Professor Paula M Mendes MSc, PhD, CSci FIChemE

Professor Paula M Mendes

School of Chemical Engineering
Professor of Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology

Contact details

Address
School of Chemical Engineering
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Paula M Mendes is a Professor of Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology in the School of Chemical Engineering. She leads the Mendes Research Group , which conducts interdisciplinary research in the area of nanoscience and nanotechnology, and develops methods for controlling the structure and functionality of materials at the molecular and nanometer scale.

The research group works at the interface between engineering, chemistry and biology to answer fundamental scientific questions and develop innovative technology to address current challenges in biofouling, on-demand biosensing and molecular diagnostics to ultimately benefit human health.

Paula Mendes is part of the Healthcare Technologies Institute (HTI), an interdisciplinary network of over 70 academics working together to advance new technologies and treatments that encourage better tissue healing and rehabilitation tools.  The HTI brings together leading experts from a variety of disciplines across the University of Birmingham, including chemical engineering, biomedical science, computer science, applied mathematics, chemistry and physics. Researchers across campus are working collaboratively to speed up the translation of new discoveries into health applications.

Selected Honors and Awards

  • 2021 Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) Sharma Medal
  • 2019 Women in Tech Academic Award
  • 2018 Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (FIChemE), UK.
  • General Electric (GE) Healthcare Life Sciences Prize, 2017
  • The Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) Global Award, 2016
  • European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant, 2014
  • EPSRC Leadership Fellowship, 2013
  • The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) SMART.idea Award, 2007

Qualifications

  • Higher Education Academy (HEA) Associate Fellow, 2009
  • Chartered Scientist and Corporate Member of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (CSci MIChemE), 2007
  • PhD in Chemical Engineering, University of Porto, Portugal, 2002
  • MSc in Chemical Engineering, University of Porto, Portugal, 1997

Biography

Paula M Mendes is a Professor of Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology in the School of Chemical Engineering. She received her MSc (1997) and PhD (2002) degrees in Chemical Engineering from the Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Portugal. In 1997, she was awarded a competitive University Fellowship to carry out research in computational chemical engineering at the National Polytechnic Institute of Lorraine (INPL), Nancy, France.

She undertook post-doctoral research firstly (2002–04) in the School of Chemistry, University of Birmingham, UK, and subsequently (2004–06) at the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), USA with 2016 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, Professor Sir Fraser Stoddart FRS. She began her academic career in the School of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham in 2006, as an academic fellow. She was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2011 and Professor of Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology in 2013. She was a Visiting Professor at University of Washington, Department of Bioengineering, USA between September 2015 and July 2018.

Mendes serves as an Editor for the Journal of Experimental Nanoscience (Taylor & Francis), Associate Editor for the journal Responsive Materials (Wiley) and Member of the Editorial Board of ChemBioEng Reviews (Wiley) and Editorial Board of Colloid and Interface Science Communications (Elsevier). She is a leadership group member of the Institution of Chemical Engineers Research and Innovation Community of Practice.

She pioneered the use of electrically switchable oligopeptides to control biological interactions and the development of many molecular-based biosensors to deliver breakthroughs in fields ranging from cell therapy bioprocessing to cancer diagnosis. She is the author of over 100 manuscripts, 4 patents and recipient of highly prestigious research programmes, including an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Fellowship (2013-2018) and European Research Council (ERC) consolidator grant (2014-2021). Her efforts have been recognized by numerous awards, including 2016 Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) Global Award, 2017 General Electric (GE) Healthcare Life Sciences Prize, 2019 Women in Tech Academic Award and 2021 Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) Sharma medal.

Teaching

  • BEng Chemical Engineering
  • MEng Chemical Engineering

Postgraduate supervision

Paula M Mendes is interested in supervising doctoral research students in the following areas:

  • Molecular diagnostics
  • Biosensors
  • Development of materials to prevent biofouling
  • Synthetic tools for glycan analysis and detection
  • Synthesis and characterisation of functional nanoparticles

Research

More details about the research can be found on the Mendes group website.

Publications

A list of publications can be found on the Mendes group website.

View all publications in research portal