Sheiliza Carmali, PhD

Sheiliza Carmali is a Lecturer in Protein Therapeutics at the School of Pharmacy, Queen's University Belfast, where she leads the Carmali Lab. Her research centres on engineering biomolecular interfaces to expand the therapeutic potential of proteins and other biologic medicines. By designing molecular and materials-based interfaces around therapeutic biomolecules, her group develops technologies that enhance their stability, activity, and delivery in complex biological environments. Through the integration of protein engineering, supramolecular assembly, and biomaterials design, her research seeks to overcome longstanding barriers in drug delivery, vaccines, and advanced biologic medicines.

Before joining QUB, Sheiliza obtained a 5-year degree in Applied Chemistry - Organic Chemistry at the Universidade Nova de Lisboa (Lisbon, Portugal). She then went to complete postgraduate studies in the UK, including an MSc in Drug Delivery and a PhD in Chemistry, both from the School of Pharmacy at University College London (UCL), advised by Professor Steve Brocchini and in collaboration with PolyTherics (now Abzena), where she developed novel disulfide bridging reagents for protein modification.

Following her PhD, Sheiliza held research positions across Europe and the United States, working with Professor Helena Florindo at Universidade de Lisboa and UCL, Professors Alan Russell and Krzysztof Matyjaszewski at Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, USA), and as a Lundbeckfonden Postdoctoral Fellow with Professor Alexander Zelikin at Aarhus University (Denmark). These interdisciplinary experiences shaped her research vision and laid the foundations for her current programme at Queen's University Belfast.

Since joining Queen's in 2020, Sheiliza has been establishing an independent research programme focused on controlling interactions at the interface between biomolecules, materials, and biological systems. Her research has been supported by the Lundbeck Foundation, the Royal Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and the UKRI Medical Research Council (MRC). She has published in leading journals including Nature Communications, Advanced Science, Bioconjugate Chemistry, and Acta Biomaterialia, and is a Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry (MRSC) and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA).

Her long-term vision is to develop programmable biomolecular systems that enable biologic medicines to function in ways not currently possible, unlocking new therapeutic opportunities for diseases that remain beyond the reach of conventional therapeutic approaches.