Phd researchers

Xuejiao Cao

cao0167@flinders.edu.au

Miss. Xuejiao Cao is a PhD student at Flinders University in South Australia and a member of the Centre. She completed her Bachelor of Quality and Safety at Yangtze University (2014), before completing her Master’s degree in Food Storage and Processing at Guangzhou University (2021).

During her time as a postgraduate student, her research project was related to natural products, food hydrogel, food emulsion and oil gel. She also gained the opportunity to work with Colin Raston’s lab at Flinders University for 6 months in 2019. During that time, the project focused on bio-materials fabrication with the use of the vortex fluidics device (VFD). From this experience, she was inspired to pursue her PhD degree. Furthermore, the success of her master’s degree allowed her to be able to publish three articles as first author in respected international journals.

Currently, Xuejiao is working on a PhD project under the supervision of Professor Colin Raston and Professor Youhong Tang, with the focus of the research being on the fabrication of bio-safe materials using vortex fluidics for the cosmetic industry. The research aim is to fabricate skin care products using natural materials with benign processing technology. Xuejiao’s previous knowledge in natural product and emulsion is vital to complete her project. She also receives guidance and professional suggestions from her industry partner, Plantworx Pty Ltd. This industry partner is best known for their fabrication of certified organics personal care skincare and hair care brands based on plant-based materials.

Ling Chen

chen1698@flinders.edu.au

Industry Partner - Nano 6C

Miss Ling Chen is a PhD student at Flinders university in South Australia and a member

of the Centre. She got her Bachelor degree in textile engineering from Xinjiang

University, China in 2017, then continued her master degree at Tiangong University,

China and graduated at 2020.

She studyed on the manufacturing and performances of composite helical spring made of

carbon fiber and published two papers during master.

Then she applied for being a PHD student based on her research result. She started her

Ph.D. student at the group of Professor Youhong Tang and Professor Colin Raston in

Flinders University in 2021 and mainly focuses on composite materials and structures

design, manufacture, and numerical and experimental evaluation on composite springs.

The aim of project is to improve the static and dynamic performance of composite helical

spring, so that it can replace steel spring to be suspension spring of automobile to reduce

the carbon emissions.

Adele Mastroyannis

mast0080@flinders.edu.au

Industry Partner - Wonderful Capital Biotechnology Group

Adele Mastroyannis is a PhD student at Flinders University in South Australia and a member of the Centre for Marine Bioproducts Development, supervised and directed by Prof. Colin Raston.

Her project is aimed at the biorefining of South Australia brown seaweed phlorotannins, potent antioxidants, using green chemistry principles to development skin care and gut health related products for improving the human microbiome and therefore, wellbeing in humans.

Adele has grown up on the Fleurieu peninsula, having an enormous love for the ocean and mindfulness that climate change and plastic pollution is an issue. She is also a fitness professional and has a fascination for nutrition, and the wellbeing and health of our society, so her journey needed to entwine the ocean and health.

Adele began her journey at Flinders University, studying a Bachelor in Marine Biology, finding her passion in Marine Biotechnology, and completing a Masters in Biotechnology. Adele diverted from her career goal and pursued a Masters in Secondary science, finding an additional passion in teaching middle school students. She then decided to finally pursue her dream of becoming a PhD student to be at the forefront of Marine Biotechnology applications. Since then, her fascination with chemistry has increased and ARC ITT Green Chemistry in Manufacturing has provided a unique opportunity to shift towards a sustainable and clean future, keeping in mind her focus for marine-based health products.

Safira Moura Barros

safira.mourabarros@flinders.edu.au

Industry Partner - Bioworks

Ms. Safira Moura Barros has an undergraduate degree in Bachelor of Chemical Engineering
at Universidade Federal da Bahia, Brazil in 2016. During this period, she was a researcher
with scholarship for two years in a project called “potential industrial applications of protic
ionic liquids,” aiming greener chemical process, and achieving some international
publications. In addition, Safira was an exchange research student for one year at University
of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK in 2014. The project was conducted by Professor Dr Miguel
Jorge in molecular dynamics, a modelling technique used to understand ionic liquids systems.
The result was a better understanding of those materials surfaces for several applications,
such as interfacial processes in chemical engineering.

Following on from this, Safira worked in the private sector on Process Safety Management,
related to chemical industry, and then Business Innovation, promoting improvements on
small local companies. Safira was offered to do a PhD in the end of 2020 in Raston Lab,
under the supervision of Professor Dr Colin Raston and Dr. Youhong Tang, but due to the
pandemic, she started in 2022. The project’s field of research is organic chemistry and
catalysis under high shear stress for the biofuel industry. The aim of the project is to apply
green solutions to the chemical process, with real industry applications.

Safira’s previous undergraduate knowledge in catalysts reactions is essential to completing
this project. Additionally, she is supervised by experts in the field at Flinders University,
while receiving mentoring and experience from an industry partner: BioWorks TM .
BioWorks™ is an independent private company in Australia, with specialist expertise in
producing Biofuels. Safira’s expectation with this project is to deliver a better understanding
and knowledge in the field required for a less costly, green, and sustainable process.

Bunu Tamang

tama0054@flinders.edu.au

Industry Partner - YLX Science and Technology

My name is Bunu Tamang, and I am one of the PhD candidates at Flinders University (College of Medicine and Public Health) working under Prof. Wei Zhang. I have a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy (a registered pharmacist in Nepal, since 2014), a master’s degree in pharmaceutics (industrial pharmacy) from Rajiv Gandhi University, India, and a master’s degree in biotechnology from Flinders University, Australia.

My first master’s project (in pharmacy degree) was related to formulation development of sustained release matrix tablets using hydrophilic and hydrophobic polymers. Eventually, after graduation, I started my career as a university lecturer in one of the reputed pharmacy colleges (affiliated to Tribhuvan University) in Nepal. Later, I wanted to grow my career more in research and therefore, I joined Flinders University in 2019 for Master of Biotechnology and started my research project which was based on extraction of mushroom bioactives and determination of their antiproliferative activities in cancer cells. In 2021, as soon as I finished my master’s project at Flinders, I received an ARC scholarship for my PhD at the same Uni and now my PhD project is based on biorefinery process and health product development from mushroom.

I am much interested in cancer research, drug discovery and formulation development projects. I have a good research experience in extraction technologies, formulation development (pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, foods, and cosmetics), pharmaceutical and pharmacological studies and evaluation of drugs and formulations.

Awards/achievements

Awarded “Maher Jedi Memorial Prize for Research Excellence in Biotechnology” from Flinders University on May 2021.

Awarded PhD scholarship from ARC Green Chemistry in manufacturing and tuition fee sponsorship from Flinders University in March 2021.

Member of ‘Golden Key International Honour Society’ since May 2021.

Secured 1st rank in the college during the academic year 2013-15 (Master of Pharmacy).

Awarded scholarship for Master of Pharmacy by R.R College of Pharmacy, India in 2013.

Secured 1st rank in the college during the academic year 2011-13 (Bachelor of Pharmacy).