Professor Iseult Lynch PhD, MBA

Professor Iseult Lynch

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Professor of Environmental Nanosciences
Theme lead for Environmental Sciences

Contact details

Telephone
+44 (0)121 414 5532
Email
i.lynch@bham.ac.uk
Address
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Professor Iseult Lynch, Chair of Environmental Nanosciences, joined the academic staff at the University of Birmingham in March 2013.

She is an Associate Editor for Environmental Science: Nano, and Deputy director for the Facility for Environmental Nanomaterials Analysis and Characterisation (FENAC) at the University of Birmingham.  Her research focuses on the environmental interactions of nanoparticles and nanostructured surfaces with biological entities from macromolecules to organisms.

She has a very broad overview of all aspects of nanomaterials safety assessment and the data requirements, having served as Chair of the EU Nanosafety Cluster Working Group (NSC WG) on databases for two years (and as co-Chair of the Hazed WG prior to that), as well as being theme editor for the Materials and classification section of the NSC Vision2020 research roadmap (under review for publication in June 2013). Prior to the University of Birmingham she was Strategic Research Manager at the Centre for BioNano Interactions in University College Dublin, where she was instrumental in the development and implementation of numerous large EU-funded projects.

Qualifications

BSc. (Hons) Chemistry (1995)

PhD (Chemistry, 2000)

MBA (2012)

Biography

Professor Iseult Lynch undertook her PhD in Physical Chemistry at University College Dublin developing responsive polymeric materials for use in medical devices and as tissue growth substrates. She subsequently did several years of postdoctoral research at Physical Chemistry 1, Lund University in Sweden, including as an EU Marie Curie Fellow, investigating several aspects of colloid and interface science and biophysics. She returned to University College Dublin in 2006 where she led the nanoparticle synthesis and bio-characterisation group at the Centre for BioNano Interactions (CBNI). She then became the Strategic Research Manager for CBNI, and was instrumental in securing multiple large scale national and EU funding bids. In March 2013 she joined the University of Birmingham as a Lecturer in Environmental Nanosciences, becoming Senior Lecturer in 2015 and Professor of Environmental Nanosciences in 2016.

Teaching

Professor Lynch is the undergraduate admissions tutor for Environmental Science.

Leads and contributes to undergraduate modules on the following topics:

  • molecules and materials
  • environmental protection
  • environmental pollution

Deputy director of the MRes in Biological and Environmental Nanoscience, and module leader for the MRes module 'Biological and Environmental Nanoscience'.

Postgraduate supervision

Professor Lynch supervises PhD projects on a range of environmental nanoscience topics, including:

  • interactions of engineered nanoparticles with Daphnia and the secreted eco-corona
  • fate and transformation of silver nanoparticles in the environment
  • assessment of the micro- and nano-structure of Vietnamese biochars
  • routes of uptake of SPIONs in cells
  • impacts of microplastics on freshwater ecosystems

Interested students, including those with existing funding or applying for funding, should contact Professor Lynch by email to discuss potential projects.

Research

Research interests

  • Synthesis of novel composite polymeric materials for biomaterials and environmental applications, such as controlled release and delivery, environmental remediation and Nano(eco)toxicology.
  • Nanoparticle interactions with biomolecules in the environment (natural organic matter, secreted proteins, organic pollutants, etc.) – the “eco-corona” and secondary pollutant effects
  • Determination of the fate and behavior of nanomaterials in the environment
  • Development of high throughput screening applications: nano(eco)toxicology, bionanointeractions and assessment of environmental fate of nanomaterials.
  • Impact and risk assessment of nanomaterials / nanoproducts / nanomedicines.

Other activities

Publications

Over 100 publications to date.  Full list available at: https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=4JfAAjsAAAAJ

Some recent examples include:

Osborne, O.J., Mukaigasa, K., Nakajima, H., Stolpe, B., Romer, I., Philips, U., Lynch, I., Mourabit, S., Hirose, S., Lead, J.R., Kobayashi, M., Kudoh, T., Tyler, C.R. Sensory systems and ionocytes are targets for silver nanoparticle effects in fish. Nanotoxicology, 2016, 1276-1286.

Kendall, M., Lynch, I. Long-term monitoring for nanomedicine implants and drugs. Nature Nanotechnology, 2016, 11, 206-210

CA Trompeta, A.-F., Koklioti, M.A., Perivoliotis, D.K., Lynch, I., Charitidis. Towards a holistic environmental impact assessment of carbon nanotube growth through chemical vapour deposition. J Cleaner Production, 2016, 129, 384-394

Robinson, R.L.M, Lynch, I., Peijnenburg, W., Rumble, J., Klaessig, F., Marquardt, C.,  Rauscher, H., Puzyn, T., Purian, R., Åberg, C., Karcher, S., Vriens, H., Hoet, P., Hoover, M.D., Hendren, C.O., Harper, S.L. How should the completeness and quality of curated nanomaterial data be evaluated? Nanoscale, 2016,  8, 9919-9943.

Nasser, F. Lynch, I. Secreted protein eco-corona mediates uptake and impacts of polystyrene nanoparticles on Daphnia magna. J Proteomics, 2016, 137, 45-51.

Valsami-Jones, E., Lynch, I. How safe are nanomaterials? Science, 2015, 350, 388-389.

Expertise

Nanomaterials in the environment (as well as food, cosmetics, consumer products, nanomedicines, nanopesticides etc.); nanomaterials transformations; nanomaterials fate and behaviour; nanomaterials eco/toxicology; Nanosafety assessment; nanoregulation; nanogovernance; Microplastics; nanoplastics; Open data