John G. Hardy

John (LinkedIn)

I was born in Orsett (Essex, UK) and I grew up in Bishops Stortford (Hertfordshire, UK). I attended Thorley Hill Primary School in Bishops Stortford, followed by Leventhorpe School in Sawbridgeworth (Hertfordshire, UK) before escaping to Bristol at the age of 18 to study at university. While my family (especially my parents and grandparents) inculcated me with a respect for culture and love of learning (particularly reading), Bristol opened my eyes to life (comedy, food/drink, music and people) and is a city I love.

I studied chemistry as an undergraduate at the School of Chemistry at the University of Bristol, carrying out my final year research project on polymers and colloids under the supervision of Professor Brian Vincent (in whose group I published my first paper), graduating with an M.Sci. (Hons) in 2002. My PhD on the supramolecular chemistry of dendrimers was carried out under the supervision of Professor David K. Smith at the Department of Chemistry at the University of York, finishing in 2005 (working with Dave was a fantastic experience). York is a beautiful and lively city in the heart of the North of England. From 2006-2007 I was an Entente Cordiale Scholar (Postdoctoral Research Fellow) in metallosupramolecular chemistry mentored by Professor Jean-Marie Lehn (who was awarded a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1987) and Professor Jack Harrowfield in the Institute of Science & Engineering (ISIS) at the University of Strasbourg in France; I particularly enjoyed the cinema and food in France. From 2007-2010 I was an Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellow in biochemistry and bioengineering mentored by Professor Thomas Scheibel in the Department of Engineering at the University of Bayreuth in Germany; it was here I learned the differences between Bavaria and Franconia (very specifically Oberfranken) which can largely be summarized as style of beer & sausages. From 2010-2014 I was a Postdoctoral Research Associate in bioelectronics and biomedical engineering mentored by Professor Christine Schmidt (in the Departments of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Florida in Gainesville) and Professor David Kaplan (Tufts University) in the USA. Three of the happiest years of my life were spent in Austin (Texas, USA), where the food, lifestyle, music, nightlife, people and location are fantastic (I have a multitude of people to thank for my life changing experience in Austin, particularly Joe Benavides and Luis Benavides). From 2014-2015 I was an Industrial Research Fellow in biophotonics mentored by Professor Colin McCoy in the School of Pharmacy at Queen's University Belfast, in Northern Ireland (Colin is one of the nicest people I have ever worked with).

I began my independent career as a 50th Anniversary Lectureship (equivalent to Assistant Professor in the USA) in Materials Chemistry co-appointed in the Department of Chemistry and Materials Science Institute at Lancaster University (Lancashire, UK) in August 2015. Lancaster University is consistently highly ranked and is located on a beautiful campus in the North West of England close to the stunning Lake District National Park which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I secured academic tenure (USA terminology ["passing  academic probation" being the equivalent UK terminology]) in August 2017, and was promoted to Senior Lecturer (equivalent to Associate Professor in the USA) in Materials Chemistry in August 2018.

My experience of working in collaborative multidisciplinary teams of researchers (typically involving chemists, biologists, biochemists, engineers, materials scientists, natural scientists, pharmacists, physicists and social scientists) in an interdisciplinary fashion to generate new knowledge and solve problems of a transdisciplinary nature is something I value and enjoy. I appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with experts with high quality discipline-specific training and will always attempt to engage in a proactive way if approached: my various commitments may distract me from responding instantaneously, but please do not hesitate to contact me again.

Service in a variety of forms is important to me, and I devote a significant amount of my time to volunteering, outreach, and other activities in support of Learned Societies, National Academies, and Professional Associations, etc.

I am not a huge fan of formalities, but I guess that if you have read this far you realize I am a fan of detailed information.

Academic and Industrial Experience

August 2018 – Present: 50th Anniversary Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor). Department of Chemistry & Materials Science Institute, Lancaster University (UK).

August 2015 – July 2018: 50th Anniversary Lecturer (Assistant Professor). Department of Chemistry & Materials Science Institute, Lancaster University (UK).

