TEAM MEMBERS
We are a cross-disciplinary lab with diverse backgrounds and passion for research and discovery
Dr Miao Guo
Miao Guo (MG) is a Senior Lecturer in Engineering within the Department of Engineering at King's College London. With cross-disciplinary academic background in Life Science and Chemical Engineering, she currently holds a membership of the UK EPSRC Early Career Forum in Manufacturing Research, and is an honorary lecturer at Imperial College London.
MG leads a multidisciplinary group consisting of 9 researchers and focuses on computational and experimental research to understand, develop and optimise new bio-renewable manufacturing and waste-to-resource technologies. She has authored over 80 research publications. MG has been invited to serve as Editorial Board Member of journals including Scientific Reports.
Twitter @BiorenewableLab
ORCID; Google Scholar; Researchgate
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Dr Ethan Errington
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Engineering at King's College London
Prior joining King's College London, Ethan was a PhD in Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London under the supervision of Prof Jerry Heng (primary supervisor) and Dr Miao Guo.
Ethan is a an MEng Chemical Engineer from the University of Leeds with prior experience in Pharmaceutical Process Development (continuous, powders) and Atomistic Simulation Research (crystal habit and molecules in solution). His research focuses on the use of nanotechnology to capture Fat, Oil and Grease (FOG) from waste-water streams. Main aspects of this work involve: nanoparticle design via surface modification, Life Cycle Assessment, and Statistical approaches to design of experiment.
ORCID: 0000-0002-8994-1004
Ellen Piercy
PhD Researcher, Department of Engineering at King's College London
Ellen is a PhD student at Department of ENgineering at King’s College University under the supervision of Dr Miao Guo and Prof Peter Ellis.
Her PhD research focuses on maximising resource recovery from carbon- and nutrient-rich mycoprotein fermentation wastewater.
Research interests: Metagenomic analysis, anaerobic digestion, wastewater treatment, microbiology, molecular biology, biochemistry.
Education: Durham University, BSc Biological Sciences; Imperial College London, MRes Molecular plant and Microbial biology
Other Experiences:
Rothamsted Research, Nuffield bursary placement.
Blue earth diagnostics, Oxford.
National Science and Engineering Competition finalist.
GB Representative, European Union contest for Young Scientists, Milan 2015.
Finalist in the Innovation category for Jack Wills Young Brits, 2015.
Big Bang Fair, finalist care volunteer.
STEM ambassador.
Mason Banks
PhD Researcher Department of Engineering at King's College London
Mason is currently pursuing PhD researcher at Dpeartment of Engineering, King's College London, under the supervision of Dr Miao Guo and Dr Ciro Chiappini.
Mason is a graduate of MEng Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London, and currently studying for PhD at Kings College London in Department of Engineering.
His PhD research project aims to develop a screening approach underpinned by microfluidics and mathematical modelling to enable rapid development of optimised Mycoprotein from food-safe lignocellulosic resources.
Yiying He
PhD researcher, Department of Engineering at King's College London
Yiying is pursuing a PhD at Department of Engineering at KIng's College London under the supervision of Dr Miao Guo and Dr Alex Brogan.
She Joined in Guo Group in Oct. 2020.
Current research interest: recover carbon and nutrients in the food processing wastewater using biotechnologies; simulate and optimise integrated recovery process system via computational modelling and mathematical optimisation.
Alexander Kalian
PhD Researcher at Department of Nutritional Sciences at King's College London
Alexander is a PhD student whose research involves using advanced machine learning techniques (particularly deep neural networks) in order to predict toxicological properties of molecules, supported by digitised databases and state-of-the-art models. His project is highly interdisciplinary and is hosted under the LIDo programme as an iCASE project, with joint funding from BBSRC and the Food Standards Agency, as well as international collaboration with the EFSA and the Mario Negri Institute in Milan. His PhD furthermore represents a unique collaboration within King's, between the Department of Nutritional Sciences (Professor Christer Hogstrand being his primary supervisor) and the Department of Engineering (Dr Miao Guo being his secondary supervisor).
