Dr. Afeesh Rajan Unnithan

Biography

Dr Afeesh Rajan Unnithan is a Lecturer in the Centre for Pharmaceutical Engineering Science at the School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of Bradford. His research focuses on the development of next-generation electroactive biomaterials for regenerative medicine, with a particular emphasis on piezoelectric and magnetoelectric materials, mechanobiology, and extracellular vesicle (EV) biogenesis.

Dr Unnithan has extensive expertise in Electrospinning technology, fabricating nanostructured biomaterials with tailored mechanical, electrical, and biological properties. His work explores how bioelectrical stimulation, generated via piezoelectric nanogenerators, can influence cellular behaviour, mechanosensitive ion channel activation, and immunomodulation to enhance tissue regeneration. He is also investigating the use of mechanosensitive ion channel stimulation to improve EV production for therapeutic applications, addressing key challenges in EV biomanufacturing.

Before joining Bradford, he worked as a Research Fellow in Prof. Alicia El Haj’s lab at the University of Birmingham, where he worked on remote mechanobio-stimulation strategies for cell-based therapies. He obtained his PhD in Bionanosystem Engineering from Jeonbuk National University, South Korea, where he developed multifunctional nanomaterials for biomedical applications.

Dr Unnithan has authored 55 peer-reviewed journal articles, accumulating over 3900+ citations with an h-index of 33. His work has been published in leading materials science and biomedical engineering journals, including Advanced Functional Materials, Nano Energy, and Acta Biomaterialia. He has also contributed to scholarly books, including Nanotechnology Applications for Tissue Engineering and Polyurethane Polymers: Blends and Interpenetrating Polymer Networks, and served as an editor for Biomimetic Nanoengineered Materials for Advanced Drug Delivery (Elsevier).

Dr Unnithan actively collaborates with academia and industry to advance biomedical technologies, focusing on smart biomaterials, regenerative medicine, and implantable medical devices. His research aligns with global efforts to develop self-powered, bioresponsive implants that improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare burdens.

Research

As evinced in my academic milieus, I possess a strong interdisciplinary research background. After completing a Master’s Degree (M.Tech) in Nanomedicine, I pressed ahead to an interdisciplinary research career in which my main focus was on the preparation and functionalisation of multifunctional nanosystems including electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds and functional nanoparticles for various therapeutic and tissue regenerative applications.

I have developed multifunctional novel biomaterials termed piezoelectric biomaterials for the development of next-generation of biomaterial implants. I have developed piezoelectric hybrid nanoparticles such as PiezoMagnetic nanoparticles, and PiezoPlasmoic Nanoparticles for noninvasive regenerative medicine applications. Interestingly these materials are also exploited for developing Nano-generators as a sustainable source of energy for biomedical implants.

Thus, in short, I am an expert in the development and characterisation of electroactive biomaterials and their cellular interactions in an electrically active environment with the aim of enhanced tissue regeneration. These areas have formed the foundation of my research vision to innovate the next generation of multifunctional smart biomaterials that enhance cell stimulation by producing bioelectrical signals analogous to native tissues. Some of my recent notable research achievements are listed below

(1) The first report on the development of an Implantable Anticancer Device (IAD) for post-surgical breast cancer therapy and simultaneous breast reconstruction (Therapy+ Diagnosis + Regeneration=Theranogeneration)

(2) Co-developed the Piezoelectric Whitlockite for the first time for enhanced proliferation and osteogenic differentiation through non-invasive cell stimulation

(3) Co-developed Blood-flow driven smart Piezoelectric stent

(4) Development of Piezomagnetic hybrid nanoparticles for ultrasound-driven non-invasive post-surgical osteosarcoma Therogeneration

(5) The first report on the mussel-inspired nanofibers and their application as an anticancer patch

Our research is focused to launch a new dynamic treatment platform, which will extend the therapeutic horizon and provide a new form of remote-controlled healing. From a future perspective, Piezoelectric-biomaterials will gain their role in various biomedical applications like biosensors, biomechanical energy harvesters, self-powered bioimplants, artificial electronic skins and implantable microelectronics owing to their smart energy conversion properties.