Postdoctoral Researchers

From September 2023, Ester is an EU Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow. Her postdoctoral research at CBNI focuses on the multidisciplinary study of advanced nanoparticle-cell interactions.

Ester graduated in Italy from the University of Genoa with a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry and Chemical Technologies in 2014 and a Master's degree in Chemical Sciences in 2016. During her undergraduate studies she dealt with the investigation of physicochemical aspects related to nanoparticle synthesis and characterisation. In 2017, she started her PhD in Chemical Sciences and Technologies at the University of Genoa. She was awarded her doctoral title in 2021 with a biophysical thesis focused on the study of nanoparticle interactions with model cell membranes. During her PhD, Ester was affiliated with the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Genoa and undertook a research internship at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL, Switzerland). After a first postdoc at the Department of Physics of the University of Genoa, she joined CBNI in September 2022 as a 2022 Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Awardee.

Ana graduated in Spain from the University of Granada with a Bachelor's degree in Biotechnology in 2018 and a Master's degree in Microbiology in 2020. During her undergraduate studies, she developed a strong interest in microbial metabolism and molecular biology. In 2025, she completed her PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), where she focused on the metabolic engineering of Pseudomonas putida strains for the sustainable production of value-added compounds. She also undertook a research stay at the University of Groningen, where she specialized in enzyme engineering and protein characterization. Ana joined CBNI in 2025 as a postdoctoral researcher, working on the structural and functional characterization of bacteria-derived extracellular nanostructures.

Pablo graduated from the University of Granada with a Bachelor's degree in Biotechnology in 2018 and a Master's degree in Translational Research and Personalized Medicine in 2019. In the same year, he began his PhD in Biomedicine at the University of Granada and was awarded his doctoral degree in 2024. In 2023, he undertook a research internship at the University of Groningen (The Netherlands) to study nanoparticle biointeractions. His doctoral research focused on nanotechnology, bio-interfaces, and drug delivery systems for cancer treatment. His expertise includes the synthesis, functionalization, and characterization of various nanoparticle types, as well as their evaluation in advanced in vitro and in vivo models. He joined CBNI in April 2025 as part of the Bio-inspired Particle Architecture Delivery Technologies (Bio-PADT) project, which focuses on the construction of advanced bio-nanostructures for biomedical applications.

Yingxin graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Biotechnology from Guangzhou Medical University (GMU), China in 2016 and was honored with the Outstanding Graduate award. During my undergraduate studies, she participated in the establishment of a rat COPD animal model induced by traffic-related air pollution particulate matter. In 2020, she was awarded her Master's degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the Sino-French Hoffmann Institute at GMU, specializing in the molecular mechanisms of innate immunity in Drosophila and CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology. In 2021, she started her PhD in Pathology and Pathophysiology at the Second Affiliated Hospital of GMU. She was awarded her doctoral title in 2024 and focused on the study of mRNA and protein delivery by Particle Complexes and their application in the development of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines.

Yuchen joined CBNI in November 2020 as a postdoctoral fellow. His work is focused on the construction of advanced bio-nanostructures for biomedical applications based on the understanding of complex bio-nano interactions.

Yuchen graduated from Peking University in China with a BSc in chemistry in 2012. In 2014 he began a joint programme at both the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST), China and University of Copenhagen, Denmark. As part of that programme, in 2017 Yuchen obtained an MSc in nanoscience from University of Copenhagen. He then continued his PhD studies at NCNST and was awarded a PhD in 2020, with a thesis entitled "Phase separation of the complex of peptide and metal clusters”.

Fiona joined CBNI in February 2024 to work as a Research Scientist on the SFI funded, Bio-inspired particle architecture delivery technologies (Bio-PADT) project. Her work is focused on the isolation of extracellular vesicles. Fiona did her PhD with Professor David Brayden in the School of Veterinary Medicine, UCD. She has previously worked on projects investigating intestinal permeation enhancers and nanoparticles for the oral delivery peptides and also the anti-inflammatory properties of seaweed.

(opens in a new window)UCD Research Profile

Alessandro is a 2023 CALIN Post-doctoral Research Fellow. His postdoctoral research at CBNI focuses on the multidisciplinary study of the synthesis and characterisation of complex bionanoparticles, and their interaction in a biological environment.

Alessandro graduated in Italy from the Polytechnic University of Marche (UNIVPM), Ancona with a Bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences in 2014 and a Master's degree in Molecular and Applied Biology in 2017. During his undergraduate studies he focused on eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5A (eIF5A) hypusination and its biomolecular interactions in human cancer and leukaemia. Afterwards, he attended for one year the Laboratories of the Neurosciences and Cell Biology in UNIVPM performing functional studies with extracellular vesicles from both healthy and tumor cells. In October 2022 Alessandro obtained his Ph.D. title in Biomedical Sciences from the Polytechnic University of Marche. His Ph.D. research project was focused on the inhibition of eIF5A hypusination and the effect of the Raf-1 kinase inhibitor protein (RKIP) within both benign and malign tumors. He spent a period of study at Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), in University of Minho, Braga, Portugal within his Ph.D. internship. Alessandro joined CBNI in January 2023.