Our Research

Our exciting research combines experimental and modelling techniques, and innovates RNA vaccine & therapeutics production platform processes. The platform processes that we are developing will enable the rapid development and mass-manufacturing of RNA vaccines and therapeutics at high volumes, low cost and high quality against a wide range of diseases. To achieve this ambitious goal, we are developing and synergising a set of physical and digital technologies integrated into the Quality by Digital Design framework, and based on techno-economic considerations. The obtained computer models will link RNA product quality to the production process, and will enhance both the development and operation of RNA manufacturing processes.

The RNA vaccine platform technology has been successfully used to develop COVID-19 vaccines at record speeds. However, the RNA vaccine production volumes and rates can be further increased, while reducing costs and maintaining consistently high product quality. In addition, RNA vaccines can be produced based on a transformative platform technology, meaning that the same manufacturing infrastructure can be used to produce vaccines and therapeutics against a wide range of diseases. Therefore, it is anticipated that the demand for RNA vaccine production technologies will substantially increase and the physical processes and digital tools developed in our team are expected to be widely adopted.

Key research areas include:

• Experimental mRNA vaccine and RNA therapeutics manufacturing process development: process intensification, continuous manufacturing and scale-up.

• Development and optimisation of continuous in vitro transcription (IVT) reaction for mRNA synthesis, continuous mRNA downstream purification processes based on continuous chromatography and tangential flow filtration unit operations, as well as continuous LNP formulation unit operations.

• Development of new unit operations and design of process equipment for mRNA manufacturing.

• Process digitalisation: development of soft sensors and digital twins to monitor and control the manufacturing of RNA vaccines, RNA therapeutics and other biopharmaceuticals.

• Techno-economic modelling for reducing the costs, increasing production rates and increasing production volumes of RNA vaccines, RNA therapeutics and other biopharmaceuticals.

• Quality by Digital Design for consistently ensuring product quality, support scale-up, technology transfer, and for accelerating the regulatory approval process.

Current grants

1. Funding body: Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). Funding scheme: Engineering Biology, Mission Awards. Project title: “Electrospun mucoadhesive matrices for polymersome-mediated mRNA vaccine delivery”.  PI: Helen Colley. Co-I: Zoltán Kis, Paul Hatton, Craig Murdoch, Amy L Harding, Steven P Armes, Mark J Dickman. Amount: £1.72 million. Grant Reference: BB/Y007514/1. Funding period: 1 Mar 2024 – 1 Mar 2026.

2. Funding body: Innovate UK. Funding scheme: SBRI: Vaccine development for potential epidemic diseases stage 1, UK Vaccine Network. Project title: “Automated and digitalised RNA process-in-a-box for rapid outbreak-response disease-agnostic RNA vaccine/therapeutic development and manufacturing at high-quality and low cost”. PI: Zoltán Kis. Co-I: Mark J Dickman. Amount: £1.66 million. Funding period: 1 Oct 2023 – 1 Oct 2025.

3. Funding body: UK Department of Health and Social Care and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Funding scheme: Hub, UK Vaccine Network. Project title: “UK-south-east Asia-vaccine manufacturing research hub”. PI: Tuck Seng Wong. Co-Is: Zoltán Kis, Martin Nicholson, Peg Murray-Evans, Solomon F Brown, Ashutosh Tiwari, Alan Brennan, Alexandra Brintrup, Andrew Lee, Pete Dodd, Joan Cordiner, Adam J Brown, David C James, Mimoun Azzouz, Kang Lan Tee, Mark J Dickman, Mark Smales, Tobias von der Haar, Kiat Ruxrungtham. Amount: £7.6 million. Funding period: 1 Nov 2023 – 1 Nov 2028. 

4. Funding body: Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Funding scheme: Doctoral Training Partnerships with RedShift BioAnalytics, Inc. Project title: “Quantification of double-stranded mRNA impurities using microfluidics modulation spectroscopy”. PI: Prof Mark J Dickman. Co-Is: Dr Zoltán Kis. Amount: £130,000. Funding period: 1st October 2023 – 30 September 2027. 

5. Funding body: Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). Funding scheme: ALERT 2022. Project title: “NanoAnalyzer: An emerging technology to analyse life at the nanoscale”. PI: Dr Stuart Hunt. Co-Is: Professor Daniel Lambert, Dr Andrew Peden, Professor Carl Smythe, Dr Munitta Muthana, Dr Zoltán Kis, Professor Graham Stafford, Professor Albert Ong, Dr Helen Colley, Professor Craig Murdoch. Grant Reference: BB/X018989/1. Amount: £242,400. Award date: June 2023. 

6. Funding body: Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). Funding scheme: Doctoral Training (CDT/DTC/DTP) iCASE PhD studentship with AstraZeneca Plc. Project title: “Synthetic Biology-Based Polymerase and Promoter Engineering for Production of Next-Generation RNA Therapeutics”. PI: Dr Adam Brown. Co-Is: Prof Tuck Seng Wong, Prof Solomon Brown, Dr Kang Lan Tee, Dr Andal Murthy, Dr Lekan Daramola, Dr Zoltán Kis. Amount: £ 84,000. Funding period: 1st October 2023 – 30 September 2027. 

7. Funding body: UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). Funding scheme: Research England: Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) - Covid Recovery funding. Project title: “Innovating the process of RNA vaccine and therapeutic manufacturing – building external partnerships and exploring commercialisation opportunities”. Grant holder: Professor Mark Dickman. Co-Is: Dr. Zoltan Kis and Dr. Peyman Moghadam. Amount: £74,331. Funding period: 1.Jan.2022 – 31.July.2022.  

8. Funding body: Wellcome Leap. Funding scheme: Wellcome Leap RNA Readiness + Response (R3). Project title: “Digitalised, small-scale and high-throughput process for distributed and automated RNA production for therapy and pandemic preparedness”. PI & Grant holder: Dr. Zoltan Kis. Co-Is: Professor Mark Dickman, Dr. Peyman Moghadam, Professor Solomon Brown, Professor Joan Cordiner. Amount: Multi-million USD (confidential). Funding period: 06.Dec.2021 – 30.Oct.2024.  

Past grants

1. Funding body: UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). Funding scheme: Research England: Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) - Covid Recovery funding. Project title: “Innovating the process of RNA vaccine and therapeutic manufacturing – building external partnerships and exploring commercialisation opportunities”. Grant holder: Professor Mark Dickman. Co-Is: Dr. Zoltan Kis and Dr. Peyman Moghadam. Amount: £74,331. Funding period: 1.Jan.2022 – 31.July.2022.  

2. Funding body: UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). Funding scheme: COVID-19. Project title: Meeting the UK demand for COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 vaccines via integrated manufacturing and supply chain optimisation. Grant holder: Professor Nilay Shah. Grant reference: EP/V01479X/1. Amount: 445,000 GBP. Funding period: 20.Jul.2020 – 19.Jan.2022. co-applicant.

3. Funding body: Wellcome Trust. Funding scheme: Innovator Awards. Project title: A pathway to a live-attenuated whole parasite malaria vaccine. Grant holder: Professor Jacob Baum. Grant reference: 220503/Z/20/Z. Amount: 727,458 GBP. Funding period: 1.Sep.2020 – 31.Aug.2022. co-applicant.

4. Funding body: Kidney Research UK. Funding scheme: Paediatric Innovation. Project title: Cell catcher: developing a new method for cell isolation and preservation from urine samples of Bardet-Biedl Syndrome patients. Grant holder: Dr. David Andrew Long. Application reference: 2548. Amount: 39,997.74 GBP. Funding period: 1.Sep.2020 – 31.Aug.2021. co-I