This project will develop the At-home, Maximised Potential DNA/RNA Detecting Device (AMP’D). AMP'D is a hand-held, equipment free point-of-care device that can detect DNA/RNA biomarkers in easily accessible bodily fluids - such as blood, nasal and saliva samples. It is intended for diagnosing both infectious diseases and cancer. Additionally, it can do it at-home and early in disease progression. Both infectious diseases and cancer are leading causes of death globally. In 2020, cancer accounted for 10 million deaths. Furthermore, Covid-19 alone has accounted for 6.5 million deaths since the start of the pandemic. AMP'D intends to significantly reduce the number of deaths for both diseases - by providing a platform that can allow for ultra-sensitive, low cost and convenient detection. First, AMP'D can detect extremely low concentrations of biomarkers - at the early stages of these diseases. Second, AMP'D can cut the cost of each test from US$200 (commonly observed with pathological lab tests) to US$10. Finally, AMP'D can enable at-home diagnosis with blood, nasal and saliva samples - thus preventing invasive/uncomfortable procedures that deter many people from getting tested until it is too late. The development of such a device can enable end-users anywhere in the world to detect these diseases - even before symptoms appear. This can allow for early intervention before prognosis worsens - thus saving lives.

Understanding and managing the complex interactions between water and energy is a major challenge. To meet the increasing demand for clean water it is necessary to rely on the reclamation of water from unconventional sources such as domestic or industrial wastewater. Membrane filtration is a key technology to augment water resources, but its performances are strongly impacted by membrane fouling that increases the energy consumption of the process. On the other hand, the formation of a biofilm during the membrane fouling deposition has been reported to positively affect the treated water quality. Yet, due to its complexity, membrane fouling is still a puzzling phenomenon with many unexplained aspects due to the lack of appropriate tools. In the last few years, I have been developing an innovative approach that enables monitoring membrane fouling under-continuous operation. The use of this tool is a unique opportunity for a combined experimental-theoretical approach, where the experimental results can be used as input for the modeling. The main objective of this project is to progress towards a deep understanding of the deposition and removal phenomena in membrane filtration processes. The project will include the development of a membrane platform, comprising of observation method and model (i), the understanding of the impact of fouling mechanical proprieties on cleaning efficiency by using Optical Coherence Elastography (ii), development of a selective and sustainable membrane cleaning strategy to allow the tailored recovery of valuable byproducts, removal of target compounds and restorage of membrane performance (iii) and the development of a sensor for full-scale membrane processes (iv). The outcome of this project is a fundamental step towards the necessary advancement of membrane-based processes for water reclamation as sustainable and efficient solution to the global water challenges.

Masonry benefits contemporary architecture regarding sustainability and application to free-form construction. A masonry structure can be considered as an assemblage of conventional or interlocking rigid blocks with frictional joints. Although interlocking blocks’ resistance to sliding is higher and their construction is easier when compared to conventional blocks, there is no digital framework to design structurally-sound assemblages composed of interlocking blocks with diverse typologies. Therefore, I intend to develop a digital framework that supports designers in the design of structurally feasible and assemblable masonry assemblages of interlocking blocks. The framework will accomplish the following: -it allows designers to model an assemblage and to analyze its structural feasibility; -for the structurally infeasible model, it will automatically modify the geometry of the interlocking blocks’ connectors, making the model structurally feasible; -during the geometric modification, it will avoid geometries which do not construct the assemblable blocks. To evaluate the structural feasibility, a novel experimental method will equate the frictional resistance of the corrugated face of an interlocking block to that of the flat face of an equivalent conventional block. I also propose an extension of the limit analysis method, in which block resistance to sliding is different in different directions, and plan to use equations from the experimental method. The project is an interdisciplinary research in the fields of architectural, computational and structural design and will train skills helping to establish me as a researcher leading studies on structurally informed architectural design as well as to become an entrepreneurial architect who uses masonry in contemporary architecture. It will also create opportunities for host organizations to collaborate with architectural academia and manufacturing industry in the field of integrated architectural-structural design.

Gut Microbiota is a key actor for human health, driving many physiological and pathological processes, including immune system development and modulation. How this massive population of microorganisms, most of which are bacteria, establishes commensal, mutualistic or pathogenic interactions with the human host despite the vigilance of the immune system, is still obscure and requires an in-depth study. The story gets more intricate considering that gut is home for a myriad of Gram-negative bacteria whose outer membrane main constituent is the lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Due to its chemical structure, LPS is considered a potent elicitor of immune inflammatory reactions in mammals, being usually associated to perilous bacteria and detrimental outcomes for human health. Nevertheless, LPS also decorates the membrane of harmless and beneficial Gram-negatives of gut microbiota. How LPS is tolerated and remains (apparently) silent in the gut is a major unsolved question representing a frontier in our understanding of innate immunity. DEBUGGING-LPS project will contribute to answer this question, starting from the assumption that the chemistry of LPS is the real message taken from human host of the bacterial interaction, either beneficial or harmful. Strategically based on my expertise in organic chemistry, and integrating synthetic chemistry and cellular immunology studies, DEBUGGING-LPS will decrypt the 'chemical language' spoken by LPS in the gut. This project will deliver a clear picture of the chemistry at the basis of the difference between 'good' and 'bad' LPS, providing tools for the exploitation of the acquired knowledge to create novel therapeutics for resolving/mitigating immune disorders. DEBUGGING-LPS has been conceived to go beyond the state-of-the-art, breaking the dogma of LPS as an enemy, leaving space for a new vision of this glycomolecule: i.e. no longer as a toxic bacterial product rather as an immune signal vital for the proper functioning of our body.