Department of Materials

Staff

Professor Jinju (Vicky) Chen Pronouns: She/her PhD

Photo of Professor Jinju (Vicky) Chen

Departmental Research Director

Professor of Advanced Materials & Biointerfaces

Background:

Prof. Chen's aspiration is to consolidate her internationally recognised expertise in biointerface engineering to create a real lasting and widely recognised impact in this area, aiming at addressing fundamental scientific questions of cell-materials interactions and applying the knowledge to biofilm control and accelerating the treatment of diseases. Her research aims to address global challenges in healthcare and net-zero using experimental and modelling approaches. She was the Interim PGR Director/Deputy Research Director for the School of Engineering at Newcastle University. She is also a Fellow of the Royal Microscope Society and a member of UKRI Talent Panel College.

She has an established international reputation as is evidenced by journal papers, research income (£9.35M in total with £2.64M as PI) and a range of external recognition from editorial roles to keynote/invited conference talks (83 invited talks). She is the Principal Editor of the Journal of Materials Research, and Editorial Board Member of Scientific Reports, Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces.

She actively collaborates with clinicians and industrial partners to maximise the impact of her research. As primary supervisor, she has supervised over 20 post-doctoral research associates (PDRAs) and PhDs. All of them have secured permanent academic jobs (e.g. lectureships in the UK), research posts at top universities (e.g. University of Oxford, ETH, Zurich), and industrial jobs (e.g. Nikon ltd, ANSYS ltd).  She delivered over 80 invited lectures and presentations at prestigious conferences and seminars, such as International Conference on Materials for Advanced Technologies (Singapore), Isaac Newton Institute at University of Cambridge. 

Qualifications:

  • PhD (Newcastle University)

Key awards:

  1. 2013-2019: A New Frontier in Design: The Simulation of Open Engineered Biological Systems, one of the only five prestigious Frontier Awards (c.a. £5.58 millions) funded by EPSRC (EP/K039083/1), strategic Co-investigator and team leader for the theme of Biomechanics and Flow within the project. Within this Frontier Award grant, I am the line manager and supervisor of 3 PDRAs.
  2. 2018-2020: Multiscale characterization of complex materials using a combination of atomic force microscopy and optical coherence tomography funded by EPSRC (EP/R025606/1), PI, £487k).
  3. 2022-2025: Biofilm Resistant Liquid-like Solid Surfaces in Flow Situations, funded by EPSRC (overall PI, £935.3k in total, with £457.5k to my team).

Professional affiliations:

  • Member of EPSRC Peer Review College
  • Full member of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honour Society
  • Materials Research Society
  • Europe Society of Biomechanics
  • Tissue and Cell Engineering Society
  • Institute of Physics

Outline of main research interests:

  • Nanomechanics: Nanoindentation; Nanotribology
  • Rheology and microfludics: rheology of soft materials and solutions, Microfluidic device and characterisation and its applications
  • Bacterial Adhesion and Biofilm Mechanics
  • Multiscale biomechanics in both experimental and modelling techniques
  • The physics of biofilm formation
  • Develop methods to inhibit biofilm formation or destroy biofilms
  • Cancer diagnosis
  • Surface wetting and Droplet dynamics

PhD opportunities

PhD positions in bio-inspired anti-fouling surfaces, marine fouling control, biophysics of bacteria and biofilms to tackle anti-microbial resistance, computational tissue engineering, and cancer diagnosis.

Current teaching responsibilities:

  • MPP509: Advances in Biomaterials
  • MPC103: Industrial Case Studies

I have published extensively with a focus on top journals in computational modelling, bioengineering and materials engineering. Selected papers are listed below. The full list can be found on my Google Scholar.

Selected publications:

View all publications »

External Collaborators: 

  • Oak Ridge National Laboratories
  • University of Tennessee
  • Ohio State University
  • University of Edinburgh
  • University of Sheffield
  • Newcastle University
  • Nanyang Technological University
  • Freeman Hospital

External roles and appointments:

  • Principal Editor of the Journal of Materials Research
  • Editorial Board Member of Scientific Reports
  • Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces