Robert Falconer

Professor Robert Falconer

Professor of Bioprocess Engineering

School of Chemical Engineering

Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.

Bio-pharmaceutical Engineering

Recent developments in RNA therapeutics and vaccines have created a range of challenges that need to overcome so we can fully benefit from this emerging technology. RNA therapeutics are arguably capable of radically changing treatment of a range of medical conditions by regulating the synthesis of proteins associated with disease states. The current generation of lipid nanoparticles used to deliver RNA are far from ideal being untargeted and relatively unstable presenting an interesting challenge.

Potential postgraduate projects could include studying:

  • self-assembly of different lipid nanoparticle (LNP) structures
  • the physical and chemical stability of RNA, LNPs and RNA-LNPs
  • the application of Quality by Design principles to in-vitro transcription of RNA, LNP formulation and RNA-LNP stability

 

Therapeutic Protein Formulation

I have published extensively on the subject of liquid formulation of a range of proteins. We aim to build a better understanding of the interactions between proteins, their cosolutes (excipients) and water to make formulation more predictable and remove some of the unknowns from this commercially important operation.

Potential postgraduate projects could include studying:

  • how simple molecules like the sugars and sugar alcohols alter protein solubility and thermal stability
  • how amino acids like arginine, histidine and proline protect protein structures
  • the role of water in determining protein solubility and thermal stability

 

Plant Proteins

The current reliance on animal protein comes with a considerable environmental cost. Plants are an eco-friendly source of protein which are underutilised as a protein source. There is scope for process development to enrich plant proteins and convert them to a form that produces delicious and nutritious foods to dislodge beef, lamb, pork, chicken and fish from the western diet. The protein enrichment processes will need to be effective, economically sound, ecologically benign, scale-able and produce a quality desirable product, which presents an interesting engineering challenge.

Grain (including cereals and pulses) contain anti-nutritional compounds including phytate, trypsin inhibitors and the polyphenolics. These molecules interfere with nutrition, and can reduce growth rates in domestic animals and mineral uptake in humans. We are interested in different approaches to digest or extract the anti-nutritional compounds and improve the quality of the food. 

Many plants are excellent sources of protein but also contain undesirable flavour compounds that can give the protein extracts an unpleasant taste. In the case of Faba beans, some of the flavour compounds are due to oxidation of lipid or lipid-like compounds which can be enzymatically catalysed. This presents an interesting challenge to solve.

Potential postgraduate projects could include:

  • designing protein enrichment processes that is effective while meeting the economic and environmental constraints
  • studying reduction of anti-nutritional compounds from plant proteins using extraction or enzymatic digestion
  • designing a strategy for reducing undesirable flavour compounds that is compatible with plant protein enrichment

 

