Rob studied Chemistry (BSc) and Physical Chemistry (PhD) at the University of Durham (UK) and joined the Department of Engineering Materials at the University of Sheffield in 1988, where he held the Chair of Material and Biomaterial Chemistry from 2001. During this period, Rob helped develop a materials-cell technology (myskin) for treating severe burns and scalds; adopted in the UK by the NHS, this technology was used over a decade in all the UK’s major burns centres. Rob also established Plasso Technology, an advanced materials for life science research company. Plasso developed technology that now underpins a range of products (PureCoatTM) sold globally for cell culture and cell therapy.
In 2006, Rob joined the... Read more
About me
Rob studied Chemistry (BSc) and Physical Chemistry (PhD) at the University of Durham (UK) and joined the Department of Engineering Materials at the University of Sheffield in 1988, where he held the Chair of Material and Biomaterial Chemistry from 2001. During this period, Rob helped develop a materials-cell technology (myskin) for treating severe burns and scalds; adopted in the UK by the NHS, this technology was used over a decade in all the UK’s major burns centres. Rob also established Plasso Technology, an advanced materials for life science research company. Plasso developed technology that now underpins a range of products (PureCoatTM) sold globally for cell culture and cell therapy.
In 2006, Rob joined the University of South Australia, where he held the positions of Director of an advanced manufacturing research institute, Dean of Research and Pro Vice Chancellor and Vice President. At the invitation of the Minister of Education he served on the Australian Research Council's College of Experts for three years.
In Australia, he successfully co-led bids for an A$110M national centre for wound management innovation and a A$60M national centre for cell therapy manufacturing. Both have resulted in successful innovations in wound care and cell therapy. These include the companies, Carina Biotechnology (www.carinabiotech.com), which is developing a novel CAR-T cell therapy for solid (cancer) tumoursand Tekcyte (www.tekcyte.com), whose products include a cell-based therapy for non-healing wounds, which entered clinical trials at the beginning of 2022.
Rob returned to the UK as the Director of the Lancaster Material Science Institute, where he helped establish the Material Social Futures Centre for Doctoral Training, focusing on how materials’ innovations shape society (and vice versa). See Material Social Futures | Lancaster University. This centre is training 22 PhD students.
Last year, Rob cofounded with Dr Endre Szili (UniSA) Plasma-4 (www.plasma-4.com) a company that is developing novel plasma (ionised gas)-materials technology for the treatment of a range of clinical indications.
Over his career, Rob has won over A$250M of grants and investments, including ARC Discovery, Linkage etc, CRC, and in the UK, EPSRC, Wellcome, Leverhulme, Royal Society etc. He has supervised to completion 25 PhDs and 30 post-doctoral researchers. He has published over 250 substantive peer reviewed papers.
In 2013, Rob was elected to the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.
He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.
Rob rejoined the University of Sheffield in October 2022.
About me
Fellow of The Institute of Materials Minerals and Mining (FIMMM)
Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC)
Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (FTSE)
About me
Doctor of Philosophy University of Durham
Bachelor of Science University of Durham
Research
Excludes commercial-in-confidence projects.
Simple effective anti-microbial and wound healing dressings (SP 09.1 WMI), Wound Management Innovation CRC, 01/04/2015 - 30/06/2018
CTM 1-09 Plasma methods to coat cell culture surfaces with novel monomeric chemicals, Cell Therapy Manufacturing CRC, 01/08/2016 - 31/08/2017
Research
Research outputs for the last seven years are shown below. Some long-standing staff members may have older outputs included. To see earlier years visit ResearcherID or Scopus
Open access indicates that an output is open access.
