease. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2000 Feb 29;97(5):2235-40. PubMed PMID: 10681429. Cover article. Protease biology: Thornton RF, Murphy EC, Kagawa TF, O'Toole PW, Cooney JC. The effect of environmental conditions on expression of Bacteroides fragilis and Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron C10 protease genes. BMC Microbiol. 2012 Sep 3;12:190. doi: 10.1186/1471-2180-12-190. PMID: 22943521 Kagawa TF, O'toole PW, Cooney JC. SpeB-Spi: a novel protease-inhibitor pair from Streptococcus pyogenes. Mol Microbiol. 2005 Aug;57(3):650-66. PubMed PMID:16045611. Enzyme Immobilization: Hudson S, Cooney J, Magner E. Proteins in mesoporous silicates. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2008;47(45):8582-94. doi: 10.1002/anie.200705238. PMID:18833554. WOS Highly cited paper Hudson S, Magner E, Cooney J, Hodnett BK. Methodology for the immobilization of enzymes onto mesoporous materials. J Phys Chem B. 2005 Oct 20;109(41):19496-506. PubMed PMID: 16853519. Granted patents IgG-binding recombinant H protein lacking albumin-binding region. Schmidt, K-H, Åkesson, P; Cooney, J; Björck, L. (HighTech Receptor AB, Swed.). PCT Int. Appl. (1991), 38 pp. CODEN: PIXXD2 WO 9119740 A1 19911226 Gene for albumin-binding proteins of Streptococcus and its cloning. Schmidt, K-H; Åkesson, P; Cooney, J; Björck, L. (HighTech Receptor AB, Swed.). PCT Int. Appl. (1991), 34 pp. CODEN: PIXXD2 WO 9119741 A1 19911226 Apparatus for the extracorporeal treatment of blood. Cooney, J; Kagawa, TF; Magner, E. (University of Limerick, Ireland) US20150166978 An apparatus for the extracorporeal treatment of blood. Cooney, J; Kagawa, TF; Magner, E. (University of Limerick, Ireland) EP288614B1 Qualifications: BA (Mod.) Biochemistry. Trinity College Dublin PhD Molecular Microbiology. Trinity College Dublin.
Prof. Kevin Ryan Professor of Chemical Nanotechnology Prof. Kevin Ryan Professor of Chemical Nanotechnology SFI Principal Investigator, Bernal Institute Contact: kevin.m.ryan@ul.ie PROCESS Research Theme: Hybrid Processing Research Interests: Nanotechnology applied to Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Nanotechnology applied to Sustainable Energy Size control of Pharmaceutical crystals at the nanoscale < 1 micron, greatly increases the bioavailability for BCS Class II and IV drug compounds. Development of solution and supercritical fluid crystalization approaches to control particle size in API’s. Short Bio Professor Kevin M. Ryan obtained his PhD in Chemistry from University College Cork in 2002 in the area of silicon and germanium nanowire synthesis within nanoporous hosts. Following his PhD, he worked as an Enterprise Ireland postdoctoral fellow at UCC before taking up a 2 year Marie Curie Industrial host fellowship at Merck Chemicals Ltd. Southampton in their Nanotechnologies New Business division in 2003. He subsequently carried out a Marie Curie Outgoing fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley in 2005/2006 working on semiconductor nanorod synthesis and superlattice assembly. Currently his lab and group are based at the Bernal Institute, University of Limerick. www.ifnano.com for full group description. Publications: > 100 peer-reviewed publications and review articles H-index of 33 6 patents issued UL Research Excellence Award 2016 MSSI researcher award 2015 and 2013 ORCiD Selected Publications Qualifications: PhD in Chemistry from University College Cork	Dr. Sarah Hudson Lecturer in Physical Chemistry Dr. Sarah Hudson Lecturer in Physical Chemistry Contact: sarah.hudson@ul.ie PROCESS Research Theme: Mass Transfer Processes Research Interests: Nucleation and crystallilzation of pharmaceutical compounds Solid state characterization (spectroscopy and thermal analysis) of active pharmaceutical ingredients and drug formulations Controlled release drug delivery systems Polymers and biomaterials Short Bio: Dr Sarah Hudson studied chemistry at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland and obtained a PhD from the University of Limerick, Ireland in immobilised enzyme biocatalysis. After two postdoctoral positions in MIT, Boston, USA and WIT, Waterford, Ireland in drug delivery and pharmaceutics, she became a lecturer in chemistry in the Department of Chemical Sciences at the University of Limerick (UL) in 2011. She is the lead investigator