    • Journals
      Year Citation
      2023 Flint, K. L., Evans, J. D., Carraro, F., Renner, S., Linder-Patton, O. M., Amenitsch, H., . . . Doonan, C. J. (2023). Protein-induced modifications in crystal morphology of a hydrogen-bonded organic framework. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 11(42), 23026-23033.
      DOI
      2022 Xu, L., Wang, X., Liu, Y., Yang, G., Falconer, R. J., & Zhao, C. -X. (2022). Lipid Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery. Advanced NanoBiomed Research, 2(2), 1-17.
      DOI Scopus130 WoS73
      2021 Chandler, P. G., Tan, L. L., Porebski, B. T., Green, J. S., Riley, B. T., Broendum, S. S., . . . Buckle, A. M. (2021). Mutational and biophysical robustness in a pre-stabilized monobody.. The Journal of biological chemistry, 296, 1-10.
      DOI Scopus4 WoS3 Europe PMC2
      2021 Hodges, H. E., Walker, H. J., Cowieson, A. J., Falconer, R. J., & Cameron, D. D. (2021). Latent Anti-nutrients and Unintentional Breeding Consequences in Australian <i>Sorghum bicolor</i> Varieties.. Frontiers in plant science, 12, 1-12.
      DOI Scopus8 WoS7 Europe PMC4
      2021 Falconer, R. J., Schuur, B., & Mittermaier, A. K. (2021). Applications of isothermal titration calorimetry in pure and applied research from 2016 to 2020. Journal of Molecular Recognition, 34(10), 1-17.
      DOI Scopus12 WoS10 Europe PMC4
      2020 Kempapidis, T., Bradshaw, N. J., Hodges, H. E., Cowieson, A. J., Cameron, D. D., & Falconer, R. J. (2020). Phytase catalysis of dephosphorylation studied using isothermal titration calorimetry and electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectroscopy.. Analytical biochemistry, 606, 113859.
      DOI Scopus1 WoS1
      2020 Toronjo-Urquiza, L., Acosta-Martin, A. E., James, D. C., Nagy, T., & Falconer, R. J. (2020). Resveratrol addition to CHO cell culture media: The effect on cell growth, monoclonal antibody synthesis and its chemical modification.. Biotechnology progress, 36(3), 1-9.
      DOI Scopus8 WoS7 Europe PMC3
      2020 Toronjo-Urquiza, L., Acosta-Martin, A. E., James, D. C., Nagy, T., & Falconer, R. J. (2020). The use of catechins in Chinese hamster ovary cell media for the improvement of monoclonal antibody yields and a reduction of acidic species.. Biotechnology progress, 36(4), 1-10.
      DOI Scopus10 WoS7 Europe PMC3
      2020 Kempka, R., Falconer, R., Gutsulyak, D., & Lewis, R. (2020). Effects of oxide and water on friction of rail steel–new test method and friction mapping. Tribology - Materials, Surfaces and Interfaces, 15(2), 80-91.
      DOI Scopus3 WoS3
      2019 Watrelot, A. A., Day, M. P., Schulkin, A., Falconer, R. J., Smith, P., Waterhouse, A. L., & Bindon, K. A. (2019). Oxygen exposure during red wine fermentation modifies tannin reactivity with poly-L-proline. Food Chemistry, 297, 124923-1-124923-7.
      DOI Scopus12 WoS10 Europe PMC2
      2019 Toronjo Urquiza, L., James, D. C., Nagy, T., & Falconer, R. J. (2019). Screening Naturally Occurring Phenolic Antioxidants for Their Suitability as Additives to CHO Cell Culture Media Used to Produce Monoclonal Antibodies.. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland), 8(6), 1-18.
      DOI Scopus12 WoS9 Europe PMC3
      2019 Falconer, R. J. (2019). Advances in liquid formulations of parenteral therapeutic proteins. Biotechnology Advances, 37(7), 9 pages.
      DOI Scopus46 WoS26 Europe PMC19
      2017 Bye, J. W., Freeman, C. L., Howard, J. D., Herz, G., McGregor, J., & Falconer, R. J. (2017). Analysis of Mesoscopic Structured 2-Propanol/Water Mixtures Using Pressure Perturbation Calorimetry and Molecular Dynamic Simulation. Journal of Solution Chemistry, 46(1), 175-189.
      DOI Scopus7 WoS7
      2017 Darby, S. J., Platts, L., Daniel, M. S., Cowieson, A. J., & Falconer, R. J. (2017). An isothermal titration calorimetry study of phytate binding to lysozyme. Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry, 127(2), 1201-1208.
      DOI Scopus26 WoS22
      2017 Song, W., Muthana, M., Mukherjee, J., Falconer, R. J., Biggs, C. A., & Zhao, X. (2017). Magnetic-Silk Core–Shell Nanoparticles as Potential Carriers for Targeted Delivery of Curcumin into Human Breast Cancer Cells. ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering, 3(6), 1027-1038.