Alexander is highly excited to be able to contribute to such an important area of scientific research, where AI approaches are forecasted to bring forward humanity's understanding and capabilities. He is furthermore excited to work with such a diverse supervisory team, spanning across different areas of interdisciplinary scientific research.
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Alexander previously graduated a Physics MSci at King's College London, where he developed a strong foundation in computational applied physics, particularly in performing molecular simulations. He brings his transferrable skills now into a much more AI and biochemistry oriented field!
In his free time, Alexander is a passionate linguaphile. He also holds professional experience in the emerging DeFi sector, working primarily as an analyst and using data science techniques.
Tom Vinestock
PhD Researcher at Department of Engineering at King's College London
Tom is a PhD student at King's College London Department of Engineering, under the supervision of Dr Miao Guo and Dr Hak-Keung Lam.
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His research focuses on using machine learning and mathematical optimisation to optimise the growth of microbial proteins.
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Tom is a graduate of the University of Cambridge where he studied an integrated Masters in Engineering (M. Eng), spending a year abroad at CentraleSupelec.
Lennat Otte
PhD Researcher at Department of Engineering at King's College London
Lennart is currently pursuing a PhD at the department of Engineering, King’s College London under the supervision of Miao Guo.
After graduating with a degree in Computer Science from King’s College London he went on to study a Biomedical Engineering (Neurotechnology) master’s at Imperial College London. During his master’s he worked on modelling the chemistry of the brain in response to Ketamine and how Ketamine is used as an antidepressant. He is passionate about the application of computational modelling and optimisation to biological systems. His PhD involves cutting edge machine learning models to analyse metabolic networks and gene databases to derive microbiome compositions that can efficiently convert a given waste stream into resources. His research is funded by the EPSRC DTP at King’s College London with additional support from Unilever.
Calum Drysdale
PhD Researcher at Department of Engineering, King's College London
Calum Drysdale's research is in theoretical systems biology where he studies cell resource allocation strategies with applications in synthetic microbial community design and bioprocess control. He has interests in bioprocessing and robotics and is leading a lab automation project to support high throuput cell characterisation. He has degrees in Biochemistry and French, and Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology from Imperial College London.
Dr Zhiqiang Zuo
KC-Wong Research Fellow, Department of Engineering, King's College London
KC Wong Fellow, Associate Research at Department of Engineering at King's College London
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Zhiqiang completed his phD in 2022 at Tsinghua University, China, and then undertook postdoctoral research at the University of Queensland (UQ), Australia. In June 2024, Zhiqiang joined Dr. Guo research group to pursue novel multidisciplinary research.
His long-term research focused on H2S control, greenhouse gas reduction and resource recovery in wastewater collection and treatment systems.
Jaewook Lee
PhD Researcher at Department of Engineering at King's College London
Jaewook Lee is a PhD student at Department of Engineering, King's College London, under the supervision of Dr Miao Guo and Prof Chris Lorenz.
His research focuses on discovering environmentally friendly protein recovery processes using molecular dynamics simulation and AI. This interdisciplinary project aims to contribute to waste-to-protein recovery and sustainable chemical processes.
Jaewook is particularly interested in applying advanced computational methods, such as large language models, to tackle challenges in Process System Engineering (PSE).
Xinyang Sun
PhD at Department of Engineering at King's College London under supervision of Miao Guo
Xinyang Sun is a passionate and self-motivated PhD Student in Engineering at King’s College London. He dedicates to unravelling the complexities of the ever-evolving world through the lens of interdisciplinary research. His current research project delves into a dynamic intersection, where telecommunications, machine learning, and sustainability converge. As a PhD student, he thrives on the challenges presented by diverse fields and find immense joy in bridging the gaps between them.
Xinyang received his BSc degree in Telecommunications Engineering with Management from Queen Mary University of London and MSc degree in Telecommunications and Internet Technology from King’s College London. His academic journey has equipped him with a versatile skill set, including programming and data analysis. As a believer in the potential of interdisciplinary collaboration, he is excited to contribute to projects that push the boundaries of traditional academic fields.
