Prof. Ali Gilles Tchenguise Miserez

Principal Investigator

Ph.D. Materials Science and Engineering

Prof. Ali Miserez earned his undergraduate (1998) and PhD (2003) in Materials Science and Engineering from the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland. His final-year project was carried out on an exchange program at Northwestern University (Evanston near Chicago). For his PhD, he specialized in metallurgy and mechanics of materials, doing his research in the field of metal matrix composites and fracture mechanics. After he completed his PhD, in 2004 he obtained a Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) post-doctoral fellowship to explore new horizons and he started a post-doc in the field of biological materials and biomimetics at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) notably working alongside Prof. Herbert Waite. Having the freedom of an individual fellowship allowed him to dig into the biological and biochemistry fields, with the goal to gain expertise at the frontier of Physical and Life sciences. This allowed him to expand his research towards biomimetics, bio-inspired materials, and structure / biochemistry / properties relationships of hard and soft tissues. He also took part of a program sponsored by the International Center for Materials Research (ICMR), aimed at developing research exchanges between Western and Developing countries. Under this program, he spent 3 months at theInstitut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) in Western Java, Indonesia, where he initiated a research collaboration and taught a class for the graduate curriculum. He joined the School of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) as an Assistant Professor in September 2009, establishing an interdisciplinary research group in the field of biological and bio-inspired materials. In 2011, he was awarded the prestigious Singapore National Research Foundation (NRF) Fellowship, a $3 Million individual research grant for early career scientists. In 2016, Prof. Ali Miserez was promoted to Associate Professor with joint appointments in the Schools of MSE and Biological Sciences (SBS) at NTU. In 2021, Prof. Ali Miserez was promoted to Full Professor (with tenure) in MSE.

ali.miserez@ntu.edu.sg

Nanyang Technological University Profile

Academic Profile

Dr. Sushanth Gudlur

Principal Research Fellow

Ph.D. Biochemistry

Sushanth earned his PhD from Kansas State University (USA) under the supervision of Prof. John Tomich at the Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics. At the Tomich laboratory, he developed, characterised, and patented a set of novel branched amphiphilic peptides capable of self-assembling into nanocapsules that have applications in drug/gene delivery (patent currently licensed to Phoreus Biotech Inc.). For his postdoctoral research, he moved to the Dept. of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences at Linköping University (Sweden) where he helped improve the haemocompatibility of collagen-based hydrogels by employing various protein chemical modification methods. A few years later, Sushanth joined Prof. Bo Liedberg’s group at NTU (Singapore) as a Research Fellow where he helped develop novel fluorescence-based assays for protease detection by optimising peptide sequences for various proteases. At BBML, Sushanth’s research is focused on peptide-based coacervates and is a part of the ‘liquid-liquid phase separation’ project.

Dr. Loke Jun Jie

Research Fellow & Safety Officer

M.Eng. Materials Engineering

Jun Jie is from Singapore. He has been associated with BBML since his undergraduation days at NTU. His current research focuses on interfacing synthetic biology with electronics to investigate the adaptive camouflage in cephalopods. His project aligns with his own research interest in bioelectronics and biomimetic materials. He also holds the title of the-man-of-all-work in the lab, as he ensures to keep the equipment up and running and manages the chemical inventories for seamless functioning of the lab. He extends his talents even in photography and is also the official photographer of the lab.

jjloke@ntu.edu.sg

Bui My Hanh

Research Assistant

M.Sc. (Eng.) in Polymer Science and Composite Engineering

My Hanh comes from the land of the Ascending Dragon (Vietnam). She completed her Masters from University of Sheffield, UK. She is interested in material science and marine science research with a focus on protective coating used in marine infrastructure and transportation. Her research efforts at BBML aim at synthesizing and characterizing antifouling coating inspired by slippery liquid infuse porous surface (SLIPS) found in “Nepenthes“ Pitcher Plant. She loves exploring different places and appreciates cultural differences.