      DOI Scopus74 WoS58 Europe PMC14
      2016 Falconer, R. J. (2016). Applications of isothermal titration calorimetry - the research and technical developments from 2011 to 2015. Journal of Molecular Recognition, 29(10), 504-515.
      DOI Scopus72 WoS66 Europe PMC24
      2016 Bye, J. W., Baxter, N. J., Hounslow, A. M., Falconer, R. J., & Williamson, M. P. (2016). Molecular Mechanism for the Hofmeister Effect Derived from NMR and DSC Measurements on Barnase. ACS Omega, 1(4), 669-679.
      DOI Scopus23 WoS19 Europe PMC7
      2016 Platts, L., Darby, S. J., & Falconer, R. J. (2016). Control of Globular Protein Thermal Stability in Aqueous Formulations by the Positively Charged Amino Acid Excipients. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 105(12), 3532-3536.
      DOI Scopus11 WoS9 Europe PMC6
      2016 Raphael, A. P., Crichton, M. L., Falconer, R. J., Meliga, S., Chen, X., Fernando, G. J. P., . . . Kendall, M. A. F. (2016). Formulations for microprojection/microneedle vaccine delivery: Structure, strength and release profiles. Journal of Controlled Release, 225, 40-52.
      DOI Scopus59 WoS57 Europe PMC28
      2016 Kilmister, R. L., Faulkner, P., Downey, M. O., Darby, S. J., & Falconer, R. J. (2016). The complexity of condensed tannin binding to bovine serum albumin - An isothermal titration calorimetry study. Food Chemistry, 190, 173-178.
      DOI Scopus45 WoS39 Europe PMC10
      2016 Png, G. M., Falconer, R. J., & Abbott, D. (2016). Tracking aggregation and fibrillation of globular proteins using terahertz and far-infrared spectroscopies. IEEE Transactions on Terahertz Science and Technology, 6(1), 45-53.
      DOI Scopus18 WoS18
      2015 Van Sluyter, S. C., McRae, J. M., Falconer, R. J., Smith, P. A., Bacic, A., Waters, E. J., & Marangon, M. (2015). Wine protein haze: Mechanisms of formation and advances in prevention. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 63(16), 4020-4030.
      DOI Scopus135 WoS111 Europe PMC29
      2015 Wallace, V. P., Ferachou, D., Ke, P., Day, K., Uddin, S., Casas-Finet, J., . . . Zeitler, J. A. (2015). Modulation of the Hydration Water Around Monoclonal Antibodies on Addition of Excipients Detected by Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 104(12), 4025-4033.
      DOI Scopus11 WoS11 Europe PMC5
      2015 Bye, J. W., & Falconer, R. J. (2015). A study of the relationship between water and anions of the Hofmeister series using pressure perturbation calorimetry. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 17(21), 14130-14137.
      DOI Scopus5 WoS4 Europe PMC3
      2015 Platts, L., & Falconer, R. J. (2015). Controlling protein stability: Mechanisms revealed using formulations of arginine, glycine and guanidinium HCl with three globular proteins. International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 486(1-2), 131-135.
      DOI Scopus46 WoS35 Europe PMC18
      2014 Bye, J. W., & Falconer, R. J. (2014). Three stages of lysozyme thermal stabilization by high and medium charge density anions. Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 118(16), 4282-4286.
      DOI Scopus16 WoS17 Europe PMC9
      2014 Bye, J. W., Platts, L., & Falconer, R. J. (2014). Biopharmaceutical liquid formulation: A review of the science of protein stability and solubility in aqueous environments. Biotechnology Letters, 36(5), 869-875.
      DOI Scopus46 WoS35 Europe PMC24
      2014 Bye, J. W., Meliga, S., Ferachou, D., Cinque, G., Zeitler, J. A., & Falconer, R. J. (2014). Analysis of the hydration water around bovine serum albumin using terahertz coherent synchrotron radiation. Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 118(1), 83-88.
      DOI Scopus77 WoS77 Europe PMC32
      2013 Meliga, S. C., Farrugia, W., Ramsland, P. A., & Falconer, R. J. (2013). Cold-induced precipitation of a monoclonal IgM: a negative activation enthalpy reaction. Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 117(2), 490-494.
      DOI Scopus7 WoS6 Europe PMC2
      2013 Bye, J. W., Cowieson, N. P., Cowieson, A. J., Selle, P. H., & Falconer, R. J. (2013). Dual effects of sodium phytate on the structural stability and solubility of proteins. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 61(2), 290-295.
