IF receives the distinguished Marie-Curie postdoctoral Fellowship
Postdoc Seref Akay has received the highly competitive Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship. During the project, Associate Professor Anan Yaghmur will supervise Seref Akay. The title of the two-year project is “Design, characterization, and evaluation of biofilm eradicating hybrid liquid crystalline nano-coatings for new 3D porous orthopaedic implant” and the grant is 1.6 mill DKK (214934 Euro).
Implants are active sites for bacterial colonization, leading to development of biofilms, where resistance to conventional antibiotics is often developed. The project will seek to provide a new and reliable option for combatting and preventing these biofilms that represent a major public health hazard.
Postdoc Seref Akay describes the aims of the project further:
“Through biophysical investigations, including nanostructural and 3D morphological characterization studies, and biological evaluations, we aim at engineering low-cost antimicrobial liquid crystalline coatings for combatting and preventing orthopedic implant-associated biofilm infections.
These implant liquid crystalline surface nanostructural patterns will be used for local delivery and tailored release of combined antimicrobial agents and in design of new patient-specific 3D porous implants with unique anti-biofilm activity.”
A new opportunity at IF for a young researcher
Describing his new research opportunities, Seref Akay explains:
“This two-year grant gives me the opportunity to conduct intensive studies on formation, characterization, and biological
This multidisciplinary project is important for my academic career, and provides unique research environment and exposure to different advanced techniques.
evaluation of novel antimicrobial orthopedic implants for combatting and preventing orthopedic implant-associated biofilm infections. It is my interest to introduce new antimicrobial orthopedic implants, where both the implants and their coatings are built from unique porous nanostructures.
In close collaboration with different European research teams, I will conduct the planned investigations in two different laboratories in Copenhagen University under the supervision of Associate Professor Anan Yaghmur at the Department of Pharmacy and Professor Oana Ciofu at the Costerton Biofilm Center.
For gaining more supervision experience, I will supervise at least three Master students during the project.”