Forgan Group News Archive


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25/03/2021 - New Paper!


Congratulations to Dr Fatma Demir Duman whose invited review article titled "Applications of nanoscale metal–organic frameworks as imaging agents in biology and medicine" has just been published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry B! For all our latest publications, click here.

10/12/2020 - PhD Recruitment


We have two vacant PhD positions for an October 2021 start. One is based around our recent paper on multivariate modulation of MOFs, and another is part of a Leverhulme Trust project just awarded to Prof Forgan and Dr Drew Thomson where we will be synthesising metal-templated peptide knots and catenanes. To apply, see our adverts: (1) MOFs and (2) peptide knots. Edit - positions filled as of 12 March 2021.

16/11/2020 - PDRA Recruitment


We have a postdoctoral position available to work on our EPSRC project on Targeting Hard to Reach Cancers. The position is for two years in the first instance and aims to start in March 2021. You can find more information on how to apply on our advert.

20/01/2020 - New Paper


Big congratulations to Isabel and Connor whose paper "Multivariate Modulation of the Zr MOF UiO-66 for Defect-Controlled Combination Anticancer Drug Delivery" has just been published in Angewandte Chemie! For all our latest publications, click here.

01/10/2019 - New Group Members


We welcome a number of new group members for the new academic year: PhD student Rachel, and undergraduate project students Wesley and Harry. See the full group here.

31/08/2019 - Goodbye Pantelis


We say goodbye to Pantelis Xydias after a three year postdoctoral stint working on the ERC SCotMOF project. Pantelis was the first Forgan group postdoc, and worked on a number of projects centred around surface modification of MOFs for drug delivery. All the best for the future PAX!

01/08/2019 - Congratulations Prof Forgan!


We are delighted that Ross has been promoted to Professor of Supramolecular and Materials Chemistry! This recognition is one that is shared by the whole Forgan group, as their hard work and fabulous science have allowed Prof Forgan's career to develop in the way it has. Celebrations all round!

19/07/2019 - Farewell Emily


We sadly say goodbye to Emily Meekel today as she finishes her summer placement in the group. Emily will be starting a PhD with Prof Andrew Goodwin at the University of Oxford later this year, and will receive the highly prestigious Snell Exhibition, following in the footsteps of none other than the father of modern economics, Adam Smith!

21/06/2019 - Congratulations Graduates!


Congratulations to Sarah (PhD), Emily (MSci hons), Tommy (MSci hons), Megan (BSc hons) and Lauren (BSc hons) who all graduated today. All have made excellent contributions to the group and we are sad to see them leave, although we've held onto Emily for a little while longer!

15/05/2019 - Congratulations Dr Griffin!


Big celebrations today as Sarah Griffin successfully defends her PhD thesis, titled "A Study into the Crystallisation and Synthesis of Zirconium and Yttrium Metal-Organic Frameworks. Sarah joins the group of Prof Neil Champness at the University of Nottingham as a postdoc in July.

11/01/2019 - Award for Dr Forgan


We are delighted that Dr Forgan has been awarded the Sessler Early Career Researcher Prize for 2018, in recognition of his advances in the field of Supramolecular Chemistry. Dr Forgan will present his award lecture at the 14th International Symposium on Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (ISMSC2019), which will be held in Lecce, Italy on June 2-6, 2019.

07/01/2019 - Welcome Nikos


We welcome Nikolaos Panagiotou to the group, who will be working on the EPSRC IRC project. Nikos carried out his PhD research with Dr Paul Shiels at the University of Glasgow, and will be working on new methods to target hard-to-treat cancers. See the full group here.

19/10/2018 - Grant Success!


We are delighted to be part of the new EPSRC-funded £10M Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration "Multimodal targeted delivery strategies for hard-to-treat cancers" with researchers from Cambridge, Imperial, UCL, and Birmingham. As such, we are advertising for a new postdoc; apply here before the 11th November 2018 deadline.

15/10/2018 - Welcome Fatma


We welcome Dr Fatma Demir Duman to the group, who will be working on the ERC SCotMOF project. Fatma received her PhD from Koc University Turkey, and was previously a postdoc in the School of Nanoscience at University College London Medical School. See the full group here.

01/10/2018 - New Group Members


We welcome a number of new group members for the new academic year; PhD students Ignas and Catherine, and undergraduate project students Emily, Tommy, Lauren and Megan. See the full group here.

04/09/2018 - Prize for Sophia!


Congratulations to PhD student Sophia Boyadjieva, who won a poster prize at the recent USIC 2018 conference at the University of Edinburgh, for her poster titled "Stability Study of Surface-Functionalised Metal-Organic Framework UiO-66 for Drug Delivery". Well done Sophia!