in the Biologicals Process Infrastructure Testbed and a funded investigator in the Synthesis and Solid State Pharmaceutical Centre, and both research centres based in the Bernal Institute in UL. Her research group manipulates the physicochemical properties of small and large active molecules to improve their stability, solubility and dissolution rates with the ultimate goal of improving the bioavailability of active pharmaceutical ingredients. They explore the solution and solid state behaviour of these molecules both during formulation/manufacture into medicines and in biorelevant environments. Their research focuses on the thermodynamics behind aggregation, crystallisation and precipitation in a range of solvents and bio relevant media and develops formulations to control this solution/solid state behaviour. Selected Publications: Google Scholar Qualifications: 1995-1999 B.A. Mod. Chemistry, Trinity College Dublin 1991-2000 M.Sc. in Chemistry, Trinity College Dublin. Thesis Title: "Effect of the substituents modulating the excited-state energetics in a family of [fac-Re(I)(CO)3(py-X1)(DPPZ-X2)] +" 2003-2006 PhD University of Limerick. Thesis Title: "Enzymes in Mesopores"	Dr. Emmet O’Reilly Lecturer Dr. Emmet O’Reilly Lecturer Contact: emmet.oreilly@ul.ie PROCESS Research Theme: Process Modelling, Control and PAT Research Interests: My research focuses on the design, synthesis and characterisation of conducting polymeric materials for biomedical and material science applications. Specific research strands include; Chemical and electrochemical polymerisation of conducting polymers and conducting polymer nano-fibres in bulk solution and on electrode surfaces. Functionalization of polymer backbones with biologically active molecules Application of electro-active polymers to in vitro diagnostics Adaptation of polymer materials to screen printing, 3D printing and tissue engineering applications Short Bio: Emmet is currently a lecturer in polymer chemistry in the department of chemical and environmental science. He completed his undergraduate studies (Analytical Science - DCU) in 2004 and doctoral studies in 2008 (PhD in Polymer Chemistry - Biomedical Diagnostics Institute - DCU). In 2010 he was awarded an Marie Curie post-doctoral fellowship and took up a position with the CNRS in Montpellier, France, returning to Ireland in 2013. Emmet's research interests primarily involve the application of electroactive polymers to the fields of biomedical sensing and material science. He has extensive experience in polymer characterisation and surface functionalisation. He has authored over a dozen scientific papers presented his work at numerous national and international conferences. Selected Publications: PubMed Qualifications: 2008. Ph.D. Polymer Chemistry. Dublin City University 2004. B.Sc (Hons). Analytical Science. Dublin City University	Dr. Maurice Collins Lecturer Dr. Maurice Collins Lecturer Contact: maurice.collins@ul.ie PROCESS Research Theme: Hybrid Processing and Bulk Solids Processing Research Interests: Biomaterials Structure/Property Relationships in Polymeric materials Polymer Blends and composites Polymer Therapeutics Polymer Crystals Lead free Solder Materials Liquid surface interactions Short Bio: Dr Maurice N Collins is a lecturer above the bar at the Faculty of Science and Engineering in the School of Engineering at the University of Limerick. He is a member of both the Bernal Institute and the Health Research Institute at UL. The principal focus of his research group is on the structure/property/processing relationships of bio-based polymers in the application areas of regenerative medicine, drug delivery, and pharmaceutics. Maurice has a strong track record in attracting funding to enable his research (>€8 million). He is the lead PI and coordinator of the H2020 LIBRE consortium, which focuses on next generation biomaterials. His research group is interdisciplinary including Materials Scientists, Chemists, Biologists, Pharmacists and Engineers, with current areas of interest including, but not limited to, the development of bioinks for 3D bioprinting, the development of multifunctional nanomaterials and immunomodulatory materials. Maurice currently serves as an editor of Carbohydrate Polymers (IF 5.1) and the International Journal of Biological Macromolecules (IF 3.9). He is the course director of the MSc in Biomedical Device Materials. Publications: Google Scholar Qualifications: PhD 2006, University of Limerick MSc (by research) 2002, University of Limerick BSc (hons.), Material Science,2000, University of Limerick
