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Biomolecular Electronics Research Laboratory - Personnel

Director: Dónal Leech

Director of the Biomolecular Electronics Research Laboratory Ph: 353 91 493563 Fax: 353 91 525700  e-mail:  donal.leechnuigalway.ie

Senior Researcher, Parsons Research Fellow: Dr. Paul Kavanagh

Paul graduated with a Ph.D. from this group in 2006, and commenced post-doctoral research, focusing on integrating enzymes, mediators and electrodes to provide bioelectronic devices for sensing and power generation, funded by the biomednano EU FP6 project, in January 2007. He was hired as the Charles Parsons Research Fellow in the Microbial Bioenergy Group (MBG), in January 2008. The MBG is a multidisciplinary research group established in the Ryan Institute of NUI, Galway in 2004 to generate synergies between the Microbial Ecology and the Biomolecular Electronics Research Laboratories.

e-mail:  Paul.kavanaghnuigalway.ie

Post-Doctoral Researcher

Raghavulu Sapireddy joined the group from the IICT in Hyderabadd in November 2012 as an Irish Research Council post-doctoral fellow, funded to undertake work exploring the effect of surface chemistry on the growth and properties of electroactive microbial biofilms on electrodes.

Post-Graduate Researchers

Isioma Osadebe

Isioma started as an MSc researcher in the group in July 2012. She will continue the work commenced by Domhnall, Brenda and Peter (see below) on development of enzyme electrodes for application to biosensors and biopower generation. Isioma is funded, for now, through an ERA-Chemistry award.

Rakesh Kumar

Rakesh started his PhD in March 2012, focused on redox films on electrodes for analysis and energy generation funded by PRTLI-5 (ESI-UCD).

Domhnall MacAodha, Brenda Egan, Peter Connolly, Partha Jana

All four are PhD students undertaking research commenced in 2009-2010 focused on biological fuel cell fundamentals and applications funded by the EU (Domhnalll), ERA-Chemistry (Brenda and Peter) or Parsons (Partha) awards.

Guillaume Meunier

Guillaume commenced research in September 2008 on Metals in the Marine Environment, a Science Foundation Ireland-funded project, jointly with Rachel Cave in Earth & Ocean Science and Dagmar Stengel in Botany.

Alumni: NUI, Galway

Dr. Amit Kumar

Amit was hosted in the group during 2011, from the UNESCO-IHE in the Netherlands ( Piet Lens group), working on microbial biofilms on electrodes. He is now at Derek Lovley's group in UMass.

Jason Reynolds

Jason started research in 2003 in the group. Maybe someday he will write a thesis.

Saravanan Rengaraj

Saro undertook a PhD, funded by the Parsons Energy Award to the Microbial Bioenergy Group, on biological fuel cells. He graduated in 2012 and is now a post-doc in Grenoble.

Drs Sirisha Kamireddy and Krishna Katuri

Krishna and Sirisha were key personnel in the instigation of microbial electrochemical experiments in the research group, funded under Marie Curie and FP7 schemes, between 2008-2011. They are now at KAUST.

Vincent Bonifay

Vincent graduated in 2010 with a PhD focused on using capillary electrophoresis for analysis in support of biopharmaceutical manufacturing. This research is funded in collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb and DCU under the Centre for BioAnalytical Science (CBAS) programme. Vincent is now a post-doc a University of Oklahoma. 

Joanna Hajdukiewicz

Joanna graduated with a PhD in 2012 on an EPA funded project, investigating the use of electrochemical detection of DNA hybridisation events for monitoring environmental pathogens.

Peter Jenkins

Peter graduated in 2011. Hi PhD focused on enzyme-based biocatalytic fuel cells, funded by an EU FP6 Biomednano STREP. He is now at the University of Cardiff with Gary Attard.

Dr. Tunc Catal

Tunc undertook post-doctoral research as a Marie Curie Fellow, focusing on developing our research interests in Microbial Fuel Cell technology in the Microbial Bioenergy Group (MBG), from 2008 to 2010. Now an academic staff member of Uskudar University in Turkey.

Prof. Jim Rusling

Prof. Jim Rusling joined us from the University of Connecticut as a Science Foundation Ireland Walton Visiting Professor for 2008-2009. Jim's research in collaboration with the Laboratory, and other national and international collaborators, focuses on developing prototype microfluidic bioelectronic arrays for detection of cancer biomarkers and stem cell proteins. Additional research focuses on combining the expertise of the Rusling group on nanoparticle and nanostructured surfaces, with bioelectrocatalytic electron transfer expertise in the Leech group to produce bioelectronic device (such as biofuel cell and biosensor) prototypes. Jim, and his wife, returned to Connecticut, but is back in Galway often: Jim is Adjunct Professor in the School of Chemistry, and we are seeking a mechanism to continue our collaboration.

Dr. Kevin Foster

Kevin joined the group in November 2006, funded by the biomednano EU FP6 project, as a post-doctoral researcher. He left to join Wyeth in Kildare in January 2008.

Dr. Susan Boland

Susan graduated with a PhD from this research group in November 2008, and continued her research on mediated bioelectrochemical reactions for biocatalytic fuel cell applications, for a period before joining R&D Catalyst Development at BASF Nederland B.V. as an R&D Scientist. She is now back in Ireland with AER.

Marisa Ferrer

Marisa joined us on sabbatical from 2009-2010 from the Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid, CSIC

Todd Silverstein

Todd joined us from Willamette University, USA, on sabbatical from January to August 2010.

Paul Kavanagh

Paul’s EPA funded Ph.D. thesis, completed in 2006, focused on electrochemical detection of DNA hybridisation for monitoring environmental pathogens. Paul is now a Senior Research Fellow in the group.