04/07/2018 - PhD Position Available


A fully funded PhD studentship has become available in the Forgan Group for an October 2018 start, to work on MOFs, crystallography, and catalytic nanoparticles. Full details are available on our advert. Applications accepted now; contact Dr Forgan by email for more details.

31/05/2018 - We Are Hiring!


We are currently recruiting a 3 year postdoc to work on our ERC funded research into drug delivery and surface modification of MOFs. Interested applicants should apply online through the University of Glasgow, with a deadline of July 2nd.

24/04/2018 - PhD Successes!


Congratulations to Isabel and Francois, who have both successfully defended their PhDs in the last month. Francois has returned to his native France, while Isa is undertaking a short postdoc before joining the FuniMat team lead by Carlos Martí-Gastaldo at Valencia.

09/01/18 - Grant Success!


Dr Forgan has been awarded a Research Fellows Enhancement Award from the Royal Society, worth £100k, to examine chemisorption in metal-organic frameworks. The award will cover a PhD position from October 2018, which is advertised here. See our full grant portfolio here.

01/10/2017 - New Group Members


At the start of the academic year we welcome new PhD students Alexander Thom and Sophia Boyadjieva, as well as undergraduate researchers Connor Wells (MSci), Christopher Coyle (BSc) and Josin Jose (BSc), to the Forgan group.

27/04/2017 - Dr Ross Marshall


Congratulations to Ross Marshall, who becomes with first Forgan group PhD graduate! Dr Marshall will stay for a short postdoctoral stint before beginning a Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) at the University of Strathclyde.

12/04/2017 - New Papers


Congratulations to Isabel, who has published her latest paper in Chem Cell Press, titled "Selective Surface PEGylation of UiO-66 Nanoparticles for Enhanced Stability, Cell Uptake and pH Responsive Drug Delivery". Plus, Ross Marshall has also published his latest work "Functional versatility of a series of Zr MOFs probed by solid-state photoluminescence spectroscopy" in J. Am. Chem. Soc. Well done everyone!

17/03/2017 - Welcomes and Farewells


Congratulations to final year undergrads Ciaran and Ali, who have successfully completed their projects. Ali will be staying with us for a PhD starting in October. We also welcome Emma Regincos, joining us on placement from Universitat de Barcelona to study magnetism in lanthanide MOFs.

13/10/2016 - Growing Again!


The start of the academic year has seen PDRA Pantelis Xydias, PhD students Panagiota Markopoulou and Dominic Bara, and undergraduates Ciaran Lennon and Alexander Thom join the group. Welcome to all!

17/09/2016 - Poster Prize for Isabel!


The group attended the 5th International Conference on Metal-Organic Frameworks & Open Framework Compounds in Long Beach, California, and Isabel Abanades won a poster prize for her work on surface-modified UiO-66 MOFs. Congratulations Isabel!

29/07/2016 - New EJIC Paper


Our invited review on Postsynthetic Modification of Zirconium MOFs has just been published in the European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry, in their cluster issue "Metal-Organic Frameworks – Heading Towards Application". See our full publication list here.

12/05/2016 - We Are Hiring!


We are currently recruiting a 3 year postdoc to work on our ERC funded research into drug delivery and surface modification of MOFs. Interested applicants should apply online through the University of Glasgow, with a deadline of June 10th. Informal enquiries can be addressed to Dr Forgan before 17th May.

04/02/2016 - ERC Starting Grant Success


Dr Forgan has been awarded a highly prestigious ERC Starting Grant, worth €1.5M, to run from 2016-2021. The funding will allow the development of new methods to modify the outer surfaces of MOFs, with applications in drug delivery and imaging. See our full grant portfolio here.

11/01/2016 - New paper in Angewandte!


Our collaboration with the Moggach and Morisson groups at University of Edinburgh and Bennett group at University of Cambridge into the mechanical properties of Zr MOFs has just been published in the prestigious Angewandte Chemie. The research, funded by EPSRC, shows that the choice of organic ligand in Zr MOFs greatly alters their flexibility and pressure resistance.

16/11/2015 - Welcome Sarah, Sabrina and Jake!


As we move into the new academic year, the Forgan group welcomes back Sarah Griffin, to start her PhD as part of the CMAC CDT, as well as undergraduate project students Sabrina Sacca and Jake McGuire. If you are interested in joining the group, get more information here.

27/07/2015 - New paper in JACS!


Our study into single-crystal to single-crystal postsynthetic modification has just been published in the prestigious Journal of the American Chemical Society. The research, funded by EPSRC, utilises the chemical stability of Zr MOFs to allow tuning of mechanical properties by a stereoselective postsynthetic bromination reaction.

