Current Members
Professor Sebastien Perrier
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| Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick |
| Sébastien graduated with his PhD in 2002 from the University of Warwick, England, in polymer chemistry. After one year as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of New South Wales, Australia, he was appointed as a lecturer at the University of Leeds, UK. In October 2007, he moved to the University of Sydney and was appointed as director of the Key Centre for Polymers & Colloids. Sébastien leads a team of 15-20 researchers working on the design of a wide range of state-of-the-art functional polymeric materials by careful manipulation of their molecular structure. He is a member of the editorial boards of the journals Soft Matter, Macromolecules, European Polymer Journal and Polymer Chemistry, a member of the RACI Polymer Division executive committee (2011 Chair), and was appointed on the Australian Research Council College of Experts in 2011. Awards include the Macro Group UK Young Researcher Award (2006), the Young Tall Poppy Science Award (2009), the Rennie Memorial Medal (2009), the David Sangster Polymer Science and Technology Award (2009), the Le Fèvre Memorial Prize (2013) and the RS Wolfson Award (2014). |
Courses Taught
- CH272, CH404 undergraduate module.
- CH161 Organic Chemistry tutorials.
- CH967 and CH974 MSc modules.
Contact Information
- Email: S.Perrier@warwick.ac.uk
- Phone: +44 (0)2476 5 28085
- Office: C5.26Link opens in a new window
Dr Santhosh Kalash Rajendrakumar
| Santhosh Kalash Rajendrakumar got his bachelor’s degree in biotechnology and master’s degree in Molecular Medicine from India. With a fellowship from Brain Korea 21 (BK21), he completed his PhD in Biomedical Sciences from Chonnam National University, Gwangju, South Korea, in 2019. Later that year, he joined as a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Medicine, Renal Division at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School. Then in 2020, he moved to Tufts University, Massachusetts, United States, to work on lipidoid nanoparticles for mRNA delivery in lung cancer. In 2021, he joined the Perrier research team as an Assistant Professor (research) to develop RAFT polymeric nanoparticles for cancer immunotherapy and anti-inflammation. |  |
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Dr Tasha Reddy
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Tasha completed her BSc with Professional Training Year (PTY) in Medical Sciences at the University of Exeter in 2021. Her PTY placement was with the Islet Biology Exeter team under the supervision of Dr Mark Russell. Her dissertation under the supervision of Dr Tetsu Kudoh. She joined the University of Warwick in 2021 on the MRC DTP in IBR course. During the MSc Tasha completed 2 mini-projects; 1) In the Perrier group synthesising cationic polymers to exert antimicrobial effects, 2) In the Crow group investigating a novel tripartite efflux pump. In 2022 Tasha started her PhD under the supervision of Professor Sébastien Perrier and Dr Freya Harrison. Her project will use an interdisciplinary approach combining polymer chemistry and microbiology to explore synergetic polymer/antibiotic systems for the treatment of biofilm infections. |
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Ola Alkosti
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Ola completed her bachelor's degree in pharmacy and pharmaceutical chemistry at Damascus University in 2015. Her undergraduate studies have enriched her laboratory skills, including spectrophotometer, Immunoassays (ELISA), western blotting and different types of chromatography. She has built her experience by being involved in the working sector as a pharmacist in a big hospital for more than 3 years. Believing that teaching is a main skill that every researcher needs to build, she was chosen to be the scientific supervisor in the pharmaceutical lab at Damascus University and was also accepted to be training in the medical laboratories in one of the best academic hospitals in the country. She obtained her master’s degree in pharmacology and drug discovery from Coventry University. Her dissertation project was supervised by Dr. Christopher J Mee, understanding the role of VEGF-C and CCL-19 in the metastatic process of hepatocellular carcinoma. Different techniques were used in this project such as flowcytometry, MTT assay and Real-time PCR. Her PhD is about engineering immune cells surfaces under the supervision of Professor Matthew Gibson. We will be using polymers to reprogram the cells to fight diseases, particularly cancer. |
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Esther Udobang
| A first-class BSc. graduate from Bells University of Technology in Nigeria, Esther joins the Perrier group for her doctorate research on synthesis of polymeric nanoparticles as delivery solution in gene therapy. Her interest in this area stems from her Master's research in Biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles as novel antimicrobial agents targeting a selection of multidrug resistant strains of bacteria, and thus research has been published in a reputable journal. |  |