Year | Output |
---|---|
2011 |
12
|
2010 |
2
|
Year | Output |
---|---|
2022 |
6
2
|
2022 |
Open access
1
1
|
2021 |
Open access
20
15
|
2021 |
Open access
60
41
3
|
2021 |
Open access
3
2
|
2021 |
Open access
18
14
71
|
2019 |
Open access
66
58
1
|
2019 |
Open access
27
22
|
2019 |
Open access
2
3
|
2018 |
Open access
1
|
2018 |
Open access
23
20
4
|
2018 |
Open access
72
61
|
2018 |
Open access
11
10
|
2018 |
Open access
94
67
1
|
2018 |
Open access
66
54
1
|
2018 |
2
2
1
|
2017 |
Open access
1
2
|
2017 |
Open access
22
17
1
|
2017 |
12
9
5
|
2017 |
Open access
3
2
|
2017 |
Open access
13
14
|
2017 |
Open access
3
4
|
2017 |
Open access
1
1
1
|
2017 |
Open access
22
18
1
|
2016 |
47
40
|
2016 |
Open access
20
12
|
2016 |
Open access
27
25
1
|
2016 |
114
88
1
|
2016 |
Open access
20
17
|
2016 |
Open access
15
15
|
2016 |
9
10
|
2015 |
25
22
|
2015 |
58
55
|
2015 |
Open access
22
2
|
2015 |
Open access
34
29
|
2015 |
31
|
2015 |
Open access
20
18
|
2015 |
|
2015 |
20
20
|
2015 |
Open access
34
31
|
2015 |
3
22
1
|
2015 |
Open access
9
8
|
2014 |
Open access
5
6
|
2014 |
Open access
48
40
|
2014 |
Open access
53
49
|
2014 |
24
25
1
|
2014 |
9
9
|
2014 |
27
27
|
2014 |
Open access
109
89
1
|
2014 |
80
70
|
2014 |
85
77
|
2014 |
5
5
3
|
2013 |
26
23
|
2013 |
30
29
|
2013 |
37
30
|
2013 |
31
29
|
2013 |
40
35
|
2013 |
91
80
|
2013 |
37
34
|
2013 |
Open access
30
28
|
2013 |
Open access
30
29
|
2013 |
38
34
|
2012 |
Open access
23
21
|
2012 |
52
51
|
2012 |
34
33
|
2012 |
Open access
86
81
|
2012 |
Open access
212
199
|
2012 |
50
48
|
2012 |
Open access
19
18
|
2012 |
Open access
35
32
|
2012 |
25
26
|
2012 |
65
49
|
2012 |
29
28
|
2012 |
20
20
|
2012 |
119
100
|
2011 |
Open access
20
20
|
2011 |
71
70
|
2011 |
50
48
|
2011 |
41
36
|
2011 |
72
70
|
2011 |
10
10
|
2011 |
47
44
|
2011 |
13
11
|
2011 |
51
48
|
2011 |
Open access
|
2010 |
19
18
|
2010 |
12
12
|
2010 |
38
38
|
2010 |
10
|
2010 |
56
52
|
2010 |
20
18
|
2010 |
Open access
32
25
|
2010 |
85
77
|
2010 |
76
67
|
2009 |
10
10
|
2009 |
57
54
|
2009 |
Open access
36
36
|
2009 |
107
91
|
2009 |
12
11
|
2008 |
38
35
|
2008 |
64
59
|
Year | Output |
---|---|
2021 |
Open access
1
|
2011 |
Open access
1
1
|
2011 |
Open access
4
2
|
2010 |
|
2010 |
|
Research
Research
Details | Registry | Status |
---|---|---|
Methods and products for delivering cells Smith, Louise; Michelmore, Andrew Percival; Kirby, Giles Thomas Sipho; Cowin, Allison June; Mills, Stuart James; Short, Robert David |
WO | Filed |
External engagement & recognition
Organisation | Country |
---|---|
AGA Nanotech | UNITED KINGDOM |
Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) | SINGAPORE |
Australian National University | AUSTRALIA |
Australian Water Quality Centre | AUSTRALIA |
BD Biosciences | UNITED KINGDOM |
BD Biosciences,The Innovation Centre Sheffield | UNITED KINGDOM |
Bio Innovation SA | AUSTRALIA |
Carl Zeiss Vision Corporation Pty Ltd | AUSTRALIA |
Centre for Eye Research Australia Ltd | AUSTRALIA |
Charles University in Prague | CZECH REPUBLIC |
Chinese Academy of Sciences | CHINA |
CSIRO Australia (Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research organisation) | AUSTRALIA |
Department of Chemistry and Material Science Institute, UK | UNITED KINGDOM |
Electronics Industry Association | AUSTRALIA |
Flinders University | AUSTRALIA |
INP Greifswald EV | GERMANY |