July 2014 – June 2015: Industrial Research Fellow. School of Pharmacy, Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland (UK).

June 2013 – June 2014: Postdoctoral Research Associate. J. Crayton Pruitt Family Dept. of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida (USA).

Sep 2010 – May 2013: Postdoctoral Research Associate. Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA.

Nov 2007 – Aug 2010: Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellow. Department of Engineering, Universität Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Oberfranken (Germany).

Jan 2006 – Sep 2007:  Entente Cordiale Postdoctoral Research Fellow. The Institut de Science et d'Ingénierie Supramoléculaires (ISIS), Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, Alsace (France).

Oct 2002 – Sep 2005: PhD in Chemistry (awarded in March 2007), Department of Chemistry, University of York, Heslington, York, Yorkshire (UK).

Sep 1998 – Jul 2002: M.Sci. (Hons.) in Chemistry (awarded in July 2002), School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, (UK).

Awards and Honours

Academic Service

Editorial Board Membership

Peer Review of Grants

Peer Review of Publications

Royal Society of Chemistry

Society of Chemical Industry

Oral Presentations

[65] J. G. Hardy, M. D. Ashton “Electroactive Polymer-Based Biomaterials for Biomedical Applications.” Contributed oral presentation at the Bordeaux Polymer Conference, Bordeaux (France), 06/2022.

[64] J. G. Hardy, “Electroactive biomaterials for drug delivery, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.” Invited keynote oral presentation at the Progress in Electrically Active Implants - Tissue and Functional Regeneration international conference ELAINE 2020 - hosted by the Integrated Research Training Group (IRTG) of the Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) 1270 Biomaterials for Electrically Active Implants – ELAINE, Schlosshotel Hasenwinkel (Germany), 05/2022.

[63] D. Ozkan, A. Blaney, M. Fonseca Braga, J. Hardy, E. Pelit, M. Ashton. “Developing the future of adaptive materials based on HD-reprogrammable matter.” Connected Everything Conference 2022, Liverpool (UK), 05/2022.

[62] J. G. Hardy, M. D. Ashton, M. Firlak, N. A. Copeland, D. Cheneler. Stimuli-responsive biomaterials for drug delivery, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine “Stimuli-responsive biomaterials for drug delivery.” Invited oral presentation at the 7th Drug Chemistry: Design, Synthesis, Production and Standardization of Active Ingredients in Drugs Congress, at the Mirage Park Resort in Antalya (Turkey), 04/2022.

[61] J. G. Hardy. “Stimuli-responsive biomaterials for drug delivery.”, Invited oral presentation at the British Council Researcher Links UK-Russia Conference “Advanced biomaterials to combat cancer”, Lancaster (UK), 12/2021.

[60] J. G. Hardy. “Electroactive Biomaterials for Regenerative Medicine.”, Invited oral presentation at the UK Ministry of Defence Regenerative Medicine at the Frontline stakeholder collaboration event at the Royal College of Medicine in London (UK), 12/2021.

[59] J. G. Hardy. “Bioelectronics and tissue engineering.”, Invited oral presentation at the UK Regenerative Medicine Platform Virtual Conference (Online), 09/2021.

[58] J. G. Hardy, M. Firlak. “Stimuli-responsive materials for controlled/triggered/sustained delivery of drugs or biologics.”, Invited oral presentation at the 9th Drug Chemistry: Design, Synthesis, Production and Standardization of Active Ingredients in Drugs Congress, at the Mirage Park Hotel in Antalya (Turkey), 04/2021.

[57] J. G. Hardy, “Stimuli-responsive materials for drug delivery, neuromodulation, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.” Invited oral presentation for the King’s College London Medicines Development Group Seminar Series, London (UK), 03/2021.

[56] J. G. Hardy, “Electroactive biomaterials for drug delivery, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.” Invited keynote oral presentation at the British Council Researcher Links UK-Poland Bioinspired Materials Conference, Lancaster (UK), 11/2020. 

[55] J. G. Hardy, “Electroactive biomaterials for drug delivery, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.” Invited lecture: International Association of Advanced Materials IAAM Scientist Award Lecture in the Advanced Materials Lecture Series (Sweden), 11/2020.