      DOI Scopus37 WoS35 Europe PMC10
      2013 Bye, J. W., & Falconer, R. J. (2013). Thermal stability of lysozyme as a function of ion concentration: A reappraisal of the relationship between the Hofmeister series and protein stability. Protein Science, 22(11), 1563-1570.
      DOI Scopus83 WoS76 Europe PMC37
      2012 Falconer, R. J., & Markelz, A. G. (2012). Terahertz spectroscopic analysis of peptides and proteins. Journal of Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves, 33(10), 973-988.
      DOI Scopus142 WoS130
      2012 Ghai, R., Falconer, R. J., & Collins, B. M. (2012). Applications of isothermal titration calorimetry in pure and applied research - survey of the literature from 2010. Journal of Molecular Recognition, 25(1), 32-52.
      DOI Scopus151 WoS142 Europe PMC67
      2012 Falconer, R. (2012). Terahertz spectroscopy's application to protein chemistry. Spectroscopy Europe, 24(2), 12-14.
      Scopus1
      2012 Ding, T., Middelberg, A., Huber, T., & Falconer, R. (2012). Far-infrared spectroscopy analysis of linear and cyclic peptides, and lysozyme. Vibrational Spectroscopy, 61, 144-150.
      DOI Scopus24 WoS25
      2011 Zakaria, H., Fischer, B., Bradley, A., Jones, I., Abbott, D., Middelberg, A., & Falconer, R. (2011). Low-frequency spectroscopic analysis of monomeric and fibrillar lysozyme. Applied Spectroscopy, 65(3), 260-264.
      DOI Scopus17 WoS15 Europe PMC7
      2011 Ding, T., Huber, T., Middelberg, A., & Falconer, R. (2011). Characterization of low-frequency modes in aqueous peptides using far-infrared spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulation. Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 115(42), 11559-11565.
      DOI Scopus26 WoS25 Europe PMC14
      2011 Falconer, R. J., & Collins, B. M. (2011). Survey of the year 2009: Applications of isothermal titration calorimetry. Journal of Molecular Recognition, 24(1), 1-16.
      DOI Scopus46 WoS45 Europe PMC22
      2011 Marangon, M., Van Sluyter, S. C., Neilson, K. A., Chan, C., Haynes, P. A., Waters, E. J., & Falconer, R. J. (2011). Roles of grape thaumatin-like protein and chitinase in white wine haze formation. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 59(2), 733-740.
      DOI Scopus76 WoS67 Europe PMC21
      2011 Falconer, R. J., Jackson-Matthews, D., & Mahler, S. M. (2011). Analytical strategies for assessing comparability of biosimilars. Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology, 86(7), 915-922.
      DOI Scopus18 WoS18
      2011 Falconer, R. J., Chan, C., Hughes, K., & Munro, T. P. (2011). Stabilization of a monoclonal antibody during purification and formulation by addition of basic amino acid excipients. Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology, 86(7), 942-948.
      DOI Scopus49 WoS45
      2010 Falconer, R. J., Penkova, A., Jelesarov, I., & Collins, B. M. (2010). Survey of the year 2008: Applications of isothermal titration calorimetry. Journal of Molecular Recognition, 23(5), 395-413.
      DOI Scopus55 WoS48 Europe PMC23
      2010 Ding, T., Li, R., Zeitler, J. A., Huber, T. L., Gladden, L. F., Middelberg, A. P. J., & Falconer, R. J. (2010). Terahertz and far infrared Spectroscopy of alanine-rich peptides having variable ellipticity. Optics Express, 18(26), 27431-27444.
      DOI Scopus52 WoS49 Europe PMC19
      2010 Falconer, R. J., Marangon, M., Van Sluyter, S. C., Neilson, K. A., Chan, C., & Waters, E. J. (2010). Thermal stability of thaumatin-like protein, chitinase, and invertse isolated from sauvignon blanc and semillon juice and their role in haze formation in wine. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 58(2), 975-980.
      DOI Scopus87 WoS77 Europe PMC27
      2010 Falconer, R. J., Zakaria, H. A., Fan, Y. Y., Bradley, A. P., & Middelberg, A. P. J. (2010). Far-infrared spectroscopy of protein higher-order structures. Applied Spectroscopy, 64(11), 1259-1264.
      DOI Scopus30 WoS30 Europe PMC14
      2010 McRae, J. M., Falconer, R. J., & Kennedy, J. A. (2010). Thermodynamics of grape and wine tannin interaction with polyproline: Implications for red wine astringency. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 58(23), 12510-12518.
