Research Associate in AI-Accelerated Microgel Design
This is a 3-year position, starting 1st June 2025.
The Project
We are seeking a postdoctoral researcher with expertise in soft materials design to join our multidisciplinary team developing advanced microgel formulations for pre-clinical testing in tissue engineering and accelerating wound-healing. This role focuses on machine-learning and high-throughput methodologies to accelerate the experimental design and optimisation of these microgels. The project is part of a multinational collaboration to develop and translate microgel technology for the treatment of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (‘MRONJ’).
Microgel formulation is a complex multivariate problem, combining fundamental rules-of-thumb from Soft Matter Physics with the principles of Synthetic Chemistry and Process Engineering. This makes it an ideal problem to be tackled using elevated-throughput experimentation in tandem with machine learning methods, e.g., Bayesian optimisation. In this project you will develop and undertake experimental workflows to formulate cytocompatible, injectable, and printable microgel formulations for jawbone regeneration. You will modify simple hydrogel synthesis protocols from the literature and apply them to a range of microgel fabrication methods, e.g., batch, microfluidic, and membrane emulsification. Your work will emphasise material cytocompatibility and the incorporation of cell-interacting moieties whose properties will be probed in collaboration with cell biology and immunology groups. High-throughput formulation and multiscale characterisation (rheology, laser-diffraction particle size analysis, confocal microscopy, computational image analysis, SAXS) methodologies will be used to generate a library of viable candidate formulations to be shipped to European partners for biological testing and to develop machine learning models that predict formulation properties. This project would suit code-minded or code-curious scientists with a working familiarity of soft materials who want to work at the forefront of translational biomaterials. Researchers will work in a highly dynamic, multidisciplinary environment with a multitude of stakeholders and partners in various institutions (academic and industrial). The project requires a candidate with excellent transferable skills and the ability to work with a diverse range of partners (academic and industrial).
The Role
The successful candidate will work closely in a multidisciplinary team with Dr Forth, Dr Sharratt and the Project Lead, Dr Katarzyna Gurzawska-Comis, at the University of Liverpool. The position combines both research and innovation functions and involves liaison with key stakeholders within the University and with external, European academic and industrial partners. The role will be based in the Department of Chemistry at the School of Physical Sciences. The successful candidate will have access to cutting-edge facilities at the Materials Innovation Factory (MIF), an £81 million state-of-the-art facility dedicated to advanced materials research and work at the forefront of computationally accelerated materials discovery. Liverpool is an internationally recognised institution for robotics, automation, materials, and biomedical research and leads national hubs in AI for Chemistry (AIChemy) and Advanced Long-Acting Therapeutics (HALo). This role offers a unique opportunity to contribute to significant advancements in computationally accelerated soft materials discovery with potential for significant impact and innovation in tissue engineering and biomaterials science.
There will be extensive opportunities for travel to European partner institutions as well as support for research dissemination through publications and conference presentations.
Qualifications
* PhD in chemistry, physics, engineering, materials science, biophysics, biomedical science, or related disciplines.
* Research experience in soft matter, materials chemistry, high-throughput formulation, rheology, biomaterials.
* Excellent interpersonal, communication, and research skills with the ability to drive scientific developments and co-ordinate technical/science/innovation activities across multiple groups and stakeholders.
* Ability to keep meticulous laboratory records, data security, and maintain a high-level of confidentiality.
* Excellent organisational skills to ensure project timelines are adhered to and engage with academic and industrial collaborators.
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