[54] J. G. Hardy, “Electroactive biomaterials for drug delivery, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.” Invited oral presentation on the Principles of Nanobiotechnology Postgraduate Summer School of the University of Buenos Aires (Argentina), 07/2020.

[53] J. G. Hardy, “Multi-stimuli-responsive biomaterials for controlled release.” Contributed oral presentation at the Controlled Release Society Virtual Annual Meeting: 2020 Vision for Global Impact. #CRS2020. 06&07/2020. 

[52] J. G. Hardy, “Electroactive biomaterials for drug delivery, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.” Invited oral presentation at the 2020 Integrated Research Training Group (IRTG) Summer School of CRC 1270 ELAINE at Schloss Hasenwinkel (Germany), 06/2020.

[51] J. G. Hardy, “Stimuli-responsive biomaterials for drug delivery, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine”, 5th Biomatsen International Congress on Biomaterials & Biosensors, Liberty Hotels Lykia in Oludeniz (Turkey), April 2020.

[50] J. G. Hardy, “Stimuli-responsive biomaterials for drug delivery, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.” Invited oral presentation at the UK-Russia Workshop Patient-tailored biomaterials for tissue regeneration, combating microbial contamination and drug delivery, at The Storey in Lancaster (UK), October 2019.

[49] J. G. Hardy, “Towards 3D Printable Lignins Derived From Tomato Waste Streams.” Invited oral presentation at the 4th LBNet International Conference, at Shrigley Hall Hotel in Pott Shrigley (UK), March 2019.

[48] J. G. Hardy, “Stimuli-responsive biomaterials for drug delivery.” Invited oral presentation at the 7th Drug Chemistry: Design, Synthesis, Production and Standardization of Active Ingredients in Drugs Congress, at the Mirage Park Resort in Antalya (Turkey), March 2019.

[47] J. G. Hardy, “Stimuli-responsive Biomaterials for Drug Delivery.” Invited oral presentation at Future University 5th International Conference of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cairo (Egypt) in January 2019.

[46] J. G. Hardy, “Stimuli-responsive Biomaterials for Pharmaceutical Sciences.” Invited oral presentation at the 2nd International Conference of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams University (2ICPASU), Cairo (Egypt) in November 2018.

[45] J. G. Hardy, “Electroactive Biomaterials For Regenerative Medicine” Contributed oral presentation at the RSC & SCI Electrochem 2018 conference at Lancaster University, Lancaster (UK), September 2018.

[44] J. G. Hardy, “Leveraging technology to enable mobility and transform health: what can materials science bring to the party?” Invited oral presentation at the “Get A Move On” innovation workshop on wearables in primary care at Lancaster University, Lancaster (UK), July 13th 2018.

[43] J. G. Hardy, “Industrial Biotechnology Approaches to Generating Organic Electronic Materials From Food Waste.” Oral presentation at the National Space Centre, Leicester (UK), June 27th 2018.

[42] J. G. Hardy, “Stimuli-responsive Polymer-Based Biomaterials for Biomedical Applications.” Invited oral presentation at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen (Germany), June 19th 2018.

[41] J. G. Hardy, “Stimuli-responsive Polymer-Based Biomaterials for Biomedical Applications.” Oral presentation at the Bordeaux Polymer Conference, (France) in May 2018.

[40] J. G. Hardy, “Antimicrobial biomaterials for medical devices.” Invited oral presentation at the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust Research & Development Conference “Past, Present and Future”, at Lancaster Town Hall (UK), May 18th 2018.

[39] J. G. Hardy, “Stimuli-responsive biomaterials for drug delivery.” Invited oral presentation at the 6th Drug Chemistry: Design, Synthesis, Production and Standardization of Active Ingredients in Drugs Congress, at the Maritim Pine Beach Resort Hotel in Antalya (Turkey), March 22nd-25th 2018.