Gayle Kealy

Gayle graduated in 2007 with a Ph.D., having commenced research in October 2002 on analytical separations for analysis of environmental samples, funded by an NUI, Galway Fellowship and by Intellisens, an EU funded collaborative project on Biosensors for Waste-Water Monitoring. Gayle now works in the Public Analyst Laboratory in Galway.

Sarah Knight

Sarah graduated in 2007 with a Ph.D., having commenced research in October 2002 working on voltammetry for trace metal speciation in oceans, under joint supervision with Oceanography, funded by the Irish Research Council for Science Engineering and Technology. Sarah is the Outreach Officer of the Ryan Insititute in NUIG and also acted as the part-time administrator of the biomednano EU FP6 project in the group.

Anna Nowicka

Anna visited, from the group of Zbigniew Stojek at the University of Warsaw, for November-December 2006, focusing on electrochemical detection of DNA hybridisation.

Marie Pellissier

Marie visited, from the group of Frédéric Barrière at the University of Rennes, for September-December 2006, focusing on biocatalytic fuel cell research.

Keith Feerick

M.Sc. by research in 2006. Thesis focused on electrochemical receptor-ligand binding assays ( Enterprise Ireland funded) and novel mediators of biochemical pulp bleaching processes. Keith is a Demonstrator to 1st Science Chemistry students and also works as Administrator for Prof. A. Pandit's group in Biomedical Engineering.

Bryan Monahan

Bryan commenced research on his Ph.D., focused on the development of electrochemical immunosensors for waste-water monitoring and funded by the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions of the Higher Education Authority of Ireland (Cycle 2), under the Environmental Change Institute in October 2000. Bryan now works for Wyeth in Kildare, while trying also to write his thesis (I wish)! 

Mourad Hassani

Mourad joined us from John Murphy's group in Strathclyde University in January 2003 as a post-doctoral fellow undertaking research focused on novel processes for bleaching paper pulps, funded by the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions of the Higher Education Authority of Ireland (Cycle 2), under the Environmental Change Institute, and by Publier, an EU funded collaborative project on biotechnological delignification. Mourad is now a post-doctoral researcher in Paris.

Yvonne Ferry

Yvonne graduated from this group in January 2003 with a Ph.D. focused on studying the electrochemistry of ligands of the dopamine receptor. She then stayed as a post-doc working on an Enterprise Ireland  funded project on the use of biocatalysts in fuel cells until November 2003, when she commenced employment with LabCoat and subsequently Medtronic in Galway. Yvonne is now a Lectruer in Chemistry at Letterkenny Institute of Technology.

Alan Sheridan

Alan graduated with an M.Sc. in October 2003. His research focused on novel processes for bleaching paper pulps, funded by the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions of the Higher Education Authority of Ireland (Cycle 2), under the Environmental Change Institute, and by Publier, an EU funded collaborative project on biotechnological delignification.

Frédéric Barrière

Post-doctoral researcher from December 2001 to August 2002, working on an Enterprise Ireland funded project on cathodes for biofuel cells. Now at the Laboratoire d’Electrochimie Moleculaire et Macromolecularie of the Université de Rennes 1. Frédéric collaborates with the group on the biofuel cell project and has been a regular visitor to the group (2003, 2004, 2005 & 2012).

Nathalie LeGrand

Post-doctoral researcher from March 2001 to November 2002, working on an Enterprise Ireland funded project on novel processes for bleaching paper pulps. Now at Perkin Elmer in Paris.

Stéphanie Richer

Post-doctoral researcher from February 2001 to January 2003, working on Intellisens, an EU funded collaborative project on Biosensors for Waste-Water Monitoring. Now at Waters Corporation European Centre for Mass Spectrometry (Micromass BV) in the Netherlands.

Peter McBreen

Visiting Professor from the Université de Laval, Quebec, Canada, during 2001.

Patrick Nugent

Post-doctoral researcher from 1998-2000, funded by the HEA. Research focused on self-assembled redox monolayers for novel electrochemical transduction of receptor-ligand affinity assays.

Montréal Alumni

Dominic Rochefort-Graduated with a Ph.D. in 2002. Currently a faculty member of the Department of Chemistry of the University of Montreal. His Ph.D. was on electrochemical and enzymatic delignification of pulp and paper, in collaboration with the Pulp and Paper Research Institute of Canada and IOGEN, an Ottawa-based biotechnology company, and partly funded by the Protein Engineering Network of Centres of Excellence and a scholarship from the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

Eric Villiard-Graduated with an M.Sc. in 2002. Thesis was on novel electrochemical detectors for capillary electrophoretic separation instrumentation (in collaboration with the group of K. Waldron) funded by FCAR (Québec). Now a laywer in Canada. 

Marjaneh Sarir-Graduated with M.Sc. in 2001. Undertook research on novel modified electrode surfaces for the detection of dopamine and their application to receptor-ligand binding assays and in-vivo voltammetry, funded by NSERC.

Pascal Pérusse-Graduated with an M.Sc. in 1999. Thesis was on potentiostat construction and computer-interfacing (National Instrument's LabVIEW programming package) and electrochemical enzyme inhibitor assays ( NSERC funded). Present position: Computer analyst, Atrion International, Montréal.

Francis Daigle-Graduated with an M.Sc. in 1997. Thesis was on the development of reagentless amperometric enzyme electrodes for the detection of respiratory poisons. Present position: QC analyst.

Francis Trudeau-Graduated with an M.Sc. in 1996. Thesis was on the development of reagentless amperometric enzyme electrodes for the detection of respiratory poisons. Present position: Computer analyst, Atrion International, Montréal.

Huang-xian Ju-Post-doctoral researcher in 1996-1997 working on polymer-modified electrodes and self-assembled monolayers. Present position: Professor of Analytical Chemistry, Nanjing University, PRC.

    

    

    

    

    

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