Italian Institute of Technology | ITALY |
Joint Research Centre | ITALY |
Kochi Medical School | JAPAN |
Kochi University of Technology | JAPAN |
Kwangwoon University | KOREA, REPUBLIC OF (SOUTH) |
Lancaster University | UNITED KINGDOM |
Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology | GERMANY |
LV Prasad Eye Institutue | INDIA |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology | UNITED STATES |
Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research | GERMANY |
Mayo Clinic | UNITED STATES |
Meijo University | JAPAN |
Monash University | AUSTRALIA |
MRC Centre for Developmental and Biomedical Genetics | UNITED KINGDOM |
National University of Singapore | SINGAPORE |
Plasso Technology Ltd | UNITED KINGDOM |
Queensland University of Technology | AUSTRALIA |
Research Laboratories Australia | AUSTRALIA |
Reutlingen University | GERMANY |
Royal Adelaide Hospital | AUSTRALIA |
SA Water | AUSTRALIA |
Schefenacker Vision Systems Australia Pty Ltd | AUSTRALIA |
Swinburne University of Technology | AUSTRALIA |
Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology | SWITZERLAND |
Toyohashi University of Technology | JAPAN |
Universiteit Antwerpen | BELGIUM |
University of Adelaide | AUSTRALIA |
University of Bath | UNITED KINGDOM |
University of Birmingham | UNITED KINGDOM |
University of California | UNITED STATES |
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | UNITED STATES |
University of Liverpool | UNITED KINGDOM |
University of Manchester | UNITED KINGDOM |
University of Melbourne | AUSTRALIA |
University of Nottingham | UNITED KINGDOM |
University of Oxford | UNITED KINGDOM |
University of Queensland | AUSTRALIA |
University of Sheffield | UNITED KINGDOM |
University of South Australia | AUSTRALIA |
University of Washington | UNITED STATES |
University of Wollongong | AUSTRALIA |
Victoria University | AUSTRALIA |
Wound Management Innovation CRC | AUSTRALIA |
External engagement & recognition
Engagement/recognition | Year |
---|---|
Member of learned academyAustralian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering |
2013 |
Teaching & student supervision
Supervisions from 2010 shown
Thesis title | Student status |
---|---|
A study of stimulus-responsive composite materials and their applications in biomedicine | Completed |
Adhesives toughened by nanomaterials | Completed |
Conductive composites electrode for low energy capacitive desalination | Completed |
Development of a multilayer surface supporting and stimulating retinal pigment epithelium culture in vitro | Completed |
Development of porous silicon nanoparticles for therapeutic delivery | Completed |
Generating density gradients of gold nanoparticles using plasma polymeristion as a novel tool to observe cellular response | Completed |
High refractive index and semi-stepwise gradient refractive index coatings by plasma polymerisation | Completed |
Investigating plasma-tissue interactions in the context of wound healing | Completed |
Nanostructured silicon photoelectrodes for solar water electrolysis | Completed |
Optical biosensors based on nanoporous materials to detect biomarkers in chronic wound fluid | Completed |
The fabrication of silicon nanostructures using metal-assisted chemical etching and their applications in biomedicine | Completed |
The role of Flightless I in tissue regeneration | Completed |