Dr Pola Goldberg Oppenheimer MRSC

Winner: 2021 Beilby Medal and Prize

University of Birmingham

For unconventional lithographic structuring of applied materials and advanced nanoplatforms for optical spectroscopy.

Celebrate Dr Pola Goldberg Oppenheimer

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The integration of new nanotechnologies with healthcare opens up a world of possibilities, the surface of which is just being scratched.

Dr Goldberg Oppenheimer is developing advanced ultra-sensitive, rapid, portable miniaturised technologies for point-of-care diagnostics of traumatic brain injuries.

Millions of people worldwide die from late diagnosis every year. In emergency care practice, life-critical decisions must be made rapidly, influencing patients’ prognosis and the efficacy of treatment. There is a critical window for diagnosis of many acute diseases such as, traumatic brain injury (TBI) – a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. TBI has become a major challenge of the 21st century and, by 2023, the WHO estimates that neuro-trauma will become the leading cause of death worldwide.

To realise the next-generation tools for point-of-care diagnostics, her research focuses on developing a new reliable technology, deployable at the roadside, pitch-side, or on the battlefield, which can improve clinical outcomes for millions of patients in both civilian and military settings.

Read winner biography

Dr Pola Goldberg Oppenheimer's interdisciplinary background includes formal training in chemical engineering, chemistry, physics and electrical engineering. In 2012, she received her PhD in Physics from the University of Cambridge and received the Springer Award for scientific excellence. In 2013, she was appointed to the University of Birmingham in the School of Chemical Engineering, winning the highly prestigious Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) Research Fellowship. In recognition of her discoveries, she was promoted to Associate Professor in Microengineering and Bionanotechnology – five years after graduating with a PhD – recognising outstanding performance and impact.

She has published over seventy high impact papers and book chapters, two books, four patents, attracted considerable funding from the MoD, BAE-Systems, EPSRC, Wellcome Trust and the Royal Society, and given over thirty keynote lectures at leading conferences worldwide. Other prestigious awards include WomenTech100 (2020), Excellence in Leadership, University of Cambridge (2014), and the Carl-Zeiss Technology Award (2013). In 2017, Dr Goldberg Oppenheimer was invited to take part in the 'Voice of the Future' session at Westminster, attended by government ministers. In 2018, she was featured in the ‘Birmingham Heroes in Healthcare Technologies’ campaign and became a member of the Parliamentary Engineering Group at the House of Lords.

Dr Goldberg Oppenheimer initiated a new area of research in synergistic materials and devices and has discovered intelligent methods for nano-structuring surfaces via a novel lithographic route. The enhanced performance of the developed nanoplatforms led to the development of new miniaturised devices, which are now being exploited in high-performance electronic chips, accurate chemical and biological sensors and powerful diagnostic tools for medical research.

Q+A

Who or what has inspired you?

I have always been fascinated with science and engineering. I have been inspired, since a young age, by my mother who is a ballistic rocket engineer, and from whom I have inherited my interest in science and technology as well as my love and curiosity for exploring and innovating.

What advice would you give to a young person considering a career in chemistry?

Chemistry advances crucial technological developments and, therefore, it is paramount that the next generation enthusiastically consider studying these sciences with many potential exciting career opportunities.

Can you tell us about a scientific development on the horizon that you are excited about?

I am particularly excited about my recent scientific developments aimed to enable the creation of radically new point-of-care platform technology. Whilst building upon chemistry and chemical engineering principles at the interface between research, industrial and clinical activities, this work promises to make substantial contributions to achieving significant scientific and socio-economic impact. It will deliver a step change in point-of-care diagnostics of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and outcomes influencing health.

The emerging technology is underpinned by a cutting-edge microengineering via my uniquely developed electrohydrodynamic lithography, to enable low-cost, custom-designed high-sensitivity and specificity nanosensors to rapidly detect disease indicative biomarkers at trace-level concentrations in blood. The portable technology combines smart sensors into spectroscopic lab-on-a-chip devices for early-stage detection in scenarios where point-of-care diagnosis is vital and the damage becomes more significant with time, eg TBI.

Given the high complication rate of TBI (many permanent disabilities, post-traumatic neurological disorders requiring long-term care), with an estimated annual cost in the UK of £7.5 billion, the socio-economic impact of the new technology will be significant. In addition to delivering timely intervention and organised trauma care to millions of individuals, it will decelerate patients’ cognitive decline, reduce mortality, avoid long-term hospital stays and reduce a major burden on the NHS and the taxpayer.

Why is chemistry important?

I view chemistry and, in particular, nanochemistry as a powerful tool to answer long-standing problems in the natural sciences. The integration of new nanotechnologies with healthcare opens up a world of possibilities, the surface of which is just being scratched. The study of medical sciences opened up by (nano)chemistry and chemical engineering will strengthen research in the years to come, providing a paradigm shift in the analytical tools and diagnostic standards, and the backbone to accurately interpret biochemical signatures of many detrimental diseases.

I am intrigued by understanding and manipulating the small (nano) things to advance the technological developments in the (macro)world. While we understand the world intuitively over only a tiny range of sizes, we have never ‘dropped a planet’ or knowingly ‘sat on an individual atom’. I believe that nanostructured objects made of small numbers of molecules are one of the greenest pastures in modern science. While venturing from nano, through micro, to the macro-worlds, I have discovered opportunities for new technologies-so radically outside our experience that they not easily recognized when first appear. My research focusses on the weaving of nanochemistry and nano-engineering into everyday materials to explore a world of opportunities. I am investigating the smallest things for various ends: to fabricate the components of computer chips, to manipulate materials and light, to control and detect the behaviour of molecules for diagnostics and, to form nanosynthetic systems mimicking the living world, providing the basis for portable nanotechnologies.

What is your favourite element?

Gold, for several reasons. It is truly amazing that gold is formed from massive stars that explode into supernovas and somehow the gold atoms have found their way to earth. Yet, gold is quite rare as all the world’s known gold reserves could be laid out on a football pitch in a layer only a metre or so high. It also has many important uses within my research. For instance, we use it to create a considerable signal enhancement for the ‘smart’ nano-spectroscopic surfaces being developed in my group. Gold has many other untapped potential uses, waiting to be discovered.

And finally, it forms a part of my surname.