Team Members
Located within the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Sheffield, our team is a dynamic and welcoming group of researchers. We encompass a diverse range of expertise and academic levels, including Postdoctoral Research Associates, PhD researchers, MEng/MSc researchers, and enthusiastic undergraduate researchers (e.g., SURE & SURF researchers).
Our collaborative environment fosters innovation and excellence, as we work together on cutting-edge research projects. Meet each of our talented team members below and learn about their unique contributions and areas of expertise!
Dr. Zoltán Kis
Principle Investigator
Zoltán Kis is a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) at the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Sheffield, and an Honorary Lecturer at the Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London.
Zoltán is leading a multidisciplinary team that is innovating and digitalising RNA vaccine and therapeutics production platform technologies. His work is addressing the challenges of producing large volumes of RNA-based vaccines and therapeutics, rapidly, at high quality and at low cost in a disease-agnostic manner.
He is regularly invited to speak at scientific and industry conferences, and to advise policy experts, non-governmental organisations and companies. For example, he was consulted for techno-economic modelling by the WHO mRNA Technology Transfer Hub, and he sits on the Sanofi mRNA CMC Advisory Board as well as the Pfizer mRNA technology Advisory Board.
Zoltán’s work on RNA vaccine manufacturing and production process modelling received high-profile media coverage in the UK and internationally e.g. on BBC World News, BBC Radio (4,5 and World Series), Sky News, RTL TV, China Central Television (CCTV), Nature News, The Lancet, BMJ, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The New York Times and many more.
Zoltán obtained his Ph.D. in Bioengineering from Imperial College London, UK, holds an M.Sc. in Applied Biotechnology and a B.Eng. in Chemical with Biochemical Engineering.
Read more about Zoltan's academic work here,
Contact Zoltan via Linkedin, or email z.kis@sheffield.ac.uk
Dr. Mabrouka Maamra
Project and Laboratory Manager
Mabrouka Maamra joined the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Sheffield (UoS) as a Project Manager in January 2023. Before joining the group, Mabrouka was the lead Post-Doctoral Research Associate for a group in the Faculty of Medicine working on biomarkers and therapeutic treatment in kidney fibrosis. During her PhD and Post-Doctoral work, she also worked on cytokine receptor signalling modulation in the context of endocrinology dysregulation in laboratories in Sheffield, Italy and Australia.
Dr Mabrouka Maamra is a project manager funded via the Wellcome Leap R3 program aiming to innovate RNA vaccine and therapeutic production processes. Mabrouka is keen on sharing her passion for science in the context of rapid and efficient access to therapeutics while contributing to human health over the world by participating in this project.
Contact Mabrouka via Linkedin or email m.maamra@sheffield.ac.uk
Dr. Ehsan Nourafkan
Research Associate
Ehsan Nourafkan is a research fellow at the University of Sheffield working on downstream purification of the mRNA for Vaccine and Therapeutics Production. His research covers a wide spectrum of nanotechnology and colloid science, centered around applied nanomaterials for medical, energy and environmental applications. He has experience of working in various EU/UK funded projects (ERC, EPSRC, KTP) as well as experience of delivering consultancy services for UK industries.
Read more about Ehsan's academic work here,
Contact Ehsan via Linkedin, or email e.nourafkan@sheffield.ac.uk
Dr Adithya Nair
Research Associate
Adithya Nair currently works on process development for mRNA-based vaccines and therapeutics. He has a background in industrial biotechnology and did his doctoral research in bioprocess development for stem cell products and cell manufacturability at Osaka University, where he was a MEXT scholar. His expertise focuses on process stabilization following the quality by design (QbD) paradigm.
Read more about Adithya's academic work here,
Contact Adithya via Linkedin, or email adithya.nair@sheffield.ac.uk
Dr Kate Loveday
Research Associate
Kate Loveday is currently focusing on the in-vitro transcription and analytics of mRNA and circRNA for developing mRNA-based vaccines and therapeutics. She has a background in molecular virology and completed her PhD at the University of Leeds. Her doctoral research utilised a reverse genetic approach to characterise viral replication further and gain a deeper understanding of the importance of secondary RNA structures.
