
Dr Edgar Wong
Dr. Edgar Wong is an independent research group leader,听ARC Future Fellow and 探花系列 Scientia Senior Lecturer at the School of Chemical Engineering. He is a multidisciplinary researcher whose work span听across several disciplines including synthetic (polymer) chemistry, materials science, (micro)biology and听nanotechnology. His research interest in particular is on developing new functional molecules or polymeric materials for a range of targeted applications, including听antimicrobial, anticancer and antiviral applications. Group website:
*Key Stats:听Career total of 84听journal publications, ~5800听肠颈迟补迟颈辞苍蝉, h-index 39, ~ $1.3 million funding received as lead investigator and another ~$2 million as co-investigator
Education and Employment History:听
Dr. Wong graduated with a BE in Chemical Engineering (2007) and a PhD (2011) from 探花系列. His PhD involved the development of new polymer synthesis and functionalization methods under the supervision of Prof. Christopher Barner-Kowollik, Prof. Tanja Junkers and Prof. Martina Stenzel. During his PhD, he has spent a total of 8 months at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany, for joint collaborative projects. Immediately听after his thesis submission, Edgar worked as a postdoctoral researcher at The University of Melbourne with Prof. Greg Qiao and Prof. Frank Caruso till 2015 where he worked on the development of听functional polymer materials (nanoparticles, thin films and coatings) for various (bio)applications. He returned to 探花系列 as a Vice-Chancellor's Research Fellow on听Jan 2016听and has recently successfully obtained the ARC Future Fellowship in late 2021. He was also recently appointed as a 探花系列 Scientia Fellow in early 2022.
Current Research Projects:听
- Development of new smart responsive peptide-mimicking antimicrobial (macro)molecules
- Reviving 'resisted' antibiotics using听antimicrobial (macro)molecules as synergists/adjuvants
- Fabrication of novel antimicrobial听coatings and materials
- Development of new peptide-mimicking anticancer (macro)molecules
- Development of new antiviral听(macro)molecules and materials
*Note: Prospective students are encouraged to contact me (edgar.wong@unsw.edu.au) regarding听any of the listed听projects above, whether its for PhD studies, final听year honours or summer research work. I am also open to new ideas and if you have some interesting ones, feel free to discuss with me to explore research opportunities.
Key External听Grants:
- ARC Future Fellowship, "Nanoengineering Smart and Precise Antimicrobial Polymers" (lead investigator)
- NHMRC Ideas Grant, "Tackling Hospital Acquired Infections with Peptide Mimics"听(co-investigator)
- DFAT Australia-India Council Project Grant, "Disinfecting Indian Waters with Novel Antimicrobial Polymer Membranes"听(lead investigator)
Recent Awards and Honours:
- Listed as a '2025 Pioneering Investigator'听by RSC Polymer Chemistry
- Awarded the 探花系列 Scientia Fellowship in 2022
- Awarded the ARC Future Fellowship in 2021
- Listed as a听'2018 Emerging Investigator' by RSC Polymer Chemistry
- Selected for the听探花系列 team to showcase research at India and Indonesia Research Roadshows in 2017
- Nature Microbiology work on 'Structurally Nanoengineered Antimicrobial Peptide Polymers (SNAPPs)' was an exhibit听at the London Science Museum in 2017-2019.
- Awarded the 探花系列 Vice-Chancellor's Research Fellowship in 2016
- Numerous Invited Speaker presentations at international conferences including World Polymer Congress, European Polymer Federation, World Chemistry Congress
Teaching Experiences:
- CEIC4002 - Thesis A
- CEIC4003 - Thesis B
- CEIC9002 - Advanced Thesis A
- CEIC9003 - Advanced Thesis B
- CEIC2000 - Material and Energy Systems
- CEIC2009 - Material and Energy Balances
- CEIC6712 - Pharmaceutical Engineering (guest lecture)
- CEIC4001 - Process Design Project
Postgraduate Students:
- Mr Hao Luo (PhD) - started in 2023听(Edgar Wong听main supervisor)
- Mr. Zeyu Ethan Shao (PhD) - started in 2022 (Edgar Wong听main supervisor)
- Mr. Zeyu Ethan Shao (Masters) - started in 2020 - graduated 2022听(Edgar Wong听main supervisor)
- Ms. Manjulatha Sara (PhD) - started in 2020听(Mark Willcox听main supervisor)
- Mr. Shyam Mishra (PhD) - started in 2019听(Mark Willcox听main supervisor)
- Ms. Erna Wulandari (PhD) - started in 2018 - graduated 2022听(Edgar Wong听main supervisor)
- Mr. Peter Judzewitsch (PhD) - started in 2017 - graduated 2021听(Cyrille Boyer main supervisor)
- Ms. Rashin Namivandi-Zangeneh (PhD) - started in 2017 -听graduated 2020听(Cyrille Boyer main supervisor)
- Ms. Zahra Sadrearhami (PhD) - started in 2016听- graduated 2019听(Cyrille Boyer main supervisor)
- Ms. Thuy-Khanh Nguyen (PhD) - started in 2014 - graduated 2017 (Cyrille Boyer main supervisor)
- Publications
- Media
- Grants
- Awards
- Research Activities
- Engagement
- Teaching and Supervision