      DOI Scopus114 WoS104 Europe PMC28
      2009 Kaar, W., Hartmann, B. M., Fan, Y., Zeng, B., Lua, L. H. L., Dexter, A. F., . . . Middelberg, A. P. J. (2009). Microbial bio-production of a recombinant stimuli-responsive biosurfactant. Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 102(1), 176-187.
      DOI Scopus16 WoS16 Europe PMC9
      2009 Hartmann, B. M., Kaar, W., Yoo, I. K., Lua, L. H. L., Falconer, R. J., & Middelberg, A. P. J. (2009). The chromatography-free release, isolation and purification of recombinant peptide for fibril self-assembly. Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 104(5), 973-985.
      DOI Scopus15 WoS15 Europe PMC7
      2009 Png, G., Falconer, R., Fischer, B., Zakaria, H., Mickan, S., Middleberg, A., & Abbott, D. (2009). Terahertz spectroscopic differentiation of microstructures in protein gels. Clinical Research in Cardiology, 17(15), 13102-13115.
      DOI Scopus38 WoS30 Europe PMC9
      2008 Hartmann, B. M., Kaar, W., Falconer, R. J., Zeng, B., & Middelberg, A. P. J. (2008). Expression and purification of a nanostructure-forming peptide. Journal of Biotechnology, 135(1), 85-91.
      DOI Scopus18 WoS17 Europe PMC11
      2008 Hanslip, S. J., Zaccai, N. R., Middelberg, A. P. J., & Falconer, R. J. (2008). Intrinsic fluorescence as an analytical probe of virus-like particle assembly and maturation. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 375(3), 351-355.
      DOI Scopus16 WoS13 Europe PMC5
      2007 Mercadé-Prieto, R., Sahoo, P. K., Falconer, R. J., Paterson, W. R., & Ian Wilson, D. (2007). Polyelectrolyte screening effects on the dissolution of whey protein gels at high pH conditions. Food Hydrocolloids, 21(8), 1275-1284.
      DOI Scopus27 WoS27 Europe PMC4
      2007 Mercadé-Prieto, R., Falconer, R. J., Paterson, W. R., & Wilson, D. I. (2007). Swelling and dissolution of β-lactoglobulin gels in alkali. Biomacromolecules, 8(2), 469-476.
      DOI Scopus46 WoS46 Europe PMC7
      2007 Zaccai, N. R., Yunus, K., Matthews, S. M., Fisher, A. C., & Falconer, R. J. (2007). Refolding of a membrane protein in a microfluidics reactor. European Biophysics Journal, 36(6), 581-588.
      DOI Scopus7 WoS5 Europe PMC4
      2006 Falconer, R., Liebich, B., & Hart, A. (2006). Automated color sorting of hand-harvested chardonnay. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture, 57(4), 491-496.
      Scopus12 WoS6
      2006 Mercadé-Prieto, R., Falconer, R. J., Paterson, W. R., & Wilson, D. I. (2006). Effect of gel structure on the dissolution of heat-induced β-lactoglobulin gels in alkali. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 54(15), 5437-5444.
      DOI Scopus35 WoS33 Europe PMC6
      2006 Hanslip, S. J., Zaccai, N. R., Middelberg, A. P. J., & Falconer, R. J. (2006). Assembly of human papillomavirus type-16 virus-like particles: Multifactorial study of assembly and competing aggregation. Biotechnology Progress, 22(2), 554-560.
      DOI Scopus36 WoS28 Europe PMC18
      1999 Falconer, R., O'Neill, B., & Middelberg, A. (1999). Chemical treatment of escherichia coli: 3 selective extraction of a recombinant protein from cytoplasmic inclusion bodies in intact cells. Biotechmology and Bioengineering, 62(4), 455-460.
      DOI Scopus27 WoS25 Europe PMC17
      1998 Falconer, R., O'Neill, B., & Middelberg, A. (1998). Chemical Treatment of Escherichia coli. II Direct extraction of recombinant protein from cytoplasmic inclusion bodies in intact cells. Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 57(4), 381-386.
      DOI Scopus32 WoS30 Europe PMC13
      1997 Falconer, R., O'Neill, B., & Middelberg, A. (1997). Chemical Treatment of Escherichia coli: 1. Extraction of Intracellular Protein from Uninduced Cells. Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 53(5), 453-458.
      DOI Scopus38 WoS37 Europe PMC17
      1997 Wangsa-Wirawan, N. D., Lee, Y. S., Falconer, R. J., Mansell, C. J., O'Neill, B. K., & Middelberg, A. P. J. (1997). Novel fed-batch strategy for the production of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). Biotechnology Letters, 19(11), 1079-1082.
      DOI Scopus9 WoS8