mhbui@ntu.edu.sg

Dr. Soner Karabacak

Research Fellow

Ph.D. Chemistry

Soner is from Türkiye (Turkey), and he pursued his Ph.D. in Türkiye at Izmir Institute of Technology. He joined BBML to study the synthesis, modification, and characterization of water-soluble polythiophenes. His research interest includes developing a fluorescence-based assay by utilizing either polythiophenes or polythiophene-peptide hybrids as reporter molecules. He has a strong background in polymer chemistry and major experience in NMR, UV-Vis, and fluorescence spectroscopy. Apart from research, he enjoys playing football and dancing folk.

soner.karabacak@ntu.edu.sg

Dr. Soheil Haddadzadegan

Research Fellow

PhD Pharmaceutical Science

Soheil has completed his PhD at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, in Professor Andreas Bernkop’s lab, where he specialized in designing lipid-based formulations (such as self-emulsifying drug delivery systems) and mucoadhesive nanoparticles. These systems were developed to improve the bioavailability and stability of orally delivered therapeutic peptides and proteins, including insulin—a challenging molecule to deliver orally due to its sensitivity to the digestive environment. In addition to his expertise in lipid-based formulations, Soheil is skilled in the synthesis and characterization of thiomers, a unique class of drug delivery systems known for their superior mucoadhesive properties. Thiomers interact with the mucus layer to increase drug residence time, thereby enhancing drug stability, bioavailability, and therapeutic efficacy. His work with thiomers has potential applications in a range of treatments, from improving oral drug delivery to developing long-acting therapies for chronic conditions. At BBML, he will focus on developing advanced drug delivery systems, including lipid-based formulations and peptide-based coacervates, as well as conducting preclinical studies to support their therapeutic efficacy.

soheil.h@ntu.edu.sg

Dr. Pooja Sharma

Research Fellow

PhD

Pooja obtained her Ph.D. from Institute of Nano Science and Technology, Mohali, India. During her Ph.D., she gained experience in design and development of peptide-based hydrogel scaffolds for tissue engineering applications. After that, she moved to Panjab University, where she worked on fabrication of nanomaterials for drug delivery applications. At BBML, her research focuses on understanding peptide-based liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) phenomenon to develop advanced drug delivery platforms.

pooja.sharma@ntu.edu.sg

Dr. Xiaojuan XU

Research Fellow

PhD Food Science and Technology

Xiaojuan obtained her PhD from the National University of Singapore (NUS), where her research centered on the extraction, purification, and identification of bioactive compounds from food waste, with a particular focus on their anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic properties. She subsequently served as a Research Fellow in the Department of Biological Sciences at NUS, investigating flavonoids as nutraceuticals to regulate the proliferation and differentiation of fish muscle stem cells, with emphasis on mechanisms such as ROS modulation and transcriptomic profiling. At BBML, her research will extend to alternative proteins derived from microalgae and the development of peptide-based coacervates for delivering food-derived bioactive compounds.

xiaojuan.xu@ntu.edu.sg

Dr. Sabrina Peter

Research Fellow

PhD

Sabrina Peter is a Research Scientist at Nanyang Technological University specializing in molecular biology and genome engineering. Her work focuses on understanding host-pathogen interactions, cellular stress responses, and advancing site-specific gene editing technologies using bacteriophage lambda integrase. She has developed innovative high-throughput screening platforms and stable cell models to drive discoveries in stem cell research and molecular therapeutics. Her expertise is supported by scientific publications and patents, reflecting her commitment to cutting-edge research and collaborative innovation. Her current project involves the development and application of an intracellular DNA-encoded library (DEL) using coacervate technology developed in Prof. Ali Miserez’s lab at the School of Materials Science and Engineering, NTU.

