Professor Theoni K. Georgiou (Θεώνη Γεωργίου)

Theoni obtained a BSc in Chemistry from the University of Cyprus in 2001, followed by a PhD in 2006 in Polymer Chemistry entitled “Star polymers for gene delivery and star-based polymeric networks” under the supervision of Professor Costas Patrickios. She then worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow with Professor Antonios G. Mikos at the Department of Bioengineering at Rice University in the USA. In October 2007, after she was awarded an RCUK Academic Fellowship, she moved to the UK to join the Department of Chemistry at the University of Hull. In January 2014 she joined the Department of Materials at Imperial College as a Lecturer and in September 2016 she was promoted to a Senior Lecturer. In 2017 she was awarded the 2016 Macro Group UK Young Researchers Medal for “contributions to polymer science which show outstanding promise for the future”. In September 2019 she was promoted to a Reader and in September 2022 to a Professor of Polymer Chemistry.

She an active member of the polymer community. In the past she has served as a member of the MacroGroup UK committee (and Chair from 2019-2022), the Materials Chemistry Division (MCD) Council and the RSC and the European Polymer Federation (EPF) committee. Currently she is a member of the advisory editorial board of the European Polymer Journal, Polymer International and Polymer Chemistry and an Associate Editor for the European Polymer Journal.

POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWS

Dr Haffsah Iqbal (primary supervisor Professor Julian Jones)

PhD STUDENTS

Miss Sofia Mirón Barroso

Sofia obtained her BSc in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Barcelona in 2018 after spending her last year in Trinity College Dublin as an Erasmus student. She obtained her MSc degree in 2020 in Nanomedicine for Drug Delivery funded by the Erasmus Mundus Program from the Universities of Paris, Angers, Pavia and Patras. She joined ICL in July 2021 as a PhD student, focusing on polymers for gene delivery in cancer treatment applications. This is in collaboration with Dr Jon Krell that is her primary supervisor and Professor Alexandra Porter.

Miss Xu Liu

Xu obtained her BSc degree in Polymer Science and Engineering in 2018, and her master's degree in Chemical Engineering and Technology in 2020 from Harbin Institute of Technology. She obtained her MSc degree in Advanced Materials Science and Engineering from Imperial College London in 2021 and she started her PhD studies in 2022, focusing on thermoresponsive polymers for biomedical applications.

Miss Birannavi Thiyagarajah (co-supervised with Professor Alexandra Porter)

Birannavi obtained her MSci degree in Chemistry in 2021 from Queen Mary University of London, with research experience in polymeric materials for biomedical applications. She joined Imperial College London in October 2022 as a PhD student. Her research focus will be on stimuli-responsive polymers for drug delivery in cancer treatment applications.

Miss Jiahe Wang

Jiahe obtained her MEng degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Imperial College London in 2022, and undertook the MEng project on thermoresponsive polymer mixtures in the GPG group. She joined the group as a PhD student in December 2022, focusing on thermoresponsive star polymers for various biomedical applications.

Mr Yeyang Sun (supervised by Dr Claudia Contini)

Yeyang obtained his BEng degree in Material Science and Engineering from Southwest Jiaotong University in 2021, followed by the completion of MSc in Advanced Material Science from University College London in 2022. He joined the group in 2023. He is interested in biomaterials and is now working on his PhD project about self-assembled polymeric particles for biomedical applications.

Miss Minen Cao

Minen obtained her BEng degree in Textile Material Science and Engineering from Donghua University in 2021, and MSc degree in Advanced Materials Science from University College London in 2023. She joined the group as a PhD student in 2025, focusing on thermoresponsive star polymers for biomedical applications.

Miss Grace O’Malley

Grace obtained her MSci in Natural Sciences (Chemistry major with Pharmacology minor) from the University of Bath in 2023. Following graduation, she worked as a medical writer, providing support to leading pharmaceutical companies. In 2025, she began her PhD at Imperial College London, where her research focuses on polymer-based delivery systems for siRNA therapeutics targeting pancreatic cancer. 

Mr Elijah Price

Elijah studied Chemistry at the University of St Andrews, where he developed a strong interest in materials and completed a dissertation on lithium titanate batteries. Missing carbon, he pursued an MSc in Materials Science at Imperial, focusing on biomaterials and completing a thesis on polymeric microparticles for anti-tuberculosis drug delivery. Having enjoyed life in London, he has returned to Imperial for his PhD in collaboration with Eli Lilly, developing polymer supports for oligonucleotide synthesis.

Mr Binguxan Li

Bingxuan obtained his BEng degree in Macromolecular Science and Engineering from Zhejiang University and his MSc degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Central South University. He joined Imperial College as a PhD student in 2025, focusing on thermoresponsive polymers for bioprinting.

MRes STUDENTS

TBC

MSc STUDENTS

Zhang Zhiwei

Ignacio Lavina Esponera

Xiong Meiwen

Undergraduate Students

TBC

Visiting Scholars

TBA

Summer Students

TBA