Team

Biographies

Professor Justin Zoppe

Dr. Zoppe is a Serra Húnter Associate Professor in the Department of Materials Science & Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. He graduated in 2005 from the University of North Carolina-Wilmington (USA) with a B.S. degree in Chemistry (with Honors) and a minor in Mathematics. Dr. Zoppe was awarded his Ph.D. in 2011 from the Department of Forest Biomaterials at North Carolina State University for his thesis entitled “Surface Modification of Nanocellulose Substrates” under the supervision of Prof. Orlando Rojas. He then joined the Polymer Technology group of Prof. Jukka Seppälä at Aalto University (Finland) as a Postdoctoral Fellow investigating antiviral polysaccharides. From 2014-2017, Dr. Zoppe worked in the Polymers Laboratory of Prof. Harm-Anton Klok as an EPFL Fellow co-funded by a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action in Lausanne, Switzerland. In 2017, he was awarded the Ambizione Grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and was a Group Leader with Prof. Christoph Weder at the Adolphe Merkle Institute at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) until 2018. In addition to his academic appointments, Dr. Zoppe held industrial positions in Research & Development at Clariant Specialty Chemicals in Germany and Omya International AG in Switzerland.

Postdoctoral Fellows

Dr. Hossein Khanjanzadeh

Dr. Hossein Khanjanzadeh is currently serving as an Established Researcher (R3) at the Department of Material Science and Engineering of Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC). He received his Ph.D. in wood-based composites from Tarbiat Modares University in Iran. To finalize his Ph.D., he spent 6 months at BOKU-University in Austria under the supervision of Professor Wolfgang Gindl-Altmutter. He then worked for over two years as an R&D manager at an MDF factory in Iran. In 2019, he joined Kyungpook National University in South Korea as a visiting research professor. His research is in the field of production, characterization, chemical modification, and applications of nanocellulose. 

Dr. Mahboubeh Nabavinia

Dr. Mahboubeh Nabavinia has recently joined the Department of Materials Science & Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia as a postdoctoral scientist. She holds a  Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, specializing in the design, fabrication, and characterization of micro-systems and bio- nano- materials for innovative life science applications, including tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and cancer treatment. During her first postdoctoral position at East Carolina University, she led a pioneering project to develop magnetic exosomes as magneto-mechanical actuators for cancer therapy. She also contributed significantly as a postdoctoral scientist at the Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. That research is distinguished by its interdisciplinary approach, integrating principles from materials science, nanotechnology, and biomedical engineering to address critical challenges in healthcare.

Ph.D. Students

Iman Ramazani Sarbandi

Iman Ramazani Sarbandi is a Ph.D. candidate in Materials Science and Engineering at UPC. He completed his bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering with Honors from Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Iran, in 2017, and pursued a master's in Fluid Mechanics at the University of Tehran. During his master's, Iman focused on Micro and Nano Fluidics at the BIOMEMS Lab, with a keen interest in applying these technologies to infertility treatment. His master's thesis, "Design, Modeling, and Fabrication of a BIOMEMS Device for Sperm Separation," received acclaim and secured the UT Science & Technology Park (UTSTP) Grant.
Iman has published several articles based on his research and holds a patent related to his work. He has also served as a lecturer and teaching assistant at the University of Tehran. Currently, Iman's Ph.D. research centers on the preparation of liquid crystal microparticles using microfluidics.

Shorooq Alzoubi

Shorooq Alzoubi is a Ph.D. student in Materials Science and Engineering at UPC. Her Ph.D. research focuses on the Synthesis and Self-Assembly of Cellulose Nanocrystals with End-Tethered Poly (ethylene glycol) analogues. Shorooq earned her BS in Physics from Yarmouk University and an MS in physics from Jordan University of Science and Technology. Her master's thesis focused on the studies of composite films of polyethylene oxide doped with potassium hexachloroplatinate. Before joining UPC, she was a graduate research and teaching assistant at the physics department at Jordan University of Science and Technology.

Sara Papini

Sara is a Ph.D. student in Materials Science and Engineering at UPC. She studied and obtained her bachelor’s degree in “Chemistry and Environmental Technologies” from the University of Bologna (Italy), during which she spent 1 year at the University College of Cork, in Ireland, as a part of the Erasmus exchange programme. Subsequently, she moved to the UK and graduated from the University of Leeds with a MSc degree in “Polymers, colorants and fine chemicals”. The master’s final project was in the materials’ field, regarding the “Study of process and composition dependence of the behavior of silicate-based fire-resistant intumescent interlayers”. Before continuing her career in Academia and joining UPC, Sara worked in Industry for 5 years. During this time she experienced multiple technical roles between the multinational Synthomer Ltd (Harlow, UK), and the startup SAVA Technologies (London, UK). Her Ph.D. research focuses on the Synthesis and Self-Assembly of Cellulose Nanocrystals III with End-Tethered Poly(ethylene glycol) analogues."

And more team members joining soon!