Contact Kate via Linkedin or email k.a.loveday@sheffield.ac.uk
Dr Manoj Pohare
Research Associate
Manoj has a background in protein biochemistry and completed his PhD from Ehime University, Japan (MEXT fellow). Manoj is currently focussing on the generation of protein mutant and fusion enzymes, for high-quality and low-cost mRNA manufacturing processes.
Previously, Manoj worked on SARS-CoV-2 antigen production research in Professor Jon Sayers’s group and was a member of the COVID Genomics (COG-UK) Consortium group for rapid COVID sequencing during the global pandemic. His previous research on Flap EndoNuclease involved mechanistic studies and a structure-based drug design program aimed at eventually delivering new antimicrobial agents to combat the problems of antimicrobial resistance.
Read more about Manoj's academic work here
Contact Manoj via email m.pohare@sheffield.ac.uk
Charlie Kenyon
Research Assistant
Charlie is currently working on the downstream purification of mRNA for vaccine and therapeutics production. Since completing her joint honours degree in Mathematics and Biology from the University of Leeds, Charlie has amassed an array of scientific and industrial experience working with downstream processing, cell culture, QC analysis and research and development. This includes the development of highly sensitive antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 spike and nucleocapsid proteins during the global pandemic. She most recently worked in the radiopharmaceutical industry, producing GMP-compliant radiopharmaceuticals used in clinical PET imaging. Charlie aims to bring her passion, enthusiasm, and experience to the project.
Contact Charlie via LinkedIn or email c.kenyon@sheffield.ac.uk
James Grinham
Research Technician
James graduated from the University of Newcastle in 2002 and began working at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute on characterising, sequencing and cloning human chromosome 22 genes. He later relocated to London and worked on several child health and human metabolism research projects at the University College London. During this time, he developed various molecular biology and analytical research skills. After a career break from lab work which was spent designing and making high-quality bespoke furniture, James returned to his hometown of Sheffield to begin work in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Sheffield. He has worked across many labs and projects in the department, supporting research and teaching with creative solutions to various technical problems. Joining the Wellcome Leap R3 project marks a return to more focused research work for James, where he is bringing his practical approach to this innovative and challenging projects.
Contact James via email j.grinham@sheffield.ac.uk
Zidi Yang
PhD Researcher (03/2021 - 04/2025)
2nd Supervisor - Dr Adam Brown
Zidi finished his master’s in Drug Chemical in 2020 at Newcastle University and spent one-year researching Lipid nanoparticle preparation by Microfluidic project. In March 2021, he started his PhD in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Sheffield, Supervised by Dr Zoltán Kis and Dr Adam J Brown.
Zidi’s research focuses on optimising and innovating mRNA vaccine production binding with computer-aided modelling tasks. Try to complete the low costs and high-quality manufacturing process. He is a part of the multidisciplinary team founded by the Wellcome Leap R3 project and the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. Zidi is passionate about contributing to the mRNA vaccine project, which aims to push the boundaries of human knowledge forward and work towards eradicating more diseases.
Contact Zidi via LinkedIn or email zyang117@sheffield.ac.uk
Mark Jixin Qu
PhD Researcher (09/2021 - 11/2025)
2nd Supervisor - Professor Joan Cordiner
Mark finished his master’s in Manufacturing in 2020 at the University of Manchester and spent a year in the industry. In September 2021, he started his PhD in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Sheffield. Mark’s research focuses on optimising and innovating the mRNA vaccine production process contributing to experimental and computer-aided modelling tasks. He is a part of the multidisciplinary team founded by the Wellcome Leap R3 project and the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. Mark is very keen to contribute to the mRNA vaccine project, as this is one or two opportunities in a person’s lifetime that can touch everyone on the planet.
