Our Focus

​Our research spans a wide range of areas, including transforming protein waste into bioplastics, optimizing lipid nanoparticle formulations for targeted delivery, and exploring protein condensates for applications in mRNA delivery and gene therapy. By bridging fundamental science with real-world applications, we aim to develop impactful solutions in biomaterials and therapeutics.

Our Values

Sustainability
Dedicated to addressing global challenges, our lab focus on developing sustainable materials and therapeutic solutions. By reducing environmental impact and ensuring scalability, we aim to contribute to a greener and healthier future.
Health
We aim to revolutionize healthcare through biomolecular engineering, focusing on creating innovative therapies and materials that improve patient outcomes. Our work is rooted in advancing health technologies that are accessible, efficient, and transformative.
Exploration
We are committed to exploring uncharted territories in biomolecular engineering, uncovering novel mechanisms, and developing groundbreaking technologies that redefine what is possible.
Network
We foster strong interdisciplinary networks and partnerships, enabling us to leverage diverse expertise and resources to amplify the impact of our research globally.

Our Molecular Identity

Our People

Led by our dedicated supervisor, Dr. Yi Shen, we are a diverse research group comprising PhD students, master’s students, and undergraduates from various countries and backgrounds. Together, we bring a unique blend of expertise, creativity, and collaboration to tackle challenges in biomolecular engineering. United by a passion for discovery, we are committed to advancing health and sustainability through impactful science.
Team Leader/ Supervisor
Dr. Yi Shen
Dr. Shen is an ARC DECRA fellow and lecturer in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Sydney since 2020. She works in the field of protein biophysics, soft materials and microfluidics. Prior to this position, she was a postdoc working on protein liquid-liquid phase separation with Prof. Tuomas Knowles in the Chemistry Department, Centre for Misfolding Diseases at the University of Cambridge. She completed her PhD in 2017, focusing on the development of biomaterials from protein self-assembly with Prof. Raffaele Mezzenga at ETH Zurich, Switzerland. Before her PhD, she studied microfluidics with Prof. Howard Stone at Princeton University in the US.
PhD Students
Dea Ilhamsyah
Dea earned her B.Sc. in Biochemical Engineering from the Bandung Institute of Technology and her M.Sc. from Pusan National University, where she researched microfluidic applications for microalgae bioprocessing. Now pursuing a Ph.D. at the University of Sydney, her research focuses on phase separation behavior in protein-DNA interactions and the use of microfluidic systems to study protein phase behavior. 
Jordan Kambanis
​Jordan completed a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering) alongside a Bachelor of Science (Chemistry) at the University of Sydney from 2019 to 2023, graduating with First Class Honours. Jordan completed his undergraduate thesis in industry as part of the MIPPS program. His PhD research focuses on improving Lipid Nanoparticles (LNPs) in terms of specificity, stability, shelf life, and optimizing synthesis strategies to enhance their potential in therapeutic applications.
Tianchen Li (Joey)
Tianchen completed a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering) at the University of Sydney from 2019 to 2022, graduating with First Class Honours and the University Medal. Tianchen’s PhD research focuses on two main topics: the fundamental study of protein phase transitions in cell necroptosis, and the design of biomaterials through peptide self-assembly.
Luke Sorenson
Luke moved to Australia from Canada in August 2019. Before starting his PhD, he worked as a product engineer for a fiberglass tank manufacturing company and as a project engineer in environmental consulting. His current research focuses on developing protein self-assembled bioplastics from agricultural waste, with the goal of creating sustainable alternatives to conventional plastics.
Benedict Tai
​Benedict is a PhD student in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at The University of Sydney. His research focuses on exploring protein-protein interactions, utilizing protein structures as drug carriers, and enhancing drug binding and recruitment for improved delivery systems.
Jiaxin Xie
Jiaxin is a PhD student at the University of Sydney, focusing on protein condensate interactions for drug discovery in neurodegenerative diseases. Jiaxin recently completed a Bachelor's degree in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the same university, with honors research in zinc-ion batteries, ​graduating with First Class Honours.
Master Student
​​Jingyi Yao
​​Jingyi is pursuing a master’s degree in Sustainability and Environmental Engineering at the University of Sydney. The research focuses on optimizing lipid nanoparticle fabrication using microfluidic technology, under the guidance of PhD student Jordan Kambanis.
Honours Students
Abel Anwar
Abel is currently studying his final year in chemical engineering as an undergraduate at the University of Sydney. He has a keen interest in research and conducting his own experiments, which aligns well with his final year thesis project—investigating peptide phase transition via liquid-liquid phase separation and the effect of external parameters (temperature) on phase transition propensity.  ​
Ziyang Shi
Ziyang is a fourth-year bachelor student at the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Currently completing the thesis unit with the lab group, Ziyang’s research focuses on the degradation of self-assembled protein bioplastics.

Current Collaborators 

Prof. Tuomas Knowles (Cambridge)
Prof. Margaret Sunde (USyd)
Prof. David Weitz (Harvard)
Prof. Kourosh Kalantar Zadeh (USyd)
Prof. Fariba Dehghani (USyd)
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