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Alexandre Soares Gomes
| Alex completed his MChem at Durham University in 2022. During his final year, he undertook an industrial placement at the Lubrizol Corporation under the supervision of Dr Nathan Bartlett and Dr William Barton working on the development of ashless antioxidants for application in automotive and industrial lubricants. In October 2022 Alex started his PhD under the supervision of Prof. Sébastien Perrier as part of a collaborative EPSRC Prosperity Partnership project between Lubrizol and the Universities of Warwick and Nottingham. Alex’s project will focus on polymer synthesis in continuous flow reactors. |  |
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Mingchao Li
| Mingchao completed his master's degree in Biomedical Engineering at the South China Normal University, which focused on the development of brain gene delivery systems for Parkinson disease. The systems were designed based on the blood brain barrier (BBB) mechanisms to transport gene across the BBB into brain. The gene vectors include magnesium oxide, zinc oxide and ferric oxide. He then worked for a biotech company as a senior project director where he was responsible for clinical project development and clinical trial operations. In 2022, Mingchao joins the Perrier group as a PhD to work on polymeric nanoparticles and their applications for drug delivery. |  |
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Jiuli Xu
| Jiuli obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry at the University of Warwick in 2022. At the same year, Jiuli starts his Master by Research under the supervision of Professor Sébastien Perrier, and successfully finished his master by research degree with thesis titled Photolytic Degradation of RAFT Agents in the Polymerisation of Nitrogen Containing Monomers, He has rejoin the group, focus on the research of presenting a simple supramolecular strategy by cyclic peptide to develop ultra bright cyanine-based fluorescent materials by addressing long-standing challenges associated with cyanine dyes. |  |
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Yixuan Chen
| Yixuan completed his degree at the University of Birmingham, from 2019 to 2022. Then he moved to study a MSc at the University of Warwick. He carried out his MSc project under the supervision of Professor Sébastien Perrier on synthesis of cyclic-peptide conjugates with hydrophobic linker group. Recently, Yixuan joined the Perrier group as a PhD student, focusing on the synthesis of oil soluble nanoparticles. |  |
Alexander Cantor
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Alex joined the Perrier group in October 2024. He received a BSc in Chemistry from the University of Florida, where he developed a strong foundation in analytical techniques and materials science. Currently, Alex is focused on an innovative research project that explores the application of short peptides in polymer-based structures to enhance the detection of snake venom using lateral flow devices. His work aims to contribute to advancements in rapid diagnostic tools, with the potential to improve safety in areas where snake bites are prevalent. |
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Marcus Kmberley
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Marcus completed his MEng in Materials Science and Engineering at Imperial College London in 2025. His final year research project, supervised by Professor Julian Jones, explored the incorporation of boron into bioactive glasses for chronic wound healing applications. In October 2025, Marcus joined the MRC Doctoral Training Partnership at the University of Warwick where he is currently undertaking a one year MSc in Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research. He will begin his PhD in 2026 under the supervision of Professor Sébastien Perrier and Dr Shashi Prasad Rama. His project will focus on improving the therapeutic immunity of cancer vaccines through the development of multi-adjuvant polymeric nanoparticles. |
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Abdullahi Sani
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Abdul holds a BSc in Microbiology from Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Nigeria, and an MSc in Biotechnology from the University of Nottingham, where his thesis focused on violacein production from waste feedstock under the supervision of Dr. Samantha Bryan. He later worked as a Research Technician at 17Cicada, a University of Nottingham spinout, contributing to the sustainable production of hyaluronic acid using non-pathogenic bacteria and waste-derived carbon sources. His work spanned both strain engineering and downstream processing. Abdul is currently pursuing his PhD through the MRC DTP program at the University of Warwick, researching antimicrobial silicone interfaces for healthcare and beyond. |
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