Read more about Mark’s academic work here,
Contact Mark via LinkedIn or email jqu8@sheffield.ac.uk
George William Muir
PhD Researcher (09/2022 - 03/2026)
2nd Supervisor - Professor Mark Dickman
George graduated from Imperial College London in 2022 with a master's degree in chemical engineering. Succeeding this, in September 2022, he began his PhD in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Sheffield. George’s Research aims to develop new downstream purification unit operations for producing mRNA vaccines involving computer-aided modelling and experimental work. Whilst he is not directly involved with the Wellcome Leap R3 project, his work is relevant to the project. George is thrilled to influence the production of mRNA vaccines. The development of separation processes allows for reductions in waste and energy consumption, and he believes this is a vital part of reducing environmental impact and saving our planet.
Contact George via LinkedIn or email gwmuir1@sheffield.ac.uk
Alumni
Post-doctoral research associates:
Dr Min Tao - Gaussian Process based data driven modelling of mRNA manufacturing. June 2022 - January 2024.
Dr Royce Copley - Digitalisation of the mRNA manufacturing process. April 2022 - January 2024.
MSC Research Students:
Erxin Zhou - Raw materials for manufacturing mRNA vaccines, including the lipids. 2022 - 2023.
Yuchen Wu - Mass-producing the LNP-formulated mRNA vaccine active ingredient (better understanding of the energy used by equipment, clean room and facility). 2021 - 2022.
Lee Clarke - mRNA vaccine production based on stainless steel (re-usable) vs. single-use equipment (including consumables such as filter membranes, chromatography resins, bags, tubes, connectors, etc.). 2021 - 2022.
Zihan Xu - mRNA vaccine fill-to-finish (including borosilicate or aluminosilicate glass multidose vials with bromobutyl or chlorobutyl rubber stoppers and aluminium seals).
Erxin Zhou - Raw materials for manufacturing mRNA vaccines, including the lipids. 2021 - 2022.
John Day - mRNA vaccine secondary and tertiary packaging, distribution, and administration (including syringes, gloves, etc.). 2021 - 2022.
Yutong Jiang - Modelling of continuous mRNA vaccine production, techno-economic modelling. 2021 - 2022.
Cheng Chen - Quality by Design modelling. Mechanistic/first principle modelling. Prior knowledge in Python is required. 2021 - 2022.
BEng and MEng Research Students:
Shady Hamed - Mechanistic modelling of 3’ mRNA extensions for QbDD applications. 2023 - 2024.
Forbes T Gusha - Techno-economic modelling of RNA vaccine manufacturing based on single use consumables vs stainless steel production. 2023-2024.
Obai Aiach - Techno-Economic Analysis of Continuous mRNA Manufacturing for Influenza Vaccines. 2023-2024.
Joe Smith - Continuous mRNA Manufacturing: Designing Reactors for In Vitro Transcription with CFD. 2022 - 2023.
Ioanna (Ioni) Kalospyrou - A Data-Driven Approach to Harmonising Experimental Design and Mechanistic Modelling: Application to mRNA Production. 2022 - 2023.
Oisín McLaughlin - Techno-economic analysis of Chromatography Purification Processes in RNA Vaccine Production. 2021 - 2022.
Sheffield Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE), Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) and summer interns:
Muhammad T Jamil - The Characterisation and Optimisation for the In Vitro Transcription for mRNA production. 2023.
David Manrique Suarez - The optimisation of the Lipid nanoparticles formulation (LNP) for mRNA-LNP production. 2023.
Ioanna 'Ioni' Kalospyrou - Optimisation of the in vitro transcription reactor and soft sensor development for mRNA vaccine production. 2022.
Angus Hardy - the Application of sensors in IVT mRNA Vaccine manufacturing. 2022.
Ricardo Moura Cardoso - Optimization of RNA In Vitro Transcription for therapy and pandemic preparedness. 2022.
Abigail Cordiner - Optimization of RNA In Vitro Transcription for therapy and pandemic preparedness. 2022.