    • Conference Papers
      Year Citation
      2019 Chandler, E., Falconer, R., & Brown, S. (2019). Optimisation of Aqueous Two-Phase Systems. In 29th European Symposium on Computer Aided Chemical Engineering Vol. 46 (pp. 283-288). Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier.
      DOI Scopus2
      2018 Kempka, R., Falconer, R., Gutsulyak, D., & Lewis, R. (2018). Effects of oxide and water on friction of rail steel-new test method and friction mapping. In Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Contact Mechanics and Wear of Rail/wheel Systems, CM 2018 (pp. 464-473).
      Scopus1
      2013 Ding, T., Middelberg, A., Bye, J., & Falconer, R. (2013). Can Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy detect an extended hydration layer around peptides?. In International Conference on Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves, IRMMW-THz (pp. 1-2). Online: IEEE.
      DOI
      2013 Ding, T., Middelberg, A., & Falconer, R. (2013). Secondary structure evident in the far infrared spectra of peptides. In International Conference on Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves, IRMMW-THz (pp. 1-2). Online: IEEE.
      DOI
      2009 Li, R., Ding, T., Huber, T., Falconer, R. J., Middelberg, A. P. J., Gladden, L. F., & Zeitler, J. A. (2009). Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy of peptides in solution. In 34th International Conference on Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves, IRMMW-THz 2009 (pp. 544-+). Busan, SOUTH KOREA: IEEE.
      DOI
      2006 Mercadé-Prieto, R., Falconer, R. J., Paterson, W. R., & Wilson, D. I. (2006). Probing the mechanisms limiting dissolution of whey protein gels during cleaning. In Food and Bioproducts Processing Vol. 84 (pp. 311-319). Jesus Coll, Cambridge, ENGLAND: ELSEVIER.
      DOI Scopus17 WoS15