sabrina.peter@staff.main.ntu.edu.sg

Dr. Vignesh Athiyarath

Research Fellow

Ph.D. Chemistry

Vignesh obtained his Integrated MS–PhD in Chemistry from IISER Thiruvananthapuram, India, under Prof. Kana M. Sureshan. His doctoral research focused on the synthesis of peptido- and carbohydrate-mimetics using topochemical polymerization and multi-step organic synthesis. He subsequently worked as a joint postdoctoral researcher at the CUNY Advanced Science Research Center with Prof. Rein Ulijn and Prof. Xi Chen, developing chemo-mechanical peptide actuators based on induced fit mechanisms. In 2026, he joined BBML, where his research focuses on developing complex peptide-based liquid–liquid phase separating systems for advanced in vivo drug delivery, involving multi-component design and precise molecular integration.

vignesh.athiyarath@ntu.edu.sg

Khwajah Syed Maricar

Ph.D. Student

B.Eng. Materials Science and Engineering

Syed first started in our group as a FYP student, and upon graduation he continues as a project officer working on Liquid-liquid phase separation. He has a wide variety of hobbies, such as hiking, street photography, perfumery and enjoying/making coffee.

mkhwajah.maricar@ntu.edu.sg

Filipe Viana Ferreira

Ph.D. Student

B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Materials Engineering

Filipe comes from Brazil. He earned both his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, where he did research on calcium carbonate fouling. He also did research on the characterization of the liquid interface between oil nanodroplets and water as a graduate intern at IBM. Thanks to the SINGA scholarship from A*STAR, he moved to Singapore to pursue his Ph.D. and to do research on cellular uptake of droplet coacervates, co-supervised by Prof. Huajian Gao. In his free time, he studies foreign languages, plays games, reads/watches fantasy stories and swims.

filipe001@e.ntu.edu.sg

Chen Zilin

Ph.D. Student

M.Sc. in Materials Physics (Nanjing University) and Material Science (NTU)

Zilin got her bachelor’s degree in Materials Physics from Nanjing University and master’s degree in MSE from NTU. Out of interests in biomaterials and bio-inspired materials, she joined BBML to pursue PhD study on the delivery of peptide coacervates into primary cells. She enjoys playing badminton and walking by the sea.

zilin002@e.ntu.edu.sg

Felicia Lim Jia Jia

Project Officer

B.Eng. Materials Science and Engineering

Felicia is from Singapore. She has been associated with BBML since her undergraduate final project. Her current research focuses on investigating the use of cephalopod reflectin proteins for cosmetic applications. In her free time, she enjoys baking, playing games and travelling to different countries.

felicia.lim@ntu.edu.sg

Neo Qi Ying

Ph.D. Student

Postgraduate student under the NTU-KI joint program

Ying is studying the biophysical characterization of omoMYC delivery into cancer cells using bioinspired peptide coacervates.

neoq0002@e.ntu.edu.sg

Liu Yiting

Ph.D. Student

B.Eng. Materials Science and Engineering

Yiting joined BBML as a FYP student and is currently pursuing a PhD here after graduation. Her project mainly focuses on the intracellular delivery of antibodies using peptide coacervates. Outside of work, she dedicates all her free time to drawing and animating small creatures she designs.

yiting003@e.ntu.edu.sg

Mahsa Ghafouri

Ph.D. Student

B.Eng. Biotechnology Engineering

Mahsa is from Iran and holds a master's degree in Biotechnology Engineering from Sharif University of Technology in Tehran. She was awarded the SINGA scholarship and, driven by her passion for biomaterials and bio-inspired materials, she joined the BBML team as a PhD student, focusing on coacervates for biomolecule delivery.

mahsa002@e.ntu.edu.sg

Mai Le Ngoc

Ph.D. Student

B.Eng. Biological Science

Mai earned her BSc in Biological Sciences from NTU and is currently pursuing her PhD under the NPGS award. She is interested in mRNA therapeutics and has joined BBML to explore the delivery of mRNA using peptide-based coacervate systems.

lengocma001@e.ntu.edu.sg