• School of Engineering and Applied Science, Aston University

      B4 7ET Birmingham

      United Kingdom

    Accepting PhD Students

    PhD projects

    NEW!
    Applications are welcomed all year round from self-funded PhD candidates in the following areas:
    - Microbial and applied biotechnology
    - Magnetotactic bacteria
    - Microbial biopolymers and monomers
    - Biomass conversion using enzyme and whole-cell biocatalysis
    - Biotechnology for biorefineries

    Please contact Dr Alfred Fernandez-Castane via email (a.fernandez-castane1@aston.ac.uk) for informal discussion about your project in advance to submitting your application.

    Personal profile

    Research Interests

    Dr. Alfred Fernández-Castané is Senior Lecturer in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering and Principal Investigator within the Energy and Bioproducts Research Institute (EBRI) and Aston Institute of Materials Research (AIMR) groups at Aston University. He graduated in Biology by the Universitat de Barcelona (UB, Spain) and afterwards he pursued his MSc in Advanced Biotechnology at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB, Spain). He carried out his PhD thesis within the Chemical Engineering Department at UAB. His project focused on the development of a method to directly quantify IPTG in E. coli cytoplasm and medium samples. This methodology led to gaining a better knowledge and understanding of inducible systems, gene regulation and optimization of recombinant protein production. His PhD in Biotechnology was awarded in 2012 and he moved to France as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the ISSB-Evry where he developed his skills in synthetic biology and metabolic engineering. Dr Fernández-Castané joined Dr Overton’s lab in 2014 as a Research Fellow in the €2.4m ERA-IB ProSeCa project at the University of Birmingham (UK). His research interests rely on the development of more sustainable and cost effective bioprocesses for the production of high-value products with industrial interest. Current research areas encompass the production of magnetosomes from magnetotactic bacteria, biodegradable biopolymers and enzymes for biofuels application.


    He is keen on outreach activities and he enjoys travelling, hiking and handball.

    Contact Details

    Email:  a.fernandez-castane1@aston.ac.uk 

    Room Number:  MB184C

    Tel +44(0)121 204 4870

    Education/Academic qualification

    PhD in Biotechnology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

    1 Oct 200820 Apr 2012

    Award Date: 20 Apr 2012

    MSc in Advanced Biotechnology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

    1 Oct 20071 Sept 2008

    Award Date: 30 Sept 2008

    BSc Biology, Universitat de Barcelona

    15 Sept 200028 Feb 2007

    Award Date: 1 Feb 2007

    Keywords

    • TS Manufactures
    • Magnetic biomaterials
    • High-value bioproducts
    • QD Chemistry
    • Biotechnology
    • Biochemical Engineering
    • TD Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering
    • Renewable Energies
    • Bioproducts
    • L Education (General)
    • Research-Informed teaching
    • Q Science (General)
    • Applied Microbiology
    • Biotechnological Products
    • TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
    • Bioprocess Engineering
    • Fermentation Technoogy

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