21/05/2015 - Welcome Christina!


All change in the Forgan group as Christina Zitzer joins from the Universität Oldenburg us as a visiting researcher for Summer 2015. Final year students Sarah Griffin and Joshua Kennedy have graduated and left the group, but Sarah will return for a PhD later in the year. If you are interested in joining the group, get more information here.

13/10/2014 - The Forgan Group Keeps Growing


As the 2014 academic year begins, the Forgan group welcomes three new members. Isabel Abánades joins us from Universidad de Alcalá, Madrid, to start her PhD. Sarah Griffin and Joshua Kennedy also join the group as undergraduate students to carry out their final year projects. If you are interested in joining the group, get more information here.

16/09/2014 - More EPSRC Funding


The Forgan group has been awarded a pump priming grant of £12,900 from the EPSRC Directed Assembly Network to investigate the synthesis and stability of zirconium metal-organic frameworks. The project is a collaboration with Dr Stephen Moggach, University of Edinburgh, and Dr Thomas Bennett, University of Cambridge. See our full funding portfolio here.

31/07/2014 - Angewandte Chemie Paper Published


Results from our collaboration with the Cronin Group, where we manufacture high-throughut 3D-printed reactor arrays to use in the hydrothermal synthesis of MOFs, have just been published in Angewandte Chemie. See all our publications here.

21/07/2014 - Colin and Christina Graduate


Congratulations to Forgan Group undergraduates Colin Murphie and Christina McGuire, who graduated from the University of Glasgow this summer and have now left the Forgan Group. Christina's final year thesis has just been accepted as a Feature Article in Chemical Communications. Undergraduate Sarah Griffin has also joined the group as a summer intern. See our full group profile here.

24/06/2014 - Synchrotron Funding Success


The Forgan Group has been awarded funding of approximately £40,000 from STFC to examine the physical properties of zirconium and hafnium metal-organic frameworks. The funding will finance a series of high-pressure single crystal synchrotron X-ray diffraction experiments at the Diamond light source at Rutherford Appleton Laboratories. See our full funding portfolio here.

01/04/2014 - Poster Prize for Christina


Congratulations to Forgan Group undergraduate Christina McGuire for her well deserved best poster prize at the School of Chemistry end of year presentations. Christina's poster covered the surface modification of MOFs. See our full group profile here.

07/02/2014 - More Forgan Group Funding


The Forgan Group has been awarded funding of approximately £40,000 from STFC to examine the structural effect of ammonia uptake in metal-organic frameworks. The funding will finance a series of neutron scattering experiments at the ISIS neutron source at Rutherford Appleton Laboratories. See our full funding portfolio here.

30/09/2013 - The Forgan Group Expands


As the academic year begins, the Forgan group welcomes back Ross Marshall to start his PhD, as well as new members François-Joseph Yazigi (PhD), Colin Murphie (UG Project) and Christina McGuire (UG Project). See our full group profile here.

25/06/2013 - Ross Marshall Wins Academic Prizes


Forgan group undergraduate and returning student Ross Marshall has won numerous University of Glasgow awards for his academic achievement, including the Mackay Smith Prize for the most distinguished candidate in Chemistry, and the Ede and Ravenscroft Prize for the most distinguished Science graduate of the year. See Ross receiving his awards from University Principal Anton Muscatelli in our gallery. Congratulations Ross!

20/05/2013 - Latest EPSRC Application Funded


The Forgan Group will receive nearly £300,000 in funding from the EPSRC over three years to study the biomimetic properties of highly functionalised MOFs, with focus on catalysis and protein-mediated self-assembly. See our full funding portfolio here.

17/04/2013 - Dr Forgan Presents at ACS Meeting


Dr Forgan gave an invited lecture at the ACS Spring National Meeting in New Orleans, USA, a few days after an invited lecture at the Scottish Dalton Meeting at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh.

25/03/2013 - Ross And Aurore Finish Their Projects


Forgan Group final year students Ross Marshall and Aurore Bleine have finished their undergraduate projects, submitting their theses and presenting posters on their research into functionalised MOFs. Ross will rejoin the Forgan Group on a summer internship while Aurore returns to France at the end of the academic year. Congratulations to both!

18/03/2013 - The Forgan Group Website Goes Live!


The Forgan Group is finally online, as the new website goes live on the University of Glasgow's pages. The website will be under development for the near future, keep checking back for new additions!


Home.  Contact: Prof Ross Forgan, B3-38, Joseph Black Building, University of Glasgow, G12 8QQ, 01413305166, ross.forgan@glasgow.ac.uk.

Updated 1st October 2024.