ALUMNI
Previous team members
Xulong Zhang
Former Visiting PhD at Department of Engineering at King's College London (2023-2024)
Xulong Zhang is a visiting PhD student from Central South University, China. He graduated from Zhengzhou University in China in 2020 with a bachelor's degree in engineering. He has been studying for a PhD at Central South University in China since September 2020, and has joined Guo Group as a visiting PhD student since October 2023. His research focuses on modeling, optimization and control of complex industrial systems. Currently, his research focuses on the optimal operation of anaerobic digestion systems, studying model predictive control based on anaerobic digestion model and model-free control based on machine learning.
Dr Mingzhi Dai
Former visiting PhD Researcher at Department of Engineering at King's College London (2023-2024)
Mingzhi Dai is a visiting Ph.D from Department of Computer Science and Technology at East China University of Science and Technology(ECUST) , Shanghai, China, hosted in our lab (Mar 2023-Mar 2024).
His research mainly focused on Graph neural network, Deep learning optimization, Nature-inspired algorithm, Swarm intelligence optimization, Ensemble learning and Generative AI with various applications.
Thomas Upcraft
Former PhD Researcher at Imperial College London
Tom is currently pursuing his PhD research at Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, co-supervised by Dr Miao Guo and Prof Jason Hallett.
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Having studied Chemical Engineering as an undergraduate student at Imperial College London, spending a year abroad at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, Tom is now pursuing a PhD in the Centre for Process Systems Engineering (CPSE) in the Department of Chemical Engineering. Tom’s research focuses on multi-scale systems modelling of bio-based products derived from lignocellulosic biomass as an effort to optimise the biorefinery through multi-objective optimisation (MOO) across sub-systems, ranging from choice of process technology to value-chain optimization. Tom’s research further includes the study of phytoremediation (soil remediation of heavy metals through the use of certain plants) and looks to optimise phytoremediation strategies through plant choice dependent on biomass yield, soil heavy metal removal across spatial and temporal and its intergration with downstream processing of the biomass for economic recuperation from conversion to bioproducts.
DR ALEX DURKIN
Former PhD Researcher
Dr Alex Durkin pursued his PhD research in our lab from Oct 2018 to May 2023 at Imperial College London, Department of Chemical Engineering.
He earned his Integrated Master's Degree (MEng) in Chemical Engineering from Imperial College London in June 2018. Alex is an Associate Member of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) and his PhD was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
Alex's PhD research focused on 'Surrogate-based optimisation of process systems to
recover resources from wastewater'. He had a fruitful PhD leading to several publications and a developed object-oriented derivative free optimisation tool.
Alex is currently pursuing postdoctoral research at Imperial College London.
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DR ELYSIA LUCAS
Former PhD Researcher
Dr Elysia Lucas was a PhD researcher hosted in our lab (Oct 2018-July 2022) in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Centre for Process Systems Engineering at Imperial College London. Elysia's PhD was completed under supervision of Prof Gonzalo Guillen (primary supervisor) and Dr Miao Guo.
Elysia' PhD was supported by the Science and Solutions for a Changing Planet Doctoral Training Partnership (SSCP DTP) at the Grantham Institute of Climate Change and the Environment, funded by NERC.
Elysia’s PhD focused on food systems with improved environmental sustainability and nutrition outcomes, using data-driven modelling and optimisation tools. Elysia's PhD has led to several high-profile publications and her research has been also recognised by 2023 iChemeE Senior Moulton Medal, which is a award to authors of the most meritorious paper published by IChemE during the year.
Prior to her PhD, Dr Elysia Lucas earned her Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London in 2018, during which she developed an interest in global challenges and sustainable development.
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Elysia is currently pursuing postdoctoral research at ETH.
Dr ZIYANG CHENG
Former Visiting PhD (2021-2022)
Ziyang Cheng was a visiting Ph.D from XIan JiaoTong University China, hosted in our lab (Aug 2021-July 2022). His research mainly focused on the renewable energy systems and mixed integer linear programming for anaerobic digestion plants with CHP system. Static and dynamaic performance of Kalina cycle, organic Rankine cycle, supercritical carbon-dioxide cycle are his research point.