Group Lead
Professor Steve Rannard
Steve is a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Liverpool, UK. He is a co-director of Centre of Excellence for Long-acting Therapeutics (CELT), the academic lead for Nanomedicine within the Materials Innovation Factory and Director of the Radiomaterials Laboratory within the Department of Chemistry. His therapeutic research primarily focuses advanced materials science onto unmet medical/clinical needs to target new patient benefits using scalable polymer syntheses, nanoparticle synthesis, solid drug nanoparticle formulation and nanoemulsion platforms. Steve spent 16 years in industry (Cookson, Courtaulds, Unilever) and has co-founded four start-up companies (IOTA NanoSolutions Ltd, Hydra Polymers Ltd, Tandem Nano Ltd and Polymer Mimetics Ltd). Steve was the first recipient of the RSC/Macro Group UK Young Researcher of the Year Medal, sequential RSC Industrial Lectureships at Strathclyde and Sussex, a visiting Lectureship at Sussex, visiting Professorship at UoL and a Royal Society Industry Fellowship.
Team members
Carly Hardy
Carly has worked at the University of Liverpool since 2016, occupying various roles in finance and administration before taking up a role as administrator for CELT to work closely with the LONGEVITY project team to provide administrative support. Prior to this, Carly worked for Nutricia Ltd (Danone) for 10 years.
James Hobson
James started working for CELT as a Research Coordinator to focus on the development of material chemistry approaches to overcome current limitations in poorly water-soluble drug therapies, with a particular focus on antiretrovirals. Having previously worked on large multinational and multidisciplinary research projects, James obtained extensive experience in a range of scientific disciplines including Materials Chemistry, Pharmacology, and Immunology, as well as in engagement with diverse stakeholders across academic and industrial settings. The projects that James has been involved in have produced numerous publications and patent filings in the area of nanomedicine.
Jonathan Massam
After graduating with a BSc in Chemistry, Jonathan then worked as an associate scientist in chemistry for RedX Pharma PLC. During his time he mainly worked on a project aiming to synthesise novel antimicrobials to treat multi-drug resistant bacteria. He joined the Rannard group to take up a post as research technician.
Dr Alison Savage
Alison holds a BSc in Chemistry and an MSc in Cancer Chemistry. She carried out her PhD studies investigating the photophysical properties of gold nanoparticles coated with luminescent lanthanide complexes and peptides. Alison joined the Rannard group to work on the development of solid drug nanoparticles and currently works on the development of long-acting therapies as part of the LONGEVITY project.
Catherine Unsworth
Catherine joined the the Rannard group to develop nanoformulations of novel antiretrovirals for oral and injectable delivery for the treatment of HIV. Catherine has worked on a diverse range of projects from chondritic meteorites to alkali-activated waste materials as cement replacements. She obtained an MSc in Environmental Analysis and Assessment and an MSci in Geology before studying for a PhD on nanomedicine techniques for the treatment of COVID-19. Catherine started working for CELT as part of the LONGEVITY project working on an injectable cure for hepatitis C.