Prof. Harry van den Akker Professor of Industrial Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Prof. Harry van den Akker Professor of Industrial Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Contact: harry.vandenakker@ul.ie PROCESS Research Theme: Heat and Momentum Transfer Research Interests: Transport Phenomena Computational Fluid Dynamics Fluid Mechancis; Turbulence Multi-Phase Flow Lattice Boltzmann Techniques Computational Reactor Engineering Chemical Engineering Short Bio Professor Harry Van den Akker, Professor in Transport Phenomena, Delft University of Technology has agreed to become the Bernal Professor of Fluid Mechanics at the University of Limerick commencing in September 2013. Prior to joining the TUDelft, Professor Van den Akker was a research engineer at Shell Research in Amsterdam. He has held visiting appointments in Princeton and at King’s College London. He was President of the Dutch Physical Society for 6 years, and Scientific Director of the Netherlands Research School in Process Technology for 12 years. He has supervised the work of 35 PhD students at Delft, mentored 7 assistant professors there, and has published some 120 peer reviewed journal articles. His h-index is 27. He is regarded as a world leader in the fluid dynamics of multiphase mixing. Publications Professor Van den Akker’s published work is in the top 20 of articles cited from the major journals in the area including American Institute of Chemical Engineering Journal and Chemical Engineering Research and Development. Other journals having published his papers comprise Chemical Engineering Science, Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Physics of Fluids, Powder Technology, and Physical Review E. Current research interests: Applying Lattice Boltzmann techniques for simulating meso-scale processes. ORCiD CV Download Selected Publications Qualifications: M.Sc. Chemical Engineering (Eindhoven University of Technology) Ph.D. (Technische Universiteit Eindhoven)	Dr. Luis Padrela Lecturer Dr. Luis Padrela Lecturer Contact: luis.padrela@ul.ie PROCESS Research Theme: Hybrid processing, Mass transfer processes Research Interests: Pharmaceutical processing for large molecule APIs (biopharmaceuticals): - Isolation and stabilization of biopharmaceuticals using spray drying and freeze drying - Engineering and manufacturing of biopharmaceutical nanoparticles Pharmaceutical processing for small molecule APIs (pharmaceuticals): - Continuous (co)crystallization, drying and downstream processing of pharmaceutical nanoparticles - Solution and supercritical CO2 crystallization for size and polymorphic control Short Bio: Luis Padrela is a lecturer in Industrial Biochemistry within the Department of Chemical Sciences and a Researcher at the Synthesis and Solid State Pharmaceutical Centre (SSPC) based in the Bernal Institute. Dr Padrela has a diverse research portfolio across a number of international academic and industrial institutions exploring topics such as Particle Engineering Technologies, Continuous Nanocrystallization and (Bio)Pharmaceutical Processing. He has developed industrial expertise in Quality by Design, scale-up methods and particle engineering technologies for small and large molecule APIs. He has worked within the highest standards of quality (GLP, GMP) in the industry (Hovione FarmaCiencia SA) and participated in the development of several spray drying and nanosizing processes for oral and parenteral dosage forms. In 2017, he was awarded the SFI/NSF I-Corps@SFI Entrepreneurial Programme for the project entitled: 'Continuous Manufacturing Method for the Production of Pharmaceutical Drug Nanoparticles', and in 2018 he was funded €500,000 from Enterprise Ireland for the commercialization of this Continuous Manufacturing Method. Publications: ORCID ResearcherID Google Scholar Qualifications: 2006 BSc Biochemistry, Faculty of Sciences at the University of Lisbon 2012 PhD Chemical Engineering, Instituto Superior Técnico, at the University of Lisbon. Thesis Title: "Formation of pharmaceutical cocrystals using supercritical fluid technology"