The groups research is supported by EU, UKRI, Industry and Charitable bodies. Each project is not listed here, but current funding includes;

• Nanocarb Project - large EU consortium investigating how glycosylated nanomaterials can be applied in biomedical areas
• Specialty Glycans Project. Large UK consortium using enzymes and chemistry to generate new carbohydrate derivatives
• Royal Society Industry Fellow with GE Healthcare
• ERC Starter Grant. CRYO_MAT. Investigating how we can use polymer chemistry to mimic antifreeze glycoprotein function
• ERC Consolidator Grant. ICE_PACK. Developing new tools and methods for the transport of biologic therapies
• Leverhulme Trust Project grants

The Gibsongroup's research interests span the use of chemical tools to address challenges in glycosciences and biomaterials science. This work is mutli-disciplinary, and the group has dedicated facilities for synthesis, tissue culture, microbiology, and analytical science enabling us to tackle challenging problems. The group has made particular contributions in developing new biomaterials for cell storage and freezing, new glycosylated sensors for the detection and investigation of infection, and methods to covalently modify cell surfaces.

I teach on 2nd Year Polymers (in CH272 Materials Modules) and the Polymer Masters program on CH967 (living polymerisation), CH971 (Polymer Labs) and CH972 (group research project). I also undertake tutorials (organic). I also teach an introduction to glycoscience in Warwick Medical Schools Integrated Science UG program

I am (co)supervising the following PhD students:

• Alexander Baker. Point of Care Diagnostics based upon glyconanomaterials
• Alexander Murray. New macromolecular cryoprotectants for cell-based therapies
• Amy Godfrey. Bio-enginnering of Photorhabdus Virulence Cassettes (PI Nick Waterfield)
• Charlotte Fletcher. Magnetic and responsive nanomaterials
• Huba Marton. New chemical tools for the biologic cold chain
• Iain Galpin. New materials and molecules inspired by antifreeze proteins
• Ioanna Kontopoulou. Polymeric and Colloidal Materials for industry applications
• Matthew Warren. Computational and experimental studies of ice recrystallisation inhibitors
• Melissa Ligoria. Mono-disperse glycosylated co-ordination cages for infection detection
• Panagiotis Georgiou. New glycosylated nanomaterials
• Ashfaq Ahmed. Expression and investigation of immune-lectins with glycomaterials
• Nina Kinney. Environmental ice nucleators
• Ola Alkosti. Re-engineering immune cell function
• Qiao Tang. Covalent capture of macromolecules to cell surfaces
• Erin Thompson. Polymer-protein conjugates
• Natalia Gonzalez-Martinez. Cryopreservation of immune cells
• Douglas Soutar. Design and synthesis of cryoprotective polymers
• Yanan Gau (visiting PhD for 2 years). Cryopreservation of multi-cellular systems

We have several vacancies for PhD's each year funded by industry, charity, UKRI and the EU. Get in touch with Prof Gibson if interested

Selected Publications

Richards, S.J., Gibson, M.I., JACS Au,2021, 'Towards glycomaterials with selectivity as well as affinity'. DOI. 10.1021/jacsau.1c00352

Georgiou, P., Marton, H.L., ; Baker, AN., Congdon, TR., Whale, T., Gibson, M.I., Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2021. 143, 7449 - 7461, Polymer Self-Assembly Induced Enhancement of Ice Recrystallization Inhibition

Stevens, C.A., Bachtiger, F., Kong, X-D., Abriata, L.A., Sosso, G.C., Gibson, M.I., Klok, H.-A., Nature Communications, 2021, 12, 2675, A Minimalistic Cyclic Ice-Binding Peptide from Phage Display,

Tomas, RMF., Gibson, M.I.,Chemical Science, 2021, 12, 4557-4569, Covalent Cell Surface recruitment of Chemotherapeutic Polymers Enhances Selectivity and Activity,

Bachtiger, F., Congdon, TR., Stubbs, C., Gibson, M.I., Sosso, G.C, Nature Communications, 2021, 12, 1323 The atomisic details of the ice recrystallisation inhibition activity of PVA

Richards, S-J.,Keenan, T., Vendeveille,J-B., Wheatley, D.E., Chidwick, H., Budhadev, D., Council, C.E., Webster, C.S, Ledru, H., Baker, A.N., Walker, M., Galan, MC., Linclau, B., Fascione, MA., Gibson, M.I., Chemical Science, 2021, 12, 905 - 910, Introducing affinity and selectivity into galectin-targeting nanoparticles with fluorinated glycan ligands

Mitchell, DE., Deller, RC., Fayter, A.E.R., Hasan, M., Gutierrez-Marcos, J., Gibson, M.I., Materials Horizons, 2019, 6, 364 - 368. Ice-Recrystallization Inhibiting Polymers Protect Proteins Against Freeze-Stress and Enable Glycerol-Free Cryostorage

Biggs, C.I., Bailey, T.L., Graham, B., Stubbs, C., Fayter, A., Gibson, M. I., Nature Communications, 2017, 1546., Polymer Mimics of Biomacromolecular Antifreezes.

Graham, B., Bailey, T.L., Healey, J.R., Marcellini, M., Deville, S., Gibson, M. I., Angewandte Chemie, 2017.56, 15941–15944 ;Polyproline is a minimal antifreeze protein mimetic and enhances the cryopreservation of cell monolayers' 

Full Publication List