Advanced Material Development (AMD) has expanded its Future Leaders Fellowship (FLF) project team with the appointment of Dr Katrin Elidottir.
The project is the result of an award last October from the UK Research and Innovation FLF fund, which enabled the transition of Dr Izabela Jurewicz to a full-time position with AMD, where she is now chief scientific officer.
Elidottir has just defended her PhD at the University of Surrey, supervised by Jurewicz and Dr Rebecca Lewis of Surrey’s School of Veterinary Medicine.
AMD said she will focus her work on mechanochromic crystals as cellular platforms for pharmaceutical testing, under the supervision of Lewis, a co-investigator on the FLF.
Lewis’ lab investigates the interaction of cells with different materials at the nanoscale, to inform the development of engineered tissue.
As a PhD student, Elidottir has focused on the design and use of carbon nanotubes for biomimetic scaffolds for cartilage tissue engineering.
John Lee, chief executive of AMD, said: “It is fantastic to have Katrin join AMD as a key member of our FLF team.
“As well as being a well respected member of the Surrey interdisciplinary team with strong credentials in life sciences and chemical engineering in support of her Physics PhD, Katrin is a further addition to AMD’s efforts to support women in science following this highly prestigious award won last year by Dr Izabela Jurewicz as Chief Scientific Officer.”
AMD is one of the first commercial companies to receive an FLF award in partnership with a leading academic.