Dr Manju C Abraham
Department of Engineering and Built Environment
Lecturer
Academic qualifications
PhD in Molecular-Nanomedicine
I teach on our BTEC in Applied Science and my expertise covers biotechnology, cancer biology, nanomedicine, drug discovery and delivery, immunotherapy, cybergenetics, molecular biology, organoids and stem cells.
Throughout my career, I've worked as Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) for a healthcare company, overseeing research and development and manufacturing of in vitro diagnostic kits for infectious diseases. I'm proud of the innovative projects I’ve worked on, collaborating with AstraZeneca on cybergenetics for lung cancer drugs and pioneering nano-siRNA therapies targeting glioblastoma cancer stem cells.
My industry and research background means I’m able to bring scientific theory to life for my students and explain what industry standards look like in a real lab.
I’m also able to touch on the skills employers are looking for and support the diverse career pathways my students are interested in pursuing.
I’m motivated by helping my students see that science is not just theoretical knowledge, but a powerful tool for solving real-world problems. When students realise that the skills they’re developing could one day contribute to innovative diagnostics or therapies, they become extra engaged in class.
I’ve won a number of awards throughout the course of my career, including a Silver Medal in Biotechnology Masters (2008), Best Student (2007-2008), Junior Research Fellowship (2011), Best Poster at BiTERM-2016, and most-cited paper on lipid nanoparticles (Pharmaceutics 2022).