    CRCP mRNA manufacturing and formulation service for late stage clinical trials [Bridgewest Australia Biotech Pty Ltd, The University of Adelaide, Global Life Sciences Solutions Australia Pty Ltd]. Grant amount $3,000,000

    I teach Bioprocess Engineering. The material covers the unit operations associated with the manufacture of therapeutic proteins, diagnostics and vaccines. The latest development in regulatory compliance, Quality by Design, PAT and continuous manufacturing are covered.

     

    Current teaching

    BIOPRENG 4036 Ensuring Quality Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

    BIOPRENG 7061 Quality by Design & Process Analytical Technology

    BIOPRENG 7063 Good Manufacturing Practice & Validation

    BIOPRENG 7066 Advanced Technology in Biopharmaceutical Processing

    BIOTECH 7050 Protein Purification (guest lecturer)

     

    Primary PhD student supervision 

    Simon Hanslip (papillomavirus virus-like particle self assembly) graduated 2006.

    Jordan Bye (thermodynamics of protein stability) graduated 2015.  

    Samuel Darby (heterotropic multisite binding to proteins) graduated 2017. 

    Lauren Platts (protein stabilisation by small organic molecules) graduated 2017. 

    Kimberly Hansford (protein instability during expression) graduated 2019. 

    Luis Toronjo Urquiza (difficult to express proteins) graduated 2019. 

    Theofilus Kempapidis (phytate-protein interactions) graduated 2019. 

    Niall Bradshaw (phosphate recovery) graduated 2020. 

    Emilio Pliego Garcia (brewing, beer-omics) graduated 2020. 

    Hayden Hodges (tannin-protein interactions) graduated 2021. 

    Jaslene Francis (lipid nanoparticle formulation) started 2022.

    Ziyue Li (RNA-lipid-nanoparticle self-assembly) started 2023.

    Franz Wagner Laurett Veras (improving RNA-lipid nanoparticle stability) started 2023.

    Jessica Boutros (RNA-lipid nanoparticle self-assembly) started 2024.

    Sofie Oerlemans (lipid nanoparticle formulation) started 2024.

    Chandranil Gharekhan (mRNA in-vitro transcription in microfluidic devices) started 2024.

     

     

    • Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
      Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
      2024 Principal Supervisor Physical Stability and Solubility of mRNA Lipid Nanoparticles for use in Vaccines and Therapeutic Products - The Role of Organic Excipients Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Sophie Kate Oerlemans
      2024 Principal Supervisor Disentangling the Complexity of mRNA Lipid Nanoparticle (mRNA-LNP) Assembly in Microfluidic Reactors Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Jessica Boutros
      2023 Co-Supervisor Development of mRNA therapeutics Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Jitong Lyu
      2023 Principal Supervisor Building Stability into RNA Lipid Nanoparticle Therapeutics and Vaccines Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Ziyue Li
      2023 Principal Supervisor Investigation into the physical stability of the lipid nanoparticle (LNP) used for RNA delivery Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Franz Wagner Laurett Veras
      2023 Co-Supervisor Next generation biomanufacturing: Yeast based continuous production of low-cost single domain antibodies Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Yannis Hendrik Karavias
      2023 Co-Supervisor Investigation of mechanistic and structural requirements for the formation of unwanted by-products during in-vitro transcription Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Cinderella Janine Angela Nowak
      2023 Co-Supervisor Polysaccharide-based double-grid structure pore-size-adjustable materials Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Manuella Cazelato Pires
      2022 Principal Supervisor Design of Ready-to-Inject Aqueous Formulations of RNA-Lipid Nanoparticles Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Jaslene Anne Francis
      2021 Co-Supervisor Effects of Extraction and Starch Modification on Nutrient Composition and Physicochemical Properties of Faba bean-based Dairy Alternatives Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Olaide Akinwunmi Akintayo
    • Position: Professor of Bioprocess Engineering
    • Phone: 83134179
    • Email: robert.falconer@adelaide.edu.au
    • Campus: North Terrace
    • Building: Engineering North, floor 1
    • Org Unit: Bioprocess Engineering
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