Research Challenge Teams 2025

Our 2025 CEDAR cohort will work in Research Challenge Teams (RCT). Each team will collaborate on a research project focused on a shared theme, designed to foster innovation and creativity. These cross-disciplinary groups will include students, academics, and industry partners, ensuring a rich exchange of ideas and expertise.

Tailored training programs will be developed for each challenge, and students will receive comprehensive support throughout their projects.

If you are an industrialist and have an interest in these projects, and want to find out more about how you could be involved, reach out to our Skills team for further information.

  • This team comprises six students working together to deliver the overall aims, with an individual focus on the following subject matter.

    • Student Name: Lois John-Pierre, University of Strathclyde

      Background: Biochemistry (MSci)

      Supervisor: Yvonne Perrie

      Project: Optimisation of Nanoparticle Synthesis and Characterisation for Enhanced Precision and Functionality

    • Student Name: Mia Dunn, University of Strathclyde

      Background: Chemistry (MChem)

      Supervisor: Clare Hoskins

      Project: Metallic Nanoplatforms for Rapid Theranostic Treatment in Pancreatic Cancer

    • Student Name: Tom Devine, University of Strathclyde

      Background: Chemistry (MChem)

      Supervisor: Clare Hoskins

      Project: Rational Design of Polymer-Based Theranostics for Cancer Therapy

    • Student Name: Rachel Harnes, University of Strathclyde

      Background: Biomedical Science (BSc)

      Supervisor: Yvonne Perrie

      Project: Model-Based Design and Manufacture of Lipid Nanoparticles for Cancer Therapies

    • Student Name: Anojan Vaheesan, University of Leeds

      Background: Pharmaceutical Sciences (MSci)

      Supervisor: Róisín O'Connell

      Project: Advancing Lipid Nanoparticle Characterisation: Unveiling Structural Dynamics

    • Student Name: Carina Xinyu Zhuang, Imperial College London

      Background: Biochemistry (BSc), Systems & Synthetic Biology (MRes)

      Supervisor: Chen Rongjun

      Project: A Lipid Nanoparticle-Based System for Delivery and Storage of Biomacromolecules

  • This team comprises six students working together to deliver the overall aims, with an individual focus on the following subject matter.

    • Student Name: Ghassan Elagib, University of Strathclyde

      Background: Pharmacy (BSc), Pharmaceutical Sciences (MSc)

      Supervisor: Iain Oswald

      Project: Impact of Solution Components on Solid Form Outcome

    • Student Name: Sabrina Salam, University of Strathclyde

      Background: Pharmaceutical Science (BSc), Data Science and its Applications (MSc)

      Supervisor: Alastair Florence

      Project: Crystallisation Screening DataFactory for Nucleation/Growth Control in the Presence of Impurities

    • Student Name: Zumrah Rehman, University of Strathclyde

      Background: Chemical Engineering (BSc), Chemical Engineering (MS)

      Supervisor: Cameron Brown

      Project: Rationalising Agglomeration Propensity: Influence of Solvent and Impurities

    • Student Name: Philippa Torrance, University of Strathclyde

      Background: Animal Biology (BSc), Cancer Biology (MRes)

      Supervisor: Jan Sefcik

      Project: Model-Based Digital Design of Nucleators for Seed Particle Generation

    • Student Name: Gabriel Hamill, University of Strathclyde

      Background: Chemical Engineering (MEng)

      Supervisor: Javier Cardona

      Project: Mixing-Driven Nucleation in Non-Similar Solvents

    • Student Name: Julius Henry Ramlau, Imperial College London

      Background: Statistics (BSc), Data Intensive Science (MPhil)

      Supervisor: Omar K Matar

      Project: Hybrid Physics-Machine Learning Framework for Computationally Efficient Spatiotemporal Modelling of Continuous Flow Crystallisation

  • This team comprises six students working together to deliver the overall aims, with an individual focus on the following subject matter.

    • Student Name: Sebastian Lloyd Cramer-Cummings, University of Strathclyde  

      Background: Pharmacology (BSc)

      Supervisor: John Robertson

      Project: Manufacturability Prediction from Tableting DataFactory Tools to Commercial Scale Tableting Equipment

    • Student Name: Joseph Daly, University of Strathclyde

      Background: Pharmaceutical Science (BSc)

      Supervisor: Daniel Markl

      Project: A Feedability Cyber-Physical System to Predict Commercial-scale Feeding Performance

    • Student Name: Kenneth Mathew, University of Sheffield

      Background: Chemical Engineering (MEng)

      Supervisor: Rachel Smith 

      Project: Commercial-scale Modelling to Understand Process-induced Material Changes

    • Student Name: Issrah Idriss Hamza, University of Leeds

      Background: Pharmacy (BSc), Biotechnology (MSc)

      Supervisor: Sven Schroeder

      Project: Application of X-Ray CT to Map Physical Mechanisms Across Length Scales During Pharmaceutical Tablet Manufacture

    • Student Name: Margaret Kidd, University of Strathclyde

      Background: Pharmacology (BSc)

      Supervisor: Hannah Batchelor

      Project: Evaluating Local Gastrointestinal Performance and Analytical Characterisation of DC Formulations

    •  Student Name: Sabrina Merahi, University of Strathclyde  

      Background: Biomedical Engineering (MEng)

      Supervisor: Hannah Batchelor

      Project: A "Simple” Cyber-Physical System to Predict Disintegration in vivo.