Dr. Batalha leads the NanoImmunology and Molecular Pharmaceutics group, which develops nanomedicine-based approaches for targeted drug delivery and immunomodulation. This includes strategies to either activate the immune system against diseases such as cancer and infections, or to inhibit the immune system in diseases with exacerbated immune responses, including autoimmune disorders and sepsis.

Specifically, the group works on the following research areas:

• Developing drug-polymer conjugates and self-assembled soft materials for targeted drug delivery, enabling precise control over drug release and enhanced therapeutic efficacy. This includes the engineering of polymer architectures that respond to specific biological triggers, such as pH or enzymatic activity, to achieve site-specific drug release within target tissues. Furthermore, the group explores strategies to functionalise these materials with ligands for superselective targeting (i.e. multivalent and/or multiplexing systems), directing the delivery of therapeutics to specific cell populations or disease microenvironments.

• Designing of nanosystems that target antigen-presenting cells (APCs) through their unique metabolic profile using MHC class I-related protein 1 (MR1) presentation, a term that the group coined Dynamic Targeting.

• Tailoring the physicochemical composition of nanomedicines to either induce (for vaccines) or inhibit (for drug delivery) the activation of the complement system.

I would be pleased to hear from potential applicants. We have a range of ongoing projects related to the development of innovative nanomedicines and targeted drug delivery systems. I would be keen to support applications for external doctoral fellowships, both from public funders and industry. 

In addition, I also support applications for external or personal postdoctoral fellowships (e.g. EMBO, HFSP, Marie Curie or government funded).

Please contact Iris Da Luz Batalha for informal discussions.