[38] J. G. Hardy, “Degradable/Transient Electronics for Technical and Medical Applications.” Invited oral presentation at the The James Hutton Institute, Dundee (UK) on March 16th 2018.

[37] J. G. Hardy, “Multiphoton fabrication of bioelectronic biomaterials for neuromodulation.” Oral presentation at the 4th Annual Innovations in Large-Area Electronics Conference (innoLAE 2018), Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge (UK) in January 2018.

[36] J. G. Hardy, “Stimuli-responsive biomaterials.” Invited oral presentation at the University of Manchester, Manchester Regenerative Medicine Network Seminar Series, Manchester (UK) on January 19th 2018.

[35] J. G. Hardy, “Stimuli-responsive Biomaterials for Drug Delivery, Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine.” Invited oral presentation at Universität Bayreuth, Bayreuth (Germany) on November 24th 2017.

[34] J. G. Hardy, “Stimuli-responsive biomaterials for drug delivery and tissue engineering.” Invited oral presentation at the 5th Congress on Novel & Innovative Laboratory Technologies, at the Razi complex, Tehran (Iran), October 24th-28th 2017.

[33] J. G. Hardy, “Stimuli-responsive Materials for Drug Delivery, Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine.” Invited oral presentation at the Johnson Matthey Technology Centre, Reading (UK) on October 13th 2017.

[32] J. G. Hardy, “Electroactive Biomaterials for Drug Delivery and Tissue Engineering.” Invited oral presentation at the 1st International Symposium, When Biomaterials Meet Biophysics: Innovation Without Borders, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen (Germany) on September 29th 2017.

[31] J. G. Hardy, “Stimuli-responsive Biomaterials for Drug Delivery and Tissue Engineering.” Invited oral presentation at the 3rd World Chemistry Conference at the Embassy Suites Dallas Park Central, Dallas (USA) on September 12th 2017.

[30] J. G. Hardy, “Stimuli-responsive biomaterials.” Invited oral presentation at the Berlin-Brandenburg Center for Regenerative Therapies, Berlin (Germany) on August 2nd 2017.

[29] J. G. Hardy, “Stimuli-responsive biomaterials for drug delivery and tissue engineering.” Oral presentation at the 13th International Conference on Materials Chemistry MC13 in Liverpool (England) in July 2017.

[28] J. G. Hardy, “Importance of Networking.” Invited oral presentation at the Society of Chemical Industry Day of Science and Careers, London (UK) in April 2017.

[27] J. G. Hardy, “Bioelectronic Materials for Regenerative Medicine.” Oral presentation at the SCI Materials Science ECF Committee Meeting at Aston University in Birmingham (England) in March 2017.

[26] J. G. Hardy, “Multiphoton fabrication of bioelectronic biomaterials for neuromodulation.” Invited oral presentation at the Innovations in Large-Area Electronics Conference (innoLAE 2017), Cambridge (UK) in January 2017.

[25] J. G. Hardy, “Electroactive Biomaterials for Tissue Engineering.” Invited oral presentation at BIT’s 10th World Congress of Regenerative Medicine & Stem Cells 2016, Nanjing, China in November 2016.

[24] J. G. Hardy, “Conductive/Electroactive Biomaterials for Drug Delivery.” Invited oral presentation at BIT’s 6th Annual Symposium of Drug Delivery Systems 2016, Nanjing, China in November 2016.

[23] J. G. Hardy, “Stimuli-responsive materials for technical and medical applications.” Invited oral presentation at Frontier Institute of Science and Technology (FIST), Xi'an Jiaotong University (XJTU), China in November 2016.

[22] J. G. Hardy, “Bioelectronics for drug delivery, neuromodulation, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.” Oral presentation at the UK-Turkey Researcher Links Workshop at Bath University (UK) in September 2016.

[21] J. G. Hardy, “Stimuli-responsive biomaterials for drug delivery, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.” Oral presentation at the PHYCONET Annual Conference at the Centre for Process Innovation (UK) in September 2016.

[20] J. G. Hardy, “Electroactive biomaterials for drug delivery and tissue engineering.” Invited oral presentation at the European Chapter Meeting of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society 2016 (Sweden) in June/July 2016.

