In a landmark moment for our research group, Dr Lewis MacKenzie has been awarded a Royal Society University Research Fellowship (URF). This prestigious fellowship will enable expansion of the scope and research capabilities of the MacKenzie lab, to develop upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) as materials and tools for biomedical research.

The funding will allow recruitment of new group members, with a postdoctoral research assistant post, and PhD studentship opportunities for start dates in October 2026 and October 2027 (adverts to come in due course). This will enable the MacKenzie group to ramp up the pace of research beyond what has been previously possible.

This funding will also unlock new equipment, foremost being a high-sensitivity luminescence/fluorescence spectrometer optimized for optical upconversion measurements. We also expect to expand our synthesis capabilities with new easy-to-use and safe equipment. This will enable the MacKenzie group to undertake rapid prototyping and optimization promising upconversion materials. This will be truly transformative!

The overall goal of this research is to make upconversion nanoparticles easier to make and utilize for the wider scientific community, and to set the stage for impactful biomedical sensing and disease therapy applications.

Crucially the funding also enables team members to travel to leading international conferences and to visit international collaborators. Again, unlocking new possibilities for our research and firmly situating the group in the international scientific community.

Thanks to the Royal Society for the funding!