Graduate researcher Amal Jayawardena awarded 2024 Borland Prize

Graduate researcher Amal Jayawardena has been awarded the 2024 Borland Prize by Materials Australia, the peak representative body for the materials science and engineering profession.

Amal is a graduate researcher in the Soft Matter Informatics Research Group led by Dr Ellie Hajizadeh, in the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology’s Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Amal’s research focuses on a new type of antibacterial agent made from star-shaped synthetic polypeptides, known as SNAPPs. These star-shaped nanoparticles are designed to target and kill harmful bacteria, particularly those resistant to common antibiotics.

Using advanced computer simulation techniques, GPU-accelerated algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI), Amal was able to uncover how these SNAPPs work - essentially how they attach to bacterial cells to envelope and destroy them. This breakthrough could help scientists improve the design of SNAPPs, making them more effective in fighting dangerous infections.

"Winning the Borland Prize is a tremendous honour. It feels especially rewarding to have my research recognised at such a prestigious event alongside so many talented peers,” Amal said.

“It reaffirms the importance of the work we're doing to combat antimicrobial resistance through molecular simulations and inspires me to continue pushing the boundaries of this research.”

Dr Ellie Hajizadeh praised Amal’s achievements.

"Amal’s work is a testament to the power of interdisciplinary research, combining tools from chemical physics, computer science and AI. His discoveries are a crucial step forward in the fight against antibiotic resistance."

The findings also contribute to ongoing work in the lab of Professor Greg Qiao, from the Department of Chemical Engineering, where chemists are optimising the chemical structures of these SNAPPs for even greater efficacy.