[19] J. G. Hardy, C.E. Schmidt, “Electroactive biomaterials for drug delivery and tissue engineering.” Oral presentation at the RSC Biomaterials Chemistry Specialist Interest Group Annual Conference, University of Birmingham (England) in January 2016.

[18] J. G. Hardy, “Bioelectronic biomaterials for drug delivery, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.” Oral presentation at the University of Glasgow (Scotland) in December 2015.

[17] J. G. Hardy, “Electroactive Biomaterials For Drug Delivery and Tissue Engineering.” Oral presentation at Lancaster University (England) in October 2015.

[16] J. G. Hardy, C. E. Schmidt, D. L. Kaplan “Electroactive biomaterials for drug delivery and tissue engineering.” Oral presentation at the 2015 Recent Appointees in Materials Science Conference, at the University of Warwick (England) in September 2015.

[15] J. G. Hardy, C. E. Schmidt, D. L. Kaplan “Electroactive biomaterials for drug delivery and tissue engineering.” Oral presentation at the 2015 Recent Appointees in Polymer Science Conference, at the University of Birmingham (England) in September 2015.

[14] J. G. Hardy, C. E. Schmidt, D. L. Kaplan “Electroactive biomaterials for drug delivery and tissue engineering.” Oral presentation at the 12th International Conference on Materials Chemistry (MC12) at the University of York (England) in July 2015.

[13] J. G. Hardy, C. E. Schmidt, “Bioelectronic materials for drug delivery, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.” Invited oral presentation at Lancaster University (England) in April 2015.

[12] J. G. Hardy, C. E. Schmidt, “Electroactive Polymers for Drug Delivery and Tissue Engineering.” Oral presentation at the Advanced Functional Polymer Meeting at NUI Galway (Ireland) in March 2015.

[11] J. G. Hardy, “Electroactive Polymers for Drug Delivery, Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine.” Invited oral presentation at Queen Mary University of London (England) on the 6th of March 2015.

[10] J. G. Hardy, “Electroactive Polymers for Drug Delivery, Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine.” Invited oral presentation at the University of York (England) on the 3rd of March 2015.

[09] J. G. Hardy, “Electroactive Polymers for Drug Delivery, Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine.” Invited oral presentation at the University of Leeds (England) on the 2nd of March 2015.

[08] J. G. Hardy, T. R. Scheibel, “Production and processing of silk protein-based materials.” Invited oral presentation at the Medical University of Vienna (Austria) in February 2010.

[07] J. G. Hardy, T. R. Scheibel, “The role of salt and shear in the storage and assembly of spider silk proteins.” Invited oral presentation at Jülich Research Centre (Germany) in January 2010.

[06] J. G. Hardy, T. R. Scheibel, “Biomimetic spider silk fibres: via an understanding of the natural fibre spinning process.” Highlight lecture at the ‘Euromat 2009’ conference in Glasgow (UK) in September 2009.

[05] J. G. Hardy, T. R. Scheibel, “The role of the C-terminal domain of a spider silk protein in storage and fiber assembly.” Invited oral presentation at the ‘IGSSE Biomaterials in Science and Engineering’ conference in Toblach (Italy) in July 2009.

[04]  J. G. Hardy, “Silk proteins as building blocks for biomimetic materials.” Invited oral presentation at Cambridge University (UK) in November 2008.

[03] J. G. Hardy, J-M. Lehn, “Generation of metallosupramolecular polymer gels from functionalized grid-type complexes.” Invited oral presentation at the ‘BASF Mini-symposium on New Materials’ in Gex (France) in June 2007.

[02] J. G. Hardy, D. K. Smith, “Pro-active dendrons for active-ingredient formulation.” Oral presentation at the ‘Syngenta Postgraduate Conference’ at Jealott’s Hill International Research Centre (UK) in August 2005.

[01] J. G. Hardy, B. Vincent, “Preparation of aqueous core/polymer shell microcapsules by internal phase separation.” Oral presentation at the University of